John Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” – Critical Analysis

The physical object in John Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” written in 1819 is the Greek vase or urn. The voice of the speaker in this ode is extenuated as he unifies himself to the urn to indicate the idea of eternity. The tone of the ode starts out to be light and flowery with imageries of the supernatural. However, when looking into the deeper meaning, the tone is actually quite morbid. During this time, Keats’s health was failing. The idea of death is reflected in this work. He discusses the urn’s immortality and the images on the urn frozen in a state of perfection. Knowing that he can never have this immortality, Keats seems to be longing for this power.
This ode has two separate levels. There is a level of superficial happiness and joy presented by the human figures carved into the side of the urn who do not have to confront the ideas of aging and death. However, it is in this happiness and joy that acts as the façade for the deeper level of death and morbidity. This...