FLAMINGO

POEM-4 A THING OF BEAUTY

BY JOHN KEATS

ABOUT THE POET

John Keats was born in London in the year 1795 and died in Rome in 1821 at the young age
of 26 due to illness. He is a romantic poet and his poetry is characterized by sensual imagery
in his most popular work which is a series of odes. Today, his poems are one of the most
sought-after creations in English literature. ‘A Thing of Beauty’ is an excerpt from his poem,
Endymion : A poetic Romance-(1818), considered to be an epic poem.

THEME OF THE POEM

Keats, in this poem, glorifies beauty as he talks about how a thing of beauty is an eternal
source of joy for everyone. There is beauty all around us, be it in the beautiful objects in
nature or in the memories of the mighty heroes who laid down their lives to make our lives
better.

If we delve deep into the words of the poet, we realize how insightful the poem is. Beauty is
all around us- literature, music, company of good people, good experiences in life, memories
of great men or our dear ones, beautiful places , structures and nature- the most abundant
source of beauty- everything serves to bring us happiness and peace of mind, thus keeping us
healthy and in good spirits.

So, being able to appreciate beauty is the best way to health and well being and hence, we all
must develop an eye to capture beauty around us, manifesting itself in endless forms.

DETAILED PARAPHRASE OF THE POEM

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep Metaphor
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health,
and quiet breathing. "
The poem begins with the poet stating that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. Anything that is
truly beautiful never loses its charm ( never pass into nothingness) and its beauty only
increases with each passing day, as true beauty never fades away with time. The poet
compares the joy and solace provided by a beautiful object to the soothing shade provided by
a tree to a tired traveller (Metaphor-will keep a bower quiet for us). A day spent in the
company of beautiful objects fills us with so much happiness that it gives us a sound sleep
full of sweet dreams and regulates our breath, helping us to wake up with good physical
health and a cheerful mood.

" Therefore , on every morrow, are we wreathing Alliteration

A flowery band to bind us to the earth, Alliteration & Metaphor
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth Alliteration
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, Alliteration, Transferred Epithet
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."
Things of beauty have an everlasting impact on us. It is for this reason (therefore) that the
following day ( morrow), we collect pleasant memories of our existence, string them
together ( Metaphor- wreathing a garland of flowers) and these things keep us connected
to the earth.

Apart from bad physical health, another thing that can make a man unhappy is the
frustration and heartbreak caused by bad experiences in life. The poet says that in this world
there is a scarcity of people with noble qualities (inhuman dearth of noble natures) and
their cruelty and selfish behaviour make us low in spirits (despondence) .At other times, our
life gets engulfed by gloom (Transferred epithet- gloomy days, ‘gloom’, an attribute of
people , not of days) and the way ahead in life becomes dark due to our own bad habits, the
wrong ways that we have chosen in life or bad health (unhealthy and o'ver darkened ways,
made for our searching) and this becomes the reason for our stress. At such times, some
object of beauty can do wonders by removing the gloom from our spirits and rejuvenating us
once again. (moves the pall from our dark spirits)

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 Inversion, Alliteration
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
After having spoken about how a thing of beauty brings us physical and mental well being,
the poet goes on to define what he means by things of beauty. Keats says that everything
associated with nature is an eternal source of joy, like the sun, the moon, trees where sheep
graze, plants, flowers, the forest, green fields, (green world) the streams(rills), and the mid
forest bush(brake) growing musk rose blooms. In short, according to Keats, nature is the
greatest treasure house of beauty of all shapes and forms.

Nature teaches us great lessons too like the rills do. The rill is exposed to the sun's heat all
the day, but it does not get weighed down by the heat, rather the rill finds solace from the
heat of the sun by the cooling comfort of its own water.(inversion- clear rills that for
themselves a cooling covert make)Similarly, we may come across many hurdles in life,
caused by external sources, but instead of complaining about the same, we should derive
strength from within to overcome the problems.

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms Allusion to Doom's Day

We have imagined for the mighty dead; Oxymoron

All lovely tales that we have heard or read;

An endless fountain of immortal drink, Transferred Epithet

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink. Metaphor

Just like nature, another perennial source of joy is the splendour, magnificence and
immortality we associate with the memories of the brave heroes or the mighty
dead(Oxymoron- 2 words with contrasting ideas) for whom we have imagined a place of
eternity in heaven(grandeur of the dooms) and whose tales of heroism, we get to read or
hear in tales that have passed down from generation to generation.

The poet gives a reference to the doom’s day (Allusion) in this context. These memories
serve as an endless fountain of manna-the immortal drink (Transferred Epithet-
immortality attained by people through the drink-here, beauty ) pouring down from heaven
(Metaphor) , blessing us with happiness , health and longevity.

IMPORTANT WORDS & EXPRESSIONS:

 bower- a pleasant, shady place under trees

 morrow- the following day

 spite - ill -will.

 despondence - hopelessness.

 pall – Cloth spread on a coffin/ a dark cloud of gloom and sadness.

 sprouting - developing suddenly in large numbers

 rills - streams of running water

  dooms - last day of existence, doom's day ( We believe on the doom's day, when the
world will come to an end, the souls of the mighty heroes will find an eternal place in
heavenly abode.)

 heaven's brink- the door of God's home.

 Imagery in the poem- we are wreathing a flowery band to bind us, trees sprouting
shady boon, daffodils with the green world they live in, clear rills, sprinkling of fair
musk rose blooms- a visual treat through words.
 Rhyme Scheme- aa bb cc -Iambic Pentameter

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT QUESTIONS:

1. “Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits.

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”

a. What removes the pall from our dark spirits?

b. What makes our spirits dark?
c. How do ‘daffodils’ and ‘rills’ enrich the environment?
d. What do the rills teach us?

2. 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.
a. Name the poem and the poet of these lines.
b. Explain ‘the grandeur of the dooms’.
c. What is the thing of beauty mentioned in these lines’?
d. Explain ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’.
e. Mention the poetic device in ‘immortal drink’ and specify how.
f. Which sensory organs are stimulated by beauty, according to the line three of the
above extract?
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS(40-50 words):

1. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?

2. How does a thing of beauty provide us shelter and comfort?
3. How do we bind ourselves to the earth every morning?
4. What are the things that cause miseries, sorrows and sufferings to man?
5. What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed?
6. Name the bounties of nature that are constant source of joy and happiness to man?
7. Why and how is ‘grandeur ‘associated with the ‘mighty dead’?
8. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting
impression on us?
9. What is the source of the ‘endless fountain’ and what is its effect?
10. What is the poet trying to convey through the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
11. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
12. How do the musk-rose blooms make the mid forest brake rich?
13. Discuss the oxymoron in ‘mighty dead’.
14. Discuss the transferred epithet used in ‘gloomy days’.
15. How does the poet associate beauty with immortality?
16. A soul without joy is like a body without breath. How does the poet drive home this
idea by saying that a shape of beauty removes the pall from our dark spirits?
 Refer to the paraphrase for value points.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (120-150 words):

1. According to Keats, a thing of beauty is a joy forever. Do you agree with the
notion that beauty provides us eternal joy? What do you think beauty means in
the above context?
 Beauty does provide joy
 Not a reference to outer beauty that fades away with time.
 Real beauty lies within, in nature, in memories of the loved ones, in art and
literature
 Anything that gives joy is what beauty means in the real sense of the term
2. What is the message conveyed by the poet through the poem, ‘A Thing of
Beauty’?
 Beauty all around us, manifesting in million forms
 Lies in the eyes of the beholder
 Must develop an eyes and ears to capture beauty
 Be connected to nature
 Secret of happy life
3. Beauty has a lot of importance in people’s lives. Modern world is obsessed with
beauty and many a time this is the cause of dejection among people. Hence this
fact is in contradiction to Keats’s claim that beauty is eternal and it causes
eternal happiness. Comment.
 Modern world- focus on external beauty
 Fades away with time, leading to dejection
 Futile attempts to retain beauty through artificial ways
 Keats-refers to inner beauty, beauty in nature, in memories of the dead
 Beauty eternal; joy, perpetual