The Summary of A Thing of Beauty

A Thing of Beauty
By John Keats
A note on the author- John Keats was an English Romantic poet. His verse
is known for its vivid imagery and great sensuous appeal. He died young and his
reputation grew after his early death. He was trained to be a surgeon but he
devoted himself wholly to poetry. He was greatly admired in the Victorian Age.
Introduction- The poem A Thing of Beauty is an excerpt from Keats poem Endymion: A
poetic Romance.
The poem is based on a Greek legend, where a beautiful young
shepherd and poet, Endymion, who lived in Mount Latmos had a vision of Cynthia,
the Moon Goddess.He fell in love with her and was so determined to find her that he
journeyed through the forest and down under the sea. The poem praises nature and
beauty. For Keats beauty was to be understood and felt in the bounties of nature. He
was a worshiper of Beauty and Beauty was Truth and Truth was Beauty. According to
the poet beauty never fades away or gets devalued, it remains forever new, and
fascinating.
Summary of the poem:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever……….earth ( lines 1-7)
The poem opens with the famous line , a well known proverb that says ‘ a thing of
beauty is a joy forever’ It is a source of everlasting joy. It gives us permanent joy or
happiness. It grows beautiful with each passing day. Since beauty is eternal , it will never fade
away but
become more beautiful and fascinating with the passage of time.The pleasures
derived from the beautiful objects will never end. This effect of beauty will create
peace for us , make us stress free and a ‘quiet bower’ Bower is a pleasant shade.
Just like a bower these objects of beauty will protect us from the chaos of the
world.Therefore when our mind is relaxed and calm, peace and tranquil, we will enjoy
a good sound sleep full of sweet dreams and in turn good health. It is said A sound
mind leads to sound health.
Therefore in order to obtain the pleasures from nature we try to bind ourselves to
Nature and Earth. Flowery band is used as a metaphor to describe our sweet
relationship with nature. ‘Wreath’ means a garland of flowers. So every morning the
poet says we find out ways to keep contact with nature like making a garland of
flowers to make ourselves happy and peaceful.
Spite of despondency……...our dark spirits (lines 8-13)

The poet states that the world is full of suffering and pain. Man makes his life
miserable because of his actions. There is also a lack of noble people. The
disappointments and trials influence our life and make our days sad and
depressing.
There is a severe dearth (lack) of noble qualities. There is evil and darkness in this
corrupt world. The ‘pall’ is a gloomy covering ie a sadness, a result of one’s own
actions. But then amidst the sadness a beautiful object has the capacity of taking us
away from our misery. A thing of beauty work wonders for man and removes the
cover of gloom from his dampened spirits. The things of beauty come and remove
the unhappiness making the world a worthy place to live in. Man strives to find a way
out of the gloom by seeing beauty in one form or the other. Nature provides us with
hope and motivation and remove the pall of despondence from our spirits and give us
inspiration to continue the journey of life.
Such the sun ,..........rose blooms ( lines 13-19)
John Keats being a romantic poet , create images that soothe our senses. He goes
on to give examples of the objects of beauty that God has created for us. These are
the sun, moon, young and old trees which offer shade to the simple sheep ( the
divine animal….related to Christ’s birth) . The beautiful blooming flowers like the
daffodils (mostly golden in colour) growing in the meadows make a contrast to the
green world. The clear water of the rills ( streams) give a cooling and pleasant effect
against the hot summer days. Covert means a shelter to the hot season in the poem.
The green thickets or the dense bushes or ferns ( mid forest brake) in the woods are
filled with a scattering of wild roses with the smell of musk. The poet says beauty can
be found everywhere.
And such too is the grandeur………..the heaven’s brink. ( lines 20-24)
The poet also goes on to speak about the’ mighty dead’ who are those great men or
warriors who laid down their lives for noble deeds and fought valiant battles and
glorified death by embracing it magnificently and gracefully. ‘ Grandeur of the dooms’
refers to the tragedy of those heroes who showed bravery in the battlefield and were
doomed (ruined or died) but their magnificent and grand lives are immortalised
through the grand tombs and memorials erected in their honour. He also refers to the
beautiful stories of the great men that we have either heard or read. These stories
inspire us and fill us with great courage.These stories are beautiful because they
leave a lasting impression on us and make us happy. Beauty is a permanent source
of inspiration and it is compared by the poet to an endless fountain of nectar that
pours on us forever. This eternal joy comes from heaven and it is like an elixir of life.

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A Thing of Beauty

The poem is based on a Greek legend, where a beautiful young

Summary of the poem:

beauty is a joy forever’ It is a source of everlasting joy. It gives us permanent joy or

mind leads to sound health.

flowers to make ourselves happy and peaceful.

Spite of despondency……...our dark spirits (lines 8-13)

inspiration to continue the journey of life.

Such the sun ,..........rose blooms ( lines 13-19)

And such too is the grandeur………..the heaven’s brink. ( lines 20-24)

glorified death by embracing it magnificently and gracefully. ‘ Grandeur of the dooms’

leave a lasting impression on us and make us happy. Beauty is a permanent source

of inspiration and it is compared by the poet to an endless fountain of nectar that

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