4 Thing o Beauty () : ‘Textbook for Class XIt (Core Course)‘A Thing of Beauty (Endymion) SS This Poem is the first part of a long narrative poem titled Endymion Published in 1818 ‘Aflowery bani bind us tothe ert, Spe of despondence, ofthe inhuman dear Cfnoble natures of gloomy days, (falltheunheathy and oer dark’ ways area nes nieee a John Keats belongs to the Romantic ‘Some shape ofbeaury moves away the pall pester eee arr school of English poetry. ote ron wet ty ean rts The most salient feature of this era is Minas et Msn the glorification of NATURE fennel paca itapearta a Pease de moeion aoe and Celebration of natural Beauty Werere maior he mht ec Rage ata talent! John Keatsie \ Keats says thatthe value of a beautiful thing never wanes or fades and it never becomes worthless as it raises a human heart from low spirit to great happiness ] weThe greatness of this poem is; it puts forward a new thought: Any beautiful thing exists with a purpose The poem says that beautiful things around us make our life pleasant And they make us love our lives in spite of many troubles and pains we face in life. In a nut shell, beautiful things make this actually bleak world, a worthy place for us to live in.Benefits of a beautiful thing in our life Bower - A shady, leafy shelter “A thing of beauty is a joy forever Its loveliness increases, but will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”Benefits of a beautiful thing in our life “A sleep full of sweet dreams health and quiet breathing”There fore on every day we look at an array of beautiful things and appreciate them , so that we love our life in spite of hardships and troubles “Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing A flowery band to bind us to the earth,”Poet lists out certain things which make man unhappy and miserable in his life. / * Spite of despondence eee Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways Par Made for our searching:” 7 Various disappointments : that make us dejected in lifePoet lists out certain things which make man unhappy and miserable in his life. “of the inhuman dearth | of noble natures,” Cy Absence of values and noble nature in others around us Dearth — absence Noble natures - virtues, good values| Poet lists out certain things which make man unhappy and miserable in his life. of the gloomy days When one is gloomy and desperate due to known or UNKNOWN FEASONS ooo coc con -osssse1s =Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways Made for our searching: ag All the illegal or unethical practices We adopt for our success in life as well as the difficulties and troubles we come across in our lifeyes, in spite of all, ‘Some shape of beauty , moves away the pall From our dark spirits. Pall — , something APr that covers or aii ¢ surrounds SLLPoet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his miseries in life and make him cling on to life. “Such the sun, the moon”Poet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his | miseries in life and make him cling on to life. ees “Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon For simple sheep;” Shady boon — cool covert by trees which is a blessing“and such are daffodils With the green world ) they live in” The yellow flowers contrasting the green fields where they grow and break the monotony of the same colour — green.Poet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his miseries in life and make him cling on to life. “and clear rills That for themselves a Rill — small cooling covert stream, spring Cee ® make covered over | ‘Gainst the hot / season;” (Poet says, a small stream grows bushes and shrubs on its both banks to keep itself cool against the hot sun yPoet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his miseries in life and make him cling on to life. “the mid “ Normally, the brakes or forest brake, ferns do not bloom. Rich witha So when musk rose pire sprinkling of blossoms among them; . et 7 fair musk- \_ itis a pleasant contrast e \ rose blooms;’ =Poet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his miseries in life and make him cling on to life. An imagery, taken from Greek Mythology. Ancient Greeks believed that their virtuous heroes travel to a beautiful island beyond and live there an eternal life blissfully. This island was known as Elysium This concept made the Greeks of classical times console themselves when they lose a great hero of their \ times Ps x “And such too is the grandeur of the dooms We have imagined for the mighty dead; “When a great hero passes away people feel orphaned and depressed. In order to cheer their spirits up they imagined that those heroes are actually not dead, but they are living happily in a beautiful island , beyond “And such too is the grandeur of the dooms We have imagined for the mighty dead; “Poet lists out some of the beautiful things that make man forget his miseries in life and make him cling on to life. ( yy i “All lovely Aa) tales that aL we have = heard or F) . aa read;” wy \ 2 | Stories , old and new, make all happy as they fill our hearts with pure imagination and great values and feelings and give us the necessary relief from the everyday monotonous routine and enrich usPoet compares all those listed beautiful things to the immortal drink, elixir - that flows from the brinks of Heaven to earth = “An endless fountain of immortal drink, Pouring unto us from the heaven’s | brink.”Poet compares the beautiful things to the Immortal drink — Elixir-- which is believed to have the property of making one immortal Beautiful things are like \ heavenly fountain of Elixir that over flows from the brinks of heaven. Aclear indication that The Almighty wants man to enjoy the beauty of the world and love his life. It’s a divine plan to make x man happy. \ x Just like Elixir the divine drink makes Gods immortal , the beautiful things around us make us love our life and we cling on to life on earth.{ Thus poet makes his point clear by using a ) pati device, a levice,a Metaphor __ ee \ Poet says reser tat! | beautiful things on Earth are actually an overflowing fountain from Heaven J\ An implied comparison, without using ‘as’ or ‘like’ Itisa . Metaphor \ spirit to lofty levels These two lines make al physical and materialistic beauty transcend into divine or Spiritual. Thus a short living object like a flower also becomes; a joy for ever as it originates from heaven and fulfills its purpose of raising human |(“An endless fountain of immortal drink, \ Pouring unto us_from the heaven’s brink.” | These lines explain the theme of the poem: Beautiful things around us are not accidental. They are all reaching us due to a divine plan ie keeping man happy in spite of all the difficulties _ failures and losses he suffers in his life / Beautiful things as Keats lists out Perform this noble mission of cheering up human spirit when ever he is despondent and desperate cf Beautiful things alone > make this otherwise harsh and difficult life bearable and even pleasant for mankind. Without them, the world would have been bleak and harsh So, a thing of beauty is a joy for ever