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Ode on a grecian urn

There is a sense of irony in that the potter who has created this urn has since passed on no longer being able to bring forth their story; however, the urn, not a physical being, is able to express "A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme" ([Ode] 1.4). Thus meaning that although the death of the potter has since taken place, the story and legend of the urn continues to live on through the eyes of the narrator. The idea of whether in fact the story of the urn actually lives on is highly debatable to the narrator. The narrator asks questions such as, "What men or gods are these?" "Why maidens loath?" ([Ode] 1.8) which in a sense shows the uncertainty and lack of clarity when examining the urn and the story it actually depicts. This contradicts the thoughts the narrator had at the beginning of the first stanza when the narrator was quite clear in stating that the urn did in fact tell a story more clearly than any one person could; however, now the narrator is beginning to question himself. As a result of the narrators angst he is almost compelled to make up his own version of the story, as it is not clearly laid out before him. One must take into consideration that the story the reader sees is one that is told through the eyes of the narrator, and is therefore self-reflexive of his thoughts and his visions of the urn and perhaps influenced by his own personal life.
             There is a sense of mortality versus immortality in the first stanza when looking at how the urn is described by the narrator. The urn is a "foster child of silence and slow time" ([Ode] 1.2) illustrating that this particular piece of art has survived the test of time thus being immortal yet at the same time the words of "still" and "quietness" in the preceding line illuminate a sense of mortality. It seems as though there is not a clear distinction between whether the urn is in actuality immortal or mortal. It is these contradicting elements that bring about a moment of questioning to the narrator as he too begins to search for some answers.


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