Imagery Used in Keats' Poems

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Imagery Used in Keats' Poems

Strong imagery is the basis of structure in many poems. Literal and

metaphorical imagery words aid the reader with interpreting the main

ideal of the poem. Ode to a Grecian Urn, Ode to a Nightingale and On

First Looking into Chapman’s Homer are three of John Keats’ poems

which contain this descriptive imagery to give structure and meaning.

Keats makes the decorative language as the medium for the passion that

he holds for his subject.

Ode to a Grecian Urn is a poem in which Keats makes

imagery explain the physical aspects of an urn as well as the message

behind its appearance. When explaining the physical attributes of the

urn Keats describes its beauty by comparing the urn to places such

as“…Temp” and “…the dales of Arcady” in line seven. Imagery such as

lines nineteen and twenty state “She cannot fade, through thou hast

not thy bliss, / For ever wilt though love, and she be fair”. These

lines colorfully relay the message that the urn is infinite and the

image of life that is presented on it will never commence. This urn is

presented...

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