A Thing of Beauty

Poem-4

A Thing of Beauty

By John Keats

A Thing of Beauty Poem Introduction

'A Thing of Beauty' is an excerpt from John Keats' poem based on a Greek legend, 'Endymion: A Poetic Romance.' In this poem, John Keats, a romantic poet, discusses love, beauty, and youth. The poem, in fact, reflects his attitude toward beauty. The poet believes that beauty is impermanent and provides us with the same pleasure over and over. It brings us eternal happiness and never fades away. Beauty is very important in our lives because it helps us to stay happy and joyful in this sad, mundane world.

A Thing of Beauty Poem Summary

The following is a summary of the poem "A Thing of Beauty." 'A Thing of Beauty' is a poem taken from the famous poet John Keats' poem titled "Endymion – a poetic romance." According to the poet, a beautiful thing is a source of endless joy. It has an everlasting beauty that never fades. A beautiful thing is like a shady shelter that provides us with a restful night's sleep full of sweet dreams, good health, and relaxation. Our attachments to the physical world are like a flowery wreath. They are traps that keep us bound to materialistic things and away from eternal happiness. The world is full with hatred, greed, and negativity. The gloom and sadness caused by this negativity, according to the poet, fade away with the positive vibes of the beautiful things that surround us.

The poet enumerates some of the beautiful things that surround us. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," as the saying goes. He says that the natural beauties around us are the numerous creations of God, such as the Sun, which provides us with energy, the moon's beauty, and the trees, which provide us with shade. The various animals that surround us, such as sheep, add to the liveliness of our world. The beautiful flowers, such as daffodils, make the world green and lively. During the hot summer months, the flowing streams of water cool and refresh us. The forests full to the brim with the lovely musk rose flowers are a sight to behold. All of these are beautiful things. Also beautiful and inspiring are the stories of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives to protect their people. These lovely things are like a fountain of immortality bestowed by God upon us. They motivate us to keep going and believe in goodness.

A Thing of Beauty Poem Explanation

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never

Pass into nothingness, but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

• Bower: A shady place under the tree

According to the poet, beauty endures forever. It will never go away. Rather, it rises with the passage of time. The poet's perception of beauty is that it never fades with the passage of time, but rather beautifies more and more. Beauty, according to the poet, is like a lovely shady tree under which all the creatures can sleep peacefully and enjoy good health.

Literary devices:

rhyme scheme: aabbc (forever, never, keep, sleep, breathing)

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in series (Sleep-Sweet)

Metaphor: bower Quiet (calmness of the bower is compared to the calming effect of a beautiful thing)

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,

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.

• Morrow: The following day
• Wreathing: surround, encircle
• Despondence: depressed
• Gloomy: sad

Every day, the poet says, it is beauty that gives us the will to live. It is beauty that makes us want to live even when there are sad moments and cruel people around us. So the poet is saying here that without beauty, the world will be full of cruel people, sad and gloomy moments. It is God's created beauty that helps us to remove the sadness from our hearts.

Literary devices:

Anaphora: Use of same word in two consecutive lines (of noble natures- Of all the unhealthy)

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in series (‘b’ in Band Bind, ‘n’ in Noble nature, ‘s’ in some shape).

Metaphor: wreathing a flowery band (the beautiful things of our life bind us to the earth)

Imagery: creating a sensory effect of beautiful things lined up in a string ( A flowery band to bind us)

inversion: normal order of words is reversed ( Are we wreathing a flowery band)

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

• Boon: blessing
• Rills: a small stream
• Brake: a process to slow down

The poet describes the beautiful things that exist on Earth in this poem. The sun, moon, trees, flowers (daffodils), and rivers are all examples. According to the poet, all of these things are like a blessing bestowed by the earth on all creatures. He goes on to say that trees provide us with shade, flowers with beauty, and rivers with coolness during the hot summers. All of these are natural wonders that are a blessing to us.

Literary devices:

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in series (‘s’ in Sprouting Shady, Simple sheep, ‘c’ in cooling covert)

Imagery: Trees giving shade (sprouting shady boon), growing process of daffodils (daffodils with the green world they live in), Clean river streams (Clear rills)

Antithesis: opposite words placed together (old and young)

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

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

• Grandeur: high rank or socially important
• Mighty: enormous
• Immortal: never dying
• Brink: edge

The poet then goes on to describe some of the more beautiful things on Earth. Such as the beautiful musk roses, which have a lovely fragrance. Then he tells the stories of great warriors who gave their lives for their countries or for humanity. He says that these wonderful things are God's gifts to all of us. They are like a nectar given to us by God, and these are the beauties that are immortal and give us a reason to live on this earth despite our many sorrows.

Literary devices:

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in series (‘h’ in have heard)

Metaphor: Immortal drinks ( beautiful objects of nature are forever like a neverending portion of a drink)

Rhyme: Rhyme scheme is used in every stanza of the poem (forever; never, keep; sleep, dead; read etc.)

Imagery: Bushes full of musk roses (sprinkling of fair musk rose blooms), books describing valor of fighters (grandeur-..mighty dead), god providing us with best things (pouring from the heaven’s brink)

About the Poet

John Keats (October 31, 1795, London, England—February 23, 1821, Rome, Papal States [Italy]), English Romantic lyric poet who devoted his brief life to the perfection of a poetry marked by vivid imagery, great sensual appeal, and an attempt to express a philosophy through classical legend. John Keats was an English Romantic lyric poet known for his vivid imagery and strong sensual appeal. After his early death, his reputation grew, and he was widely admired during the Victorian era. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and the Pre-Raphaelites, among others, owe much to him.