"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
_____ _____ _____

The last two lines of "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by John Keats, are so much complex and difficult to understand that even after two centuries critics aren't unanimous about its meaning. Critics interpret these lines differently, but not a single interpretation iz reliable. I'm a great admirer of Keats and i want to know what could have been in Keats' mind while writing these two lines. I've gone through many resources to comprehend the meaning of theze lines but i am yet unsatisfied, so i put this question here on this discussion table and i'm hopeful that everyone will give here his own, personal interpretation, not googled one. Say whatever u understand by theze lines. I know that our opinionz may differ but still i am hopeful perhapz we might be able to understand the meaning of theze linez....

Keats is passionate lover of beauty...he had remained in his imagination and created poems.these poem have reflection of romanticism ....you know Keats had one dilemma or conflict that always battled in his mind.the dilemma of transiency of life and permanence of arts..so you can say he had to resolve this but able to do in his later ode, ode to autumn..the poem starts with imagination and had lamentation over the transiency of life..

1. "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"--that is all..

Beauty is truth, he worshiped beauty and had passing for it. according to him,.all the generation would die but beauty will remain.and that stands for the permanence of beauty( Beauty is truth, )and this is----truth beauty--means the immortality of beauty is truth

2.Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

it stands for the pvs generation,present as well as coming generation..means populace will change and beauty of that place will remain.all generation will admire this beauty....


me galat be hosakty hooo...but u said opinion to its my opinion
_____ _____ _

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Ure riGht in thnking so...and to tell u the truth my own opinion iz similar to urz save the last line which i interpret in another way other than how u have interpretd it......i appreciate ur thinking on this point.....n let's c what otherz wud say about it,,,,,but your point waz marvellous.

__________________
"To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life"........Sahir an Enigma.......

these lines are highly philosophical and last island will better explain it ..so call her...and these are my thoughts..in literature every thing can be true if you are able to prove it

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Throughout the Ode the poet was questioning the urn and urn was silent but in last two lines the urn doez speak and answerz the poet. Infact the urn informs him that he has been asking all the wrong questions in earlier stanzas.
The urn says to poet that art iz eternal unlike humanz n it z the only truth which poet knows and itz all he needs to know for Keats's art was eternal, and he died soon after writing this ode. So here through Urn Keats gives himself a hope of living eternal life through his art...so here in the last line is a prophecy that keats' art was eternal though he was in hz last stage. He should not lament over hz death for he know that his art is eternal...

__________________
"To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life"........Sahir an Enigma.......

i have pondered alot on these lines but i could not understand them. firstly, in my opinion we should understand the concept of beauty in accordance with keats' perception. at one side keats says
a thing of beauty is joy forever
but on the other hand he says
beauty that is not eternal..... line from meloncholy
i have contradiction in his concept of beauty as well.
please clear the idea of beauty as well

in that particular ode keats is not saying about beauty but about joy.and central idea of this ode is that when heart has tasted the sweetness of joy then it would have clear idea of melancholy. when a person is happy then the/she must confronts with beauty .you will find joy+ beauty combination formula in his poems/odes.in this particular ode, joy+beauty = melancholy.

secondly ,you will find totally different themes in each ode and maturity in his style.there is a shift from subjectivity toward objectivity in his odes.Keats perception of beauty is not as like word worth.he was neither like Lord Byron nor Shelly. according to him , .beauty is what that appeals to heart.so this appeal not only attract Keats /other poets but also generations.however each person has different perception

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahir Khan "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"--that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. _____ _____ _____ The last two lines of "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by John Keats, are so much complex and difficult to understand that even after two centuries critics aren't unanimous about its meaning. Critics interpret these lines differently, but not a single interpretation iz reliable. I'm a great admirer of Keats and i want to know what could have been in Keats' mind while writing these two lines. I've gone through many resources to comprehend the meaning of theze lines but i am yet unsatisfied, so i put this question here on this discussion table and i'm hopeful that everyone will give here his own, personal interpretation, not googled one. Say whatever u understand by theze lines. I know that our opinionz may differ but still i am hopeful perhapz we might be able to understand the meaning of theze linez....

I take it as;
Beauty is Truth(Reality)...Truth(Reality)Beauty.
The whole Ode is based upon "imagination" of Keats.He is personifying the engraved imagery.In last lines,he comes back to "reality" and declares "beauty is "Reality" not imagination.Though the real world seems full of miseries yet the "past slaughtering and other images" proved that "unreal" or "Imaginative" world is terrifying too.That's why poet all at a once accepts the beauty of reality or real world as it is less painful comparing to the past(regarding Greek life)So it is the voice of Keats' heart;
beauty is not in imaginative imagery but beauty is in real world.

Well...It is one of my favourite lines and also written in my profile.I personally take it as;

"khoobsoorti sachaai hai...aur sachaai khoobsoorti"(not in sense of reality but as "Truthfulness"
meray nazdeek physical beauty be'kaar hai ager "truth" nae hai..insan sacha nae hai.Mukhlis nae hai..
That's all.

__________________
Love is my Shield,Truth is my Sword,Brain is my Crown,Smile is my Treasure and I'm a Queen;
Quitters never win and Winners never quit..!!!

Az per my own opinion for keats beauty was not merely truthfulness, he z speaking here of artistic beauty. As he was appreciating the Grecian Urn, he could not have abruptly changed from objectivity to subjectivity to give us a moral lesson in last line. Perhapz he might have been speaking about Artistic beauty when he uses word "BEAUTY" and Eternity of art when he uses the symbol "TRUTH"...so in this line keats might have been defending art's permanence throughout ages....

__________________
"To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life"........Sahir an Enigma.......

Ure aptly right when u say that physical beauty doezn't matter much if one z not true to himself/herself and others...

__________________
"To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life"........Sahir an Enigma.......