Composition

When analysing a poem like “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, it is always a good idea to look at both outer composition (stanzas, verses, graphical expression) and inner composition (beginning, subdivision, course).

Outer composition

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a five stanza poem with ten lines in each stanza. The text falls into the category of odes, a poetry genre developed in ancient Greece.

Rhyme

Each stanza follows a rhyme pattern ABAB for the first four lines:

Here is an example of ABAB rhyme:

“Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:”
(ll. 1-4)

However, the last six lines in each stanza are jinglier, as the poet plays with variations of CED. Here are the patterns for these last six lines in each stanza:

  • Stanza 1: CEDECD
  • Stanza 2: CEDCDE
  • Stanza 3: CEDCED
  • Stanza 4: CEDCED
  • Stanza 5: CEDECD

Apart from this rhyme scheme, the poet also employs alliterations and assonance, the repetition of same letters and sounds. Some examples are: “leaf-fring'd legend” (l. 5), “pipes, play” (l. 12), “though thou” (l. 19).

Rhythm

The rhythm is iambic pentameter, meaning that each line has 10 syllables out o...

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