A Thing of Beauty.pdf

A presentation on the poem 'A Thing of Beauty', written by John Keats. It highlights the main themes and poetic devices used in the poem.

1. A Thing of Beauty
John Keats

2. John Keats
(1795 -1821)
John Keats was born in London on 31
October 1795
He published only fifty-four poems
Important poems -
▪Ode on a Grecian Urn (1819)
▪La Belle Dame Sans Merci (1819)
▪Ode to a Nightingale (1819)
▪To Autumn (1819)
Jude Joseph, PGT English KVS

3. Introduction
❖A Thing of Beauty by John Keats, taken from
a larger poem, 'Endymion: A Poetic
Romance,’
❖Endymionis an epic poem in English.
❖This poem is based on the Greek mythology
of Endymion, the shepherd beloved by the
moon goddess Selene.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

4. Who was Endymion?
This poem was inspired by the Greek myth of
Endymion who was a shepherdand was granted
immortality. His father, Zeus, offered Endymion
anything under the sun, and he chose to be
immortalized in his youth, and sleep eternally.
The moon goddess Selene loved him and visited
him every night.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

5. Introduction
The poem is written in the Romantic
style of writing.
'A Thing of Beauty' romanticizes
beauty as something that has the
ability to transform lives.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

6. Romanticism
❖Romanticizing is about investing objects
withlarger-than-lifeattributes
❖It is about extolling the virtues of an
object
❖It could be any object-
➢the poet's beloved,
➢nature,
➢beauty (in the case of this extract)
➢anything that has impacted the mind
of the poet.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

7. Thecentralidea
❖Anybeautifulthinggivesunendingpleasure
❖Abeautifulthingishappinessforever.
❖Whatever happens,wecannothateareally
beautifulthing.
❖Evenwhenitfades,decaysordies,welovesuch
thingswithoutanyconditions.Itwillneverbe
elapsedevenafteritsdeath
❖Whenweliveenclosedbybeautifulpeople,
placesandthings,ourmindswillberefreshed
andwillhavesweetdreamswhilesleeping.
❖Asafurtherresultwewillhavegoodhealth
andquietbreathing.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

8. ThemeofthePoem
❖Keats’sfirmbeliefinthenon-destructionof
beauty
❖Beautyinallitsforms-
➔EarthlybeautyandSpiritualbeauty.
❖Thetransformational, therapeuticand
spiritualimpactofbeautyonourlives.
❖Theobjectsofbeautyareresistanttothe
perishabilityoftime,andindeedof
mortality.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

9. Themes
1.Things of beauty have an embalming effect.
2.They help us cope with negativity.
3.They make life more meaningful.
4.God has blessed us with objects of beauty.
5.We need to bond with them.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

10. Poet’s Message
Beauty has the ability to transform lives, it can
dispel negativism and dark thoughts.
Beauty can also remove the sting from grief, it can
help one survive even when there is a ‘dearth of
noble natures’ or when one is surrounded by hostile
and malicious people.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

11. Beauty has a positive impact on
one’s health
-It can help steady the breathing
-It can give one a sound sleep.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

12. Things of Beauty
John Keats suggests that beauty can be found everywhere in life
the poet draws a list of beautiful things which include:
sun
moon
daffodils
musk rose blooms
Simple sheep trees
Clear rills
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

13. List of things of beauty
1.Sun, moon, deep forests
2.Sheep grazing in open pastures
3.Daffodils, rivulets, musk roses
4.Tombs built to honour heroes.
5.Legends, tales from classics and scriptures
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

14. Daffodils
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

15. Musk Rose Rill
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

16. Sheep
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

17. Qualities of a thing of beauty
1.Gives everlasting joy.
2.Ageless.
3.Never goes waste
4.Shelters and protects like a bower.
5.Relaxes, comforts, invigorates us.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

18. Things that cause pain
1.Ill health, gloomy days, depression
2.Lack of goodness in human beings
3.In sad moments things of beauty come to
our rescue, remove the gloom from our lives.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

19. Conclusion
★Thepoemconcludesbysayingthatbeautifulthings
arefigurativelyanendlesssourceofnectarthat
poursdowntousfromheavenbringingeternaljoy
forthesoul’sgrandeur.
★Theyarelikeamedicineoflife,aneverdiminishing
sourceofpleasureanddelight,aboundlesssource
ofjoythatseemstobeapreciousgiftfromHeaven.
★Abeautifulthingwillgivejoythroughoutone’s
lifetime.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

20. Metaphorsused in the poem
●bower-a calm, pleasant shade
●sweet dreams-happy dreams
●flowery band-to bind us to earth
●pall-a cloth covering/a cloud of dust, smoke
●endless fountain of immortal drink-a shower of
blessings of good health
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

21. ●A flowery bandto bindus to the earth,
●Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
●Some shapeof beauty moves away the pall.
●From our dark spirits. Suchthe sun, the moon,
●Trees old and young, sproutinga shadyboon
●For simple sheep; and suchare daffodils
●Thatfor themselvesa cooling covertmake
●'Gainst thehot season; themid forest brake,
●Richwith a sprinkling of fair musk-roseblooms:
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS
Alliterationused in the poem

22. ●A flowery bandto bind us to the earth
●Some shape of beauty movesaway the pall
●From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
●Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
●With the green worldthey live in; and clear rills
●That for themselves a cooling covertmake
●Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms
●An endless fountainof immortal drink
●Pouring unto usfrom the heaven's brink
Imagery used in the poem
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

23. Other Poetic Devices used
Anaphora-It is the repetition of a word at the start of two or more
consecutive lines -
(Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways)
Antitheses-The poet has used two words opposite in meaning -
Trees old, and young.
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

24. Poetic Devices
Enjambment -The sentence is being continued to
the next line without break. It has been used
throughout the stanza.
Oxymoron -‘mighty dead’
Transferred epithet-‘gloomy days’ ‘unhealthy an
o’er darkened ways’
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

25. Poetic Devices -Symbolism & Inversion
Symbol
‘simple sheep’ —refers to mankind as Christ is
considered the shepherd who leads human souls
out of the dark world of sins and temptations
Inversion:normal order of words is reversed
( Are we wreathing a flowery band)
Jude Joseph, PGT English, KVS

26. Thank you