Example Of Essay On Read Dickinson's

John Keats’ poem “Ode to a Grecian Urn” is often considered one of the best odes in the English language. In its five stanzas, he adjusts the tone several times. Here, we will look at what effect this has on the reader.
The first stanza seems to be in awe of the urn itself, its ancientness, and the scenes depicted on it. The narrator also questions what the stories told on the urn are. The “struggle to escape” (line 9) is of particular interest; it could mean either that there is a literal depiction on the urn of an escape journey, such as The Odyssey, common in ancient Greek stories; or it could refer to the stories on the urn, in their struggle to escape it and be told once more.
The second stanza becomes sentimental in tone. “ye soft pipes, play on,” and the reference to eternal love lends it a romantic quality. The third stanza shifts the focus from the urn to a tree, a living object in contrast to the static urn, but one that is also associated frequently with age. The treatment of it in the stanza is quite euphoric: “Ah, happy boughs that cannot shed / your leaves”, “More love! More happy, happy love!”, etc.
The fourth stanza explores the paradox that the stories are still being told, but by an inanimate object; that while the basic frame of the stories remain, the details are lost to time. It becomes melancholy, describing a town emptied of people, “thy streets for evermore / Will silent be; and not a soul to tell”. This imagery gives a sense of loss.
The fifth and final stanza is one of reflection, and credits the urn with the quality of being eternal: “When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe / than ours” It emphasizes the static quality of the urn.
It would seem to me that Keats was using the interpretation of the scenes on the urn to emphasize its subjectivity. His questioning about these scenes would seem to indicate that interpretation so long after the fact is subject to interpretation.