Class XII

Flamingo
Poem-4
A Thing of beauty
John Keats
Value points:
 A beautiful thing remains beautiful for ever. The joy it gives is the joy
forever.
 The beauty of a beautiful thing keeps increasing day by day. It never
fades away.
 The everlasting beautiful sight of beautiful things is stored in our
memory.
 A beautiful thing is like a cosy bower which ensures peace of mind, calm
and tranquillity, healthy surroundings and a quiet sleep.
 A sound sleep results in health of our body and mind, as it provides us
mental peace.
 New flowers bloom every morning. We love them. They charm us with
their beauty. They enrapture us.
 They help us to strengthen our bond with Earth. That is why the poet
feels that every morning we prepare a wreath of flowers that bind us to
Earth more strongly.
 Life is full of trials and tribulations, lost faith and disappointments. Good
people are very few. Difficulties, problems and hardships are there.
 But in spite of all this, some wonderful sights of nature help us to shed
sad and grim thoughts. They remove the veil of gloom, bringing about
hope and optimism in our lives.
 Among the beautiful things are the sun, the moon and stars, old and
young trees, green meadows for the sheep to graze in. There are clear
streams of water which sprout grassy covers on the sides to keep
themselves cool. There are thickets amidst the forest where the musk
roses grow.
 Great beauty and splendour we find in the descriptions of the great
people in the ancient past. They are no more but their lovely stories are
alive and fresh even today.
 All beautiful things are like an endless fountain from the heavens, sent
by God, so that mankind may enjoy these precious gifts.
 This ceaseless flow of heavenly beauty is poured into our souls and
gladdens us day and night.
Poetic Devices:
 Alliteration: ‘Sleep sweet’; ‘Band Bind’; ‘Noble nature’; ‘some shape’;
‘sprouting shady’; ‘simple sheep’, ‘cooling covert’ and ‘have heard’
 Metaphor: ‘bower quiet’: calmness of the bower is compared to the
calming effect of a beautiful thing; ‘wreathing a flowery band’: the
beautiful things of our life bind us to the earth; ‘immortal drinks’:
beautiful objects of nature are forever like a never-ending portion of
a drink.
 Anaphora: ‘Of noble natures…’ and ‘Of all the unhealthy…’
 Imagery: ‘A flowery band to bind us’: creating a sensory effect of
beautiful things lined up in a string; ‘Sprouting shady boon’: Trees
giving shade; ‘Daffodils with the green world they live in’: Growing
process of daffodils; ‘Clear rills’: clean river streams; ‘Sprinkling of fair
musk rose blooms’: bushes full of musk roses; ‘Grandeur—mighty
dead’: books describing valour of fighters and ‘Pouring from the
heaven’s brink’: God is providing us with the best things.
 Inversion: ‘Are we wreathing a flowery band’
 Antithesis: ‘Old and young’
 Rhyme scheme: aabb (forever, never, keep, sleep…)