Flamingo - Poem 4 A Thing of Beauty - John Keats The poem, Glossary, Summary, Questions, and Answers Poem - A thing of beauty is a joy for...
Flamingo - Poem 4
A Thing of Beauty - John Keats
The poem, Glossary, Summary, Questions, and Answers
Poem -
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.
Glossary -
1. bower - a pleasant shady place under trees
2. morrow - the day after, the following day
3. breathing - cover, surround or encircle
4. despondence - a feeling of showing extreme discouragement or depression
5. dearth - a lack of something, not enough of something, absence
6. gloomy - dark in a way that makes you sad
7. sprouting - germinate
8. boon - blessing
9. daffodils - a tall yellow flower
10. rills - a small stream
11. covert - secret
12. musk-rose - a type of rose
13. blooms - flowering
14. grandeur - the quality of being large and impressive
15. dooms - a terrible or unhappy ending
16. brink - edge
17. brake - a thick mass of ferns
18. pall - to become less interesting, cover
19. bounty - reward, favour, endowment
Summary -
The poem," A Thing of Beauty" is written by a British Romantic Poet, John Keats. Although trained to be a surgeon, Keats decided to devote himself wholly to poetry. The poem is an excerpt from, "Endymion" and it has a rhyming scheme of aa, bb, cc.
In this poem, the poet highlighted the ability of beauty and how it is important to us. He has mentioned different forms of beauty such as flowers, the sun, the moon, forests, or even a simple sheep, but every beautiful form on the earth has the ability to transform our lives, can eradicate all the negativity and dark spirits, and offer sleep, dreams, health, hope, satisfaction, and peace of mind. The poet suggests that beauty is earthly as well as spiritual, therefore he mentioned beauty as, an " immortal drink". So he says that " A thing of beauty is a joy forever".
Think it out -
1. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.
Ans - The things of beauty mentioned in the poem are the flowers, the sun, the moon, trees, sheep, daffodils, musk roses, nature, water streams, forests, and noble deeds of our ancestors that we have heard or read, fountains.
2. List the things that cause suffering and pain?
Ans - The things that cause suffering and pain are discouragement, depression, disappointment, dearth, darkened ways, dark spirits, gloomy days, and ill health.
3. What does the line," Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth" suggest to us?
Ans - Every second day, we get connected to the beautiful things around us, even though we had faced a lot of suffering and pain, the previous day. We get inspired by the things of beauty around us, forget our pain, and move forward.
4. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and suffering?
Ans - The world is full of troubles and sufferings, but whenever we come across the beautiful things around us, we just forget our sorrow, get motivated, are filled with new hope, and move forward to do our best. Beautiful things never get faded, therefore the poet says," A thing of beauty is a joy forever".
5. Why is, "grandeur" associated with the mighty dead"?
Ans - Here in the poem, the word, "mighty dead" relates to the people with extraordinary skills and talent, but unfortunately they are no more in this world, they left their legacy of knowledge, wisdom, and information for us to guide and the word, "grandeur" meaning the quality of being large and impressive, so in this ways, the words are associated with each other.
6. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting impression on us?
Ans - Even though we experience things of beauty for short moments, it creates a lasting impression on us. Its impact never gets faded, rather it inspires us to move forward with new hope and vision, therefore the poet says," Some shape of beauty moves away the pall From our dark spirits". Beautiful things have got the ability to turn our despair into hope.
7. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
Ans - The poet uses the following lines to describe the endless beauty of the earth," An endless fountain of immortal drink pouring unto us from the heaven's brink". The poet says that the earth is continuously pouring numerous beautiful things from heaven unto us like flowers, the sun, the moon, and forests. These beautiful things are like immortal drinks and we get blessed with them.
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