Ode on a Grecian Urn

In each stanza, the speaker attempts to engage with the urn. In the first stanza, they approach the urn reverently, as though awestruck by its form. The speaker sees it as pure, comparing it to a “still unravish’d bride of quietness” (Line 1), implying that because of this purity, the urn can tell the past’s stories better than any modern speaker or relic could. The speaker then describes the urn as a “Sylvan historian” (Line 3). The word “Sylvan” references an animal, person, or spirit that lives in a forest, and by using the word “Sylvan,” the speaker asserts that the urn is best fit to the tell the etchings’ tale. As a historian, the urn engages in story-telling, and the speaker, curious about the urn’s images, questions what legends the images depict and what their stories could be. After the awe diminishes, the speaker poses questions such as “What men of gods are these? What maidens loth?” (Line 8). The speaker also asks “What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?” (Line 9). These questions lay the foundation for the speaker’s initial engagement with the urn.

The speaker’s second attempt to engage with the urn continues in the second stanza as they fixate on the urn’s images of the young piper and the young piper’s lover.