Poetry Life, Art & Beauty. Outline Intro.: Life, Art & Beauty P.B. Shelley: " Ozymandias" John Keats: " Ode on a Grecian Urn" Conclusion

Poetry

Life, Art & Beauty

Outline

• Intro.: Life, Art & Beauty

• P.B. Shelley: " Ozymandias"

• John Keats: " Ode on a Grecian Urn"

• Conclusion

Life, Art & Beauty ─how do we realize art in our daily life

• What may be the relationship among life, art and beauty?

• Is it true that art beauties up one’s life?

• How do YOU relate the literary works we have read to your life?

• Does art create any meaning in your life?

The origin Greek Establisher Pindar Meaning encomiums (congratulatory address or

message ) Purpose public praise Types strophe, antistrophe and epode

Roman Establisher Horace Purpose the expressions of personal feelings.

The Development Greek: 1656, Abraham Cowley introduced the "irregular ode. "

From recurrent stanza to individually shaped stanzas.

Roman: The same metrical pattern of stanzas More personal, meditative, and more restraind.

Six odes of John Keats

“Ode” “Ode On A Grecian Urn” “Ode On Melancholy” “Ode To A Nightingale” “Ode To Autumn” “Ode To Psyche”

What is Ode- Three features

Three elements of the new form The description of the natural scene Focus on a private problem or a universal

situation Express perception

Ode on a Grecian Urn

***Summary for the poem:

Question for us to think about: Perhaps we can think about our attitude toward art

and time! Do you think the spirit of art will remain forever?

John Keats(17955~1821) John Keats, born in London, lived only

twenty-five years and four months (1795-1821), yet his poetic achievement is extraordinary.

His writing career lasted a little more than five years (1814-1820), and three of his great odes

1."Ode to a Nightingale,“ 2."Ode on a Grecian Urn," 3."Ode on Melancholy"-- In this brief period, he produced poems

that rank him as one of the great English poets. He also wrote letters which T.S. Eliot calls "the most notable and the most important ever written by any English poet." In the twentieth century, the perception of Keats's poetry expanded

Postmortem Influence English Romantic poet lyric poems (a short poem

could expressed speakers thoughts and feelings)

19thafter he died, critics and readers did notice his poems and thought that he was a sensual poet

20thhis perception of poetry has been expanded and also he believes “what determines truth is experience”

source: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/keats.html

Conflicts appear in Keats's poetry:

1. transient sensation or passion / enduring art 2. dream or vision / reality 3. joy / melancholy 4. the ideal / the real 5. mortal / immortal 6. life / death 7. separation / connection

8. being immersed in passion / desiring to escape passion

Stanza I Raises abstract concept: time and art

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,Sylvan historian, who canst thus expressA flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shapeOf deities or mortals, or of both,In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Unravish’d bride: Real world– mutable (changeable),

or ..subject to time and change. Urn & the life– unchanging

Foster-child: Slow time vs. The time of the real world Figures on the urn– not subject to time

Sylvan: a border of leaves encircles the vase the scene carved on the urn is set in woods

A flowery tale: Paradoxical

Line 6~8: Mortal and immortal Men and Gods

Line 8~10: The poet movEes from observer to participant. Paradoxical: nergetic passion vs. cold, motionless

stone

Stanza II Heard melodies are sweet, but those

unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone: Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare; Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve; She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Technique & Analysis

Stanza II Ideal life/frozen time Do not grieve

Stanza III Irony Repetition of “happy” and “for

ever” Paradox

Stanza III Ah, happy, happy boughs! that

cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unwearied, For ever piping songs for ever new; More happy love! more happy, happy love! For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,

For ever panting, and for ever young; All breathing human passion far above, That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd, A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Art (on the urn) vs. Real Life

Urn Eternal/permanent/

immortal Quiet/motionless Interior Perfect life Taking pictures Observation

Real Life Existence Changeable Participation

Source: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/urn.html#II

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/urn.html#II

Stanza IV

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?To what green altar, O mysterious priest,Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?What little town by river or sea shore,Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?And, little town, thy streets for evermoreWill silent be; and not a soul to tellWhy thou art desolate, can e'er return.

Stanza IV The ability of art Art can speak to the viewer, to stir the imagination so

that the viewer sees more than is presented. In this stanza, the author imagines the situation of

village from the figures on the urn. The withdraw In this stanza, the author begins to withdraw from his

emotional participation and identification with life on the urn. This stanza is the main process of his transformation of thinking.

This stanza focuses on communal life. (the previous stanzas described individuals).

Stanza IV In this stanza the author keeps talking to the urn and asking

questions. A priest leads a line lined by a group of people which is going to

the altar, with a heifer which is lowing to the sky. After people’s leaving, the town will be silent and desolate. The quietness shall remain.

Art may remain Time, human beings may disappear, but the art won’t disappear

and won’t change. It may remain, like the town remains, keeping silent till the end. After the people pass, the street would be silent.

In the process to the altar, people, the priest, and the heifer are frozen on the urn. In this stanza, people may be gone, but the town, the silence and emptiness may be left behind. Despise the process, the actions and images are frozen at the moment and will remain forever. Art may not die for the time and the past.

.

Stanza V O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede

Of marble men and maidens overwrought,With forest branches and the trodden weed;Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thoughtAs doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Stanza V

This stanza is not only the end of the poem but also the author’s conclusion toward time and art. Keats admires the Attic shape and he appreciates the urn. In this stanza he talks again about the images he has indicated before, like the two lovers, and the branches.

“The marble men and maidens overwrought”

*marble: cold and remained, the frozen moment of the two lovers (metaphoric)

*overwrought: remained and have struggled with time and ages. Things on the urn won’t disappear and they won’t lose their spirit and life. Things may remain eternal on works of art. Though time and ages go by, the art still remain and be the “truth beauty” till the end.

Beauty vs. Truth I“ Beauty is truth, truth beauty”─What does it mean?─How do you think about Keats’ attitude toward art and

time?

Keats indicates the beauty and art shall remain forever, and that ‘s

all people shall know and need to know. the spirit of the work of art may not disappear. the beauty which is based on truth is the true beauty. the beauty lies in beauty itself and beauty is inspired

by itself. That is the truth beauty.

Beauty vs. Truth II Our Viewpoint

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” ─Keats thinks that the true beauty stays in the

truth. Do you agree with this? What do you think about the true beauty?

Conclusion: The true beauty stays in what we look and how we

look at things. Keats uses a brief sentence to tell the readers that the true beauty lies in the work of art, and the truth that things have and create.

**There are many interpretations─ depends on how

we look at it.

Summary back

In this poem, Keats describes his reaction to a Grecian urn painted with images of men, maidens, pipers and other Greeks, then he starts his journey of imagination and mediation. At first, he is fascinated by the first glance. Then, he begins to talks to the urn.

In the journey of mediation, Keats tries to get something from the pictures and understand the stories on the urn, from the past that he doesn’t know.

Summary I back

Then begins the journey. His thought slide freely in the mediation. Trying to get something from the pictures and tries to understand the stories on the urn, from the past that he doesn’t know. The journey of mediation is not merely the mediation but also the author’s transformation process of thinking toward the spirit of art.

Melodies, pipes, and the spirits of the pictures are lying in the urn invisibly. Though they cannot be seen, they also have spirit in themselves. These things are not mere sensual pleasure, but a higher sense of ideal beauty.

Summary II back

The things on the urn are beauty and are worthwhile to be admired. The author admires the work of art a lot and he also understands that things which are remained in the work of art may stay forever. Perhaps time and life may be passed, but the art remains. The images on the urn have a similar effect, as they are frozen forever at the moment of highest perfection. At the end of the poem, the author indicates that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”. It shows Keats’ attitude toward art and time.

Ozymandias

Percy Bysshe Shelley

OzymandiasOzymandiasI met a traveler from an antique landI met a traveler from an antique landWho said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of

stonestoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose

frown,frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readTell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless

things,things,The hand that mocked them and the heart The hand that mocked them and the heart

that fed.that fed.And on the pedestal these words appear –And on the pedestal these words appear –"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains. Round the decayNothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.'The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

3D 3D AdaptationAdaptation

Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley The spirit of The spirit of

revolution and the revolution and the power of free power of free thought were Percy thought were Percy Shelley's biggest Shelley's biggest passions in life. passions in life.

A radical thinker A radical thinker and pronounced and pronounced atheist, Shelley's atheist, Shelley's poetry explored the poetry explored the political themes of political themes of the day.the day.

OzymandiasOzymandias The name Ozymandias (or Osymandias) The name Ozymandias (or Osymandias)

is generally believed to refer to is generally believed to refer to Ramesses the Great, Pharaoh of the Ramesses the Great, Pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty (Nineteenth dynasty (1279-12131279-1213 B.CB.C..)) of of Ancient Egypt.Ancient Egypt.

Ozymandias (Ramesses) The two legs (line 2)

Ramesses II is the most famous of the Pharaohs, and there is no doubt that he intended this to be so.

RomanticisRomanticism m

Definition:Definition:Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement in Europe during the movement in Europe during the late 18th late 18th centurycentury characterized by an interest in characterized by an interest in nature and an emphasis on the individual's nature and an emphasis on the individual's expression of expression of emotionemotion and and imaginationimagination. . Romanticism departed from the attitudes Romanticism departed from the attitudes and forms of classicism, materialism and and forms of classicism, materialism and rationalism in order to focus on subjective rationalism in order to focus on subjective experience rather than attempts to create experience rather than attempts to create an objective science. an objective science.

Romantic Chronology

Victorian Era

SummarySummary

The speaker tells us that he met a The speaker tells us that he met a traveler who told him about: traveler who told him about:

a sculpture in Sahara desert. a sculpture in Sahara desert. the story of the pharaoh made into that the story of the pharaoh made into that

sculpture; his arrogance and ambition.sculpture; his arrogance and ambition. in what does way the pharaoh’s ambitions in what does way the pharaoh’s ambitions

eventually falleventually fall

Setting & ThemeSetting & ThemeSettingSettingEgypt and the Egypt and the

Sahara desertSahara desertThemeTheme the arrogance and the arrogance and

transience of powertransience of power the permanence of the permanence of

real art and emotional real art and emotional truthtruth

the relationship the relationship between artist and between artist and subjectsubject

Resource:Resource:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandiasen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias

StructureStructure 22 Italian sonnetItalian sonnet rhyme:rhyme:interlinks the octave with the sestet, by interlinks the octave with the sestet, by

gradually replacing old rhymes with new ones in the gradually replacing old rhymes with new ones in the form ABABACDCEDEFEF.form ABABACDCEDEFEF.

sound:sound:metered in iambic pentametermetered in iambic pentameter the poem can be divided into two partsthe poem can be divided into two parts OctaveOctave(the first 8 lines)—describes the fragments of (the first 8 lines)—describes the fragments of

a sculpture the traveler sees on an ancient ruin a sculpture the traveler sees on an ancient ruin SestetSestet(the next 6 lines)--goes further to record the (the next 6 lines)--goes further to record the

words on the pedestal and then describe the words on the pedestal and then describe the surrounding emptiness. surrounding emptiness.

Resources:Resources:www.sparknotes.com/poetry/shelley/section2.rhtmlwww.sparknotes.com/poetry/shelley/section2.rhtml

Technique--IronyTechnique--Irony The use of irony in this poemThe use of irony in this poem1.what Ozymadias said(1.what Ozymadias said("My name is Ozymandias, "My name is Ozymandias,

king of kings:Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"king of kings:Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!") ) and what is left behind him(and what is left behind him(Nothing beside Nothing beside

remains.remains.))"the mighty" should despair — "the mighty" should despair — not, as Ozymandias intended, because not, as Ozymandias intended, because they can never hope to equal his they can never hope to equal his achievements, but because they will share achievements, but because they will share his fate of inevitable oblivion in the sands his fate of inevitable oblivion in the sands of time. Besides, there is no any “mighty” of time. Besides, there is no any “mighty” around his statue now.around his statue now.


2.The survival of the pharaoh2.The survival of the pharaohnot because of his own not because of his own powers, but by the sculptor’s hand that made his powers, but by the sculptor’s hand that made his sculpture.sculpture.

3.The description of the desert—“boundless and 3.The description of the desert—“boundless and bare”bare”Although the sculpture is “vast and colossal,” Although the sculpture is “vast and colossal,” after being put into such a large space as the sahara after being put into such a large space as the sahara desert, it would be seen as a small thing by compare.desert, it would be seen as a small thing by compare.


The issue of ArtThe issue of Art The attitude toward Art expressed in this The attitude toward Art expressed in this

poem:poem:

The decay of the sculpture shows The decay of the sculpture shows that Ozymandias obviously loses his that Ozymandias obviously loses his power and is ignored.power and is ignored.

Artist and subject:Artist and subject:

Ozymandias’ passion survived by Ozymandias’ passion survived by the sculptor’s hand.the sculptor’s hand.

Ozymandias My Last Duchess

Attitude toward art

Art would fade but the spirit will survive

Art is everlasting

SpeakerThe speaker the traveler

the duke = the speaker

form sonnet dramatic monologue

Ozymandias vs. My Last Duchess

OzymandiasOzymandias backback

**octaveoctaveI met a traveler from an antique landI met a traveler from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneWho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frownHalf sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold commandwrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions readTell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet Which yet survivesurvive, stamped on these lifeless things,, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked themThe hand that mocked them and and the heart that fed.the heart that fed.

**sestetsestetAnd on the pedestal these words appear:And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, Look on my works, ye mighty,

and despair!"and despair!"

Nothing beside remains.Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, Of that colossal wreck,

boundless and bare,boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.The lone and level sands stretch far away.

back

backback

wrinkled lip and sneer of cold commandwrinkled lip and sneer of cold commandTell that its sculptor well those passions Tell that its sculptor well those passions

read--read-- the frown and "sneer of cold command" on the the frown and "sneer of cold command" on the

statue's face indicate that the sculptor statue's face indicate that the sculptor understood well the passions of the statue's understood well the passions of the statue's subject, a man who sneered with contempt for subject, a man who sneered with contempt for those weaker than himself, yet fed his people those weaker than himself, yet fed his people because of something in his heart("The hand because of something in his heart("The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed"). that mocked them and the heart that fed").


backback

survivesurvive——a transitive verb—line 6-8 mean that a transitive verb—line 6-8 mean that those passions (arrogance and sneer) have survived those passions (arrogance and sneer) have survived (outlived) both the sculptor (whose hand mocked (outlived) both the sculptor (whose hand mocked those passions by stamping them so well on the those passions by stamping them so well on the statue) and the pharaoh (whose heart fed those statue) and the pharaoh (whose heart fed those passions in the first place).passions in the first place).

mockedmocked—with double meaning:—with double meaning: ＊＊ to create/fashion an imitation of reality; to to create/fashion an imitation of reality; to

imitateimitate ＊＊ to ridiculeto ridicule (In Shelley's day, the latter meaning was (In Shelley's day, the latter meaning was

predominant; but in the specific context of "the predominant; but in the specific context of "the handhand that mock'd them", we can read both "the that mock'd them", we can read both "the hand that crafted them" and "the hand that ridiculed hand that crafted them" and "the hand that ridiculed them".)them".)


Conclusion Art captures parts of life, we can feel both

the beauty and flows of life through art works─ but art can not show the flows of life. (e.g. graphic art & sculpture frozen moment)

temporal art─ may have the ability to do so

Whose viewpoint of art do you agree more with? (Shelly vs. Keats)

Works Cited http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani

/cs6/ode.html

http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/Ode_On_A_Grecia.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/romantics/poems4.shtml*

http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=91* http://www.bbc.co.uk* http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/aestheti

cs/bldef_romanticism.htm?terms=cal*

Group1 Members

Elyse

Claire

Alice

Shannon

Rose

Diane

The End

Thanks for Your Listening

Bye Bye~

Documents

Poetry Life, Art & Beauty. Outline Intro.: Life, Art & Beauty P.B. Shelley: " Ozymandias" John Keats: " Ode on a Grecian Urn" Conclusion