Ode on a Grecian Urn

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Ode on a grecian urn is a poem by John Keats that uses many sound devices to help drive the point of his poem. A few examples of alliteration are "Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express" which when in reference to the urn shows us that this object is timeless and still. As he continues with this thought "A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme" it really ties together that this urn, although silent and still, will share a story greater than any poetry. Another example of this is "Of marble men and maidens overwrought" which is in the last stanza of the poem. It portrays that the images on the urn lack warmth and feel cold, which he later refers to as "Cold Pastoral!" Again, "Thou foster-child of silence and slow time" is a use of assonance, and again just adds to the descriptive nature of the urn. "Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss" is another example of assonance. It describes a scene in which the bold lover is wanting to kiss the woman, but because this is a painting he never will be able too, frozen in that moment forever. This is also a great example of repetition of the word never. It is used deliberately as this is something the man will never be able to do and the emphasis on the word truly gives the reader a sense of hopelessness for the art. Stanza three is full of repetition, the words "happy" and "for ever" are used in this stanza to demonstrate how blissful art actually can be. Using these words to describe a peaceful feeling when gazing upon the art. A place void of sadness and despair. Lastly with repetition is the last sentence of the poem, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." This last recurrence of the word truth depicts that truth and beauty coexist in this world the author has created. An example of consonance would be "Pipe to the
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