On Seeing The Elgin Marbles Summary

The parthenon marbles greek.

On seeing the elgin marbles summary. What is keats saying about the worth of human artistry. They were originally part of the temple of the parthenon and other buildings on the acropolis of athens. In the poem the speaker grabbles with the idea of his own mortality and the many years and memories that no longer seem good enough. Elgin marbles collection of ancient greek sculptures and architectural details in the british museum london where they are now called the parthenon sculptures.

This sonnet attempts to convey the poet s complex attitude towards death couched in a reflection on the british museum s greek statues. Keats s speaker is lost within his thoughts and memories and they are not being remembered well. Explain how the poem conveys the idea that art can both move with its beauty and disturb by its tendency to remind us of our own mortality. Posted on september 20 2011 by impracticalcriticism.

Examples of great beauty and art also caused keats to ponder mortality as in on seeing the elgin marbles 1817. The end of a lover s embrace the images on an ancient urn the reaping of grain in autumn all of these are not only symbols of death but instances of it. On seeing the elgin marbles by john keats about this poet john keats was born in london on 31 october 1795 the eldest of thomas and frances jennings keats s four children. On seeing the elgin marbles.

John keats on seeing the elgin marbles. Upon seeing the elgin marbles keats is overcome by a sense of his own mortality. John keats 1795 1821. A combination of obscure and abstract images give the poem a lightness which belies its proposed interest.

Now the sculptures are in fragments and in london no longer a living part of religion but exhibits in a museum. γλυπτά του παρθενώνα also known as the elgin marbles ˈ ɛ l ɡ ɪ n are a collection of classical greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and sculptor phidias and his assistants. The marbles have immense beauty and grandeur but they used to be part of the frieze on the parthenon in athens. My spirit is too weak mortality weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep and each imagined pinnacle and steep of godlike hardship tells me i must die like a sick eagle looking at the sky.

The objects were removed from the parthenon at athens and from other ancient buildings and shipped to england by arrangement of thomas. Yet tis a gentle luxury to weep that i have not the cloudy winds to keep fresh for the opening of.