THING OF BEAUTY

JOHN KEATS
  A Thing of Beauty is a poem written by the famous
romantic poet, John Keats. The poem tells about how
nature and its wonder mesmerize us and take away all the
ABOUT sorrow that surrounds us from time to time. The following
explanation might aid you in understanding this
exceptional piece of work in poetry.
  Today the word ‘romantic’ evokes images of love and sentimentality, but the term
‘Romanticism’ has a much wider meaning. It covers a range of developments in
art, literature, music and philosophy, spanning the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. The ‘Romantics’ would not have used the term themselves: the label
was applied retrospectively, from around the middle of the 19th century.
  ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.’ During the Romantic period
major transitions took place in society, as dissatisfied intellectuals and artists
ROMANTIC challenged the Establishment.

POETS/ROMANTI  In England, the Romantic poets were at the very heart of this movement. They
were inspired by a desire for liberty, and they denounced the exploitation of the
C PERIOD poor. There was an emphasis on the importance of the individual; a conviction
that people should follow ideals rather than imposed conventions and rules.
 The Romantics renounced the rationalism and order associated with the preceding
Enlightenment era, stressing the importance of expressing authentic personal
feelings. They had a real sense of responsibility to their fellow men: they felt it
was their duty to use their poetry to inform and inspire others, and to change
society.
  William Blake – The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
 William Wordsworth – The Prelude
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge – 
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
ROMANTIC  George Gordon, Lord Byron – Don Juan, "
POETS Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
 Percy Bysshe Shelley – Prometheus Unbound, "Adonaïs",
"Ode to the West Wind", "Ozymandias"
 John Keats – Great Odes, "Hyperion", "Endymion"
  1. A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never

STANZA-1 Pass into nothingness; but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
  Describe the kind of joy a beautiful thing provides.

PROBES:  Explain, ‘its loveliness increases’.

STANZA 1  Why does a thing of beauty not pass into ‘nothingness’?

 How can we get refreshed amidst beauty?
 The poem begins with the famous line A thing of beauty is a
joy forever meaning that a beautiful thing always gives joy to
humans. It will never Pass into nothingness i.e. its beauty
will never die, instead of its loveliness increases. 
The poet then compares the thing of beauty with a number of
other things to describe how much important it is for us.
According to him, it is a bower quiet for us i.e. it is like the
EXPLANATIO peaceful shade of plants for us.
It is a sleep full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet
N: STANZA 1 breathing. By comparing the thing of beauty by all these
things he wants to prove that it has a significant role to play in
the life of human beings.

Very simply put, yet poetic, Keats describes a thing of beauty as

emanating joy forever. Its beauty only increases and it will never
cease. The benefits proffered by a thing of beauty are listed as
giving sound rest with good dreams and well-being.
  Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days
STANZA 2 Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: … yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
  ‘wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth’.

PROBES:  Why is there an ‘inhuman dearth of noble natures’?

STANZA 2   What are ‘unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways’?

  Explain, ‘spite of despondence’.
  In the next stanza, the poet says that as the thing of beauty is
fundamentally important to us, every morning, we collect
the flower-like charm of the beautiful things and make a band of
it that gives us joy.

 The earth minus the beautiful things is a despondent, spiteful

place thriving in callous insensitive dearth and is harsh toward

EXPLANATIO human beings. Every day human beings face gloomy days packed
with unhealthy spite and darkness. However, in spite of all, a
N: STANZA 2 thing of beauty helps remove the dark cloud that burdens our
souls. Hence, the poet says that we – human beings – each day
create an ornate band, made of all the lovely things we see. This
band keeps us bound to the despondent earth – as we would
otherwise be hopeless.
  Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
STANZA : 3 And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead; All lovely tales that we
have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.
  What images of beauty has the poet referred to?
 How is ‘tree’ a perfect example of a beautiful thing?
 What does ‘simple sheep’ symbolise?
 Explain, ‘the green world they live in’.

PROBES:  What does Keats mean by ‘an endless fountain of immortal

drink’?
STANZA 3   Explain, ‘pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink’.
 Which poetic device is used in the 2nd line of the extract?
 Which lovely tales does the poet speak of?
  This closing paragraph simply tells us some of the beautiful
things on Earth. After all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder –
Everyone can highlight something beautiful in anything. The
examples cited by the poet are as such: the sun, the moon, trees,
flowers, streams, musk-rose blooms, architectural sepulchers,
even fairy tales or heroic legends. The ‘simple sheep’ are human
beings – the poet sympathizes with the innocence of human
beings. Keats sees the beauty in innocent humans seeking solace
in nature, and Mother Nature in its own way sprouts a shady
abode of relief and consolation. The expression ‘Lily of the valley’
EXPLANATIO is quite well known and rouses images of a delicate lone white
flower holding up its head amidst a setting of thorns and barbs
N: STANZA 3 and everything contrary in nature to delicateness – so too are the
daffodils mentioned in the poem.

 The poet also sees beauty in the death of martyrs and

legends. ‘The mighty dead’ are those martyrs who have died
bravely for a cause. We honor them by erecting magnificent,
grand sepulchers in which beauty is seen. If one looks around,
there are innumerable beautiful things to notice – they seem to
flow immortally as a fountain, from the gods above to help the
pitiable human beings to cope with the harshness of life.