Read the Passage From "on Seeing the Elgin Marbles." How Do the Passages' Themes Compare?

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"On Seeing the Elgin Marbles" Past, Present, and Future

One of the Elgin Marbles (British Museum)

What are the Elgin Marbles?

The Elgin Marbles, likewise known as the Parthenon Marbles, were Athenian sculptures taken from the Parthenon and brought to England in 1806 past Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin. Nearly of these sculptures are still found in the British Museum. As a result, the British and Greek governments have been arguing over truthful ownership of these classic pieces of Greek artwork. The British claim that Lord Elgin purchased these marbles legally and should remain where they are while Hellenic republic holds that they were indeed stolen and should be brought back home. Controversy over these beautiful, archetype sculptures has lasted for 200 years.

Groundwork to the Poem
Like millions of other people, John Keats institute himself along with his friend Haydon marveling at the foot of these ancient sculptures in 1817, a mere 11 years subsequently they were shipped to England from Athens, Greece. From the observer's perspective, Keats experienced an overwhelming sense of his own mortality and appreciation for the classical artwork. Before long after his visit to the British Museum, John Keats wrote the verse form "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles" to share his experiences.

"On Seeing the Elgin Marbles"
– John Keats

My spirit is too weak – bloodshed
Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep,
And each imagined pinnacle and steep
Of godlike hardship tells me I must dice
Like a sick hawkeye looking at the heaven.
Still 'tis a gentle luxury to weep
That I have non the cloudy winds to continue
Fresh for the opening of the morning's middle.
Such dim-conceived glories of the brain
Bring circular the heart an undescribable feud;
And then do these wonders a virtually dizzy pain,
That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude
Wasting of onetime time – with a bouncing master –
A sun – a shadow of a magnitude.

Analysis of the Poem
Very like to "On First looking into Chapman's Homer" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn," John Keats is inspired by marble statues and friezes taken from the Parthenon in Athens by Thomas Bruce, also known every bit Lord Elgin, and put in the British Museum. Upon seeing these ancient pieces of artwork, Keats reflects inward, judging upon his ain mortality in the first lines of the poem: "My spirit is too weak – mortality / Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep" (ln 1-2). These marbles hold in them an immortal tale of gods that has been passed downwards from generation to generation from ancient times. Keats is coming to understand that far after his life is done, these stories volition live on: "And each imagined pinnacle and steep / Of godlike hardship tells me I must dice / Similar a sick eagle looking at the sky." (ln 3-5). Again, Keats is reiterating his morality by comparison himself to a sick hawkeye in line 5. An eagle is a well known symbol of freedom and a sick eagle which cannot fly therefore does not have the ability to exist free. John Keats emphasizes the fact that his humanity constricts his liberty unlike the gods who are non jump past mortality. The only comfort or "luxury", equally Keats puts it in line vi, is the fact that he can feel sorrow for his state of affairs.

Another interesting observation to make is that these cute marbles are mortal themselves. Although these statues of "Grecian grandeur" (ln 12) remind Keats of his ain mortality, the reader realizes that these statues are fragile and subject to destruction like to the man. Much like other Romantic poets have pointed out, physical, earthly objects but give the states glimpses at bodily beauty and ability. This unobtainable beauty and power will forever live on, much like the gods themselves depicted on the Elgin Marbles, when Keats and even the marbles have long since disappeared.

Ironically enough, the controversy over the Elgin Marbles has connected well passed the expiry of John Keats in 1821. Like to the stories depicted on them, the marbles' ain story will forever exist immortal.

The Past: A History of the Elgin Marbles

The Parthenon: Temple of Athena

Parthenon Reconstructed (Joseph Küschner)

The Parthenon was congenital betwixt 447 and 438 BC in honor of the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena. The building and sculptures were made of marble from Mount Pendeli and was crafted past the Greek architects Ictinos and Callicrates. The Parthenon had what are known as pediments, or the triangle sections of the building, which depicted stories of the life of Athena. The east pediment depicted the nascency of Athena, equally she sprung from Zeus's caput. On the other manus, the west pediment told the story of the contest between Athena and Poseiden, Greek god of the sea, over who would be patron over the city. Each side as well portrayed different heroic stories of battles: the boxing betwixt the gods of Olympus and the giants (known equally Gigantomachy) on the east, Greeks battling the Amazons on the w, the fall of Troy on the due north, and the battles betwixt men and the centaurs (known as Centauromachy) on the s. Ninety-ane metopes or marble panels represented these battles. Many of these metopes were lost, destroyed, or badly preserved.

Marbles from the Due east Pediment (Andrew Dunn)

Amazingly, the Parthenon remained, on a whole, intact fifty-fifty through the Roman conquests, though many of its treasures including the massive statue of Athena herself were looted or defaced. It went through many changes, becoming the Roman Catholic Church of Notre Dame presently later on 1204 and a mosque during the Turkish occupation in 1456. However, in September of 1687, the Venetians laid siege to the city and the Parthenon was struck by a cannon blast. As a result, the edifice's roof exploded, columns were taken downwards, and many of the precious statues were laid to waste. To add insult to injury, the Venetian general Morosini fabricated a failed attempt to take the surviving sculptures from the westward pediment dorsum to Venice. The cables hoisting the sculptures down broke, causing them to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces. For years, the remaining sculptures would exist defaced by tourists who would leave carved letters in the walls or the noses from the statues as souvenirs.

Lord Elgin: Tragic Hero or Computing Thief?
Thomas Bruce was the Seventh Earl of Elgin. Born on July 20, 1766, he was a British nobleman who was well educated and at age 29 had the privilege in condign a lieutenant colonel in the British military. By 1798, Lord Elgin constitute himself in quite a predicament: broke, single, and in ill health. Desperate to turn his luck around, Lord Elgin asked to be sent to Constantinople, a function of the Ottoman Empire at the time, as an ambassador for the British government, which he got. Another positive modify to his life was his marriage to the wealthy heiress, Mary Nisbet of Earlton, soon afterward in 1799. Excited by the change, Lord Elgin fix off in the very same year to Constantinople with his new bride. His main concern was to protect British merchandise, but he also wanted to experience the classical compages of Hellenic republic also as a new climate, hopefully aiding his health. He brought on his journey artists to sketch and recreate the beautiful Grecian artwork. What he didn't await what controversy he would begin after his travels.

As the Turks waged war confronting the French, the British were seen equally friends and allies. For several years, Lord Elgin served as ambassador in Constantinople, watching over British interest in trade as it flourished and opened into the Black Sea. In time, the climate took its toll on Lord Elgin's torso. He contracted syphilis, asthma, and rheumatism as well equally a severe flesh eating disease, which left his face disfigured and fabricated his nose autumn off. This tragic plough of events fabricated him the barrel of brutal jokes in British society besides every bit unattractive to both his friends and his family, specially his young wife. Yet, he connected his mission as British ambassador up until 1803.

In 1801, soon later on the French's surrender in Cairo, the Ottoman government granted Lord Elgin permission through a firman, or a purple mandate, to enter the Parthenon and "have away anything of involvement." This prescript was delivered to the Viavode of Athens. Most excited past the events, Lord Elgin hired Greek laborers to assistance collect pieces of shattered statues. However, this seemed to exist not enough. Soon, Lord Elgin received permission from the Viavode to extract the Grecian metopes as well as other artwork and bring information technology to the British Consulate so they could be drawn. No i actually knows how this came to be. Some say that the Viavode was eager to please the Ottoman government's ally, the British. Others say that Lord Elgin bribed him. Nonetheless, the history of the Elgin Marbles began at this moment of time. Lord Elgin made the decision to load these precious statues onto boats and send them back to England. His reasoning was to protect their history as well as beautify and encourage the arts in his homeland. Is this sound reasoning or merely an excuse to rob Greece of their ancient architecture?

Taking a part the Parthenon (Giovanni Battista Lusieri)

Bad luck shortly revisited Lord Elgin as he fabricated his journey back to England. Outset, Lord Elgin could non get a boat large enough to take all the marbles at in one case. So, he opted for several smaller boats. His gunkhole, the HMS Mentor, had seventeen cases on board filled with the finest sections of the Parthenon and sank during a tempest in Kythera. Information technology would take 2 years to retrieve all the treasures from the bottom. To add to this, the French and the Turks became allies once again and France declared war on England in May of 1803. Lord Elgin was in France during this fourth dimension and was arrested because he was a British human being of military age. He was held every bit a prisoner of war for the adjacent iii years until he was released back to England in 1806. There, he found his wife with another homo and his precious marbles in ports all a crossed the coastline. Following his scandalous divorce, the British authorities refused to pay Lord Elgin back for his troubles of bringing the marbles to England and other expenses. Since he was out of coin, the merely place the marbles could go was in a shed in his backyard. They were finally bought by England in 1816 for 35,000 pounds and were placed in the British Museum. Lord Elgin passed away in 1841, much in debt and also very much misunderstood.

The Struggle Begins
E'er since the Parthenon Marbles were extracted from their original home and shipped overseas to England's shores, there has been controversy on who has rightful ownership: Greece or England? Some other question that coincides with this 1 is whether Lord Elgin is truly a hero or a thief. It is hard to say whether or not Lord Elgin'south ways of obtaining the beautiful artwork was in fact legal. The bodily firman given to Lord Elgin by the Ottoman Empire has long vanished and only a translated copy still exists. The contents of this copy are highly disputed and the lord's intentions of taking the marbles are notwithstanding unclear. Nonetheless, even to this day, the marbles along with Lord Elgin are the center of controversy.

The Present: Where are they at present?

The British Museum is not the only museum to business firm the Parthenon Marbles. In fact, nine museums in eight different countries have pieces of the Parthenon, including the Louvre, one of the almost famous museums institute in Paris, France. Hither's a listing of the places yous may visit to see these marvels:

• The Acropolis Museum, Athens: Xiv blocks of the Westward Frieze are establish here after they were taken from the Parthenon to preclude more harm from the weather in 1993.
• The British Museum, London: The Elgin Marbles every bit well as casts of the West Frieze are housed hither.
• Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Vatican Museums
• National Museum, Copenhagen
• Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• University Museum, Würzburg
• Museo Salinas, Palermo
• Glyptothek, Munich

(Listing establish on The British Museum website)

The Elgin Marbles in the British Museum (Andrew Dunn)

The Futurity: Homeward Spring?

Over the final 200 years, the Greek government has argued with the British government, demanding that the Parthenon Marbles be given dorsum, even if they are on permanent "loan" to the New Acropolis Museum located in Athens. Even so, the British Museum has issued a statement on April 21, 2007 explaining that they are in a position where they cannot lend out the pieces for two reasons. First, they have get an integral part of the museum itself. Along with this, the Greek government refuses to recognize Britain's ownership of the marbles, which is a crucial function of lending any slice of artwork to whatever museum. The Trustees of the British Museum simply believe that the Elgin Marbles likewise as the other sculptures institute in diverse museums throughout the world do good the general public since they practise not need to travel to Greece to feel its grandeur. The remaining question is such: will the marbles ever make it back to their original habitation, Hellenic republic? But time will tell.

Works Cited:
Andrew Dunn, http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com/, plant: https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/ImageElgin_Marbles_British_Museum.jpg and https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/ImageElgin_Marbles_east_pediment.jpg
The British Museum, "The Parthenon Sculptures" www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/news_and_debate/debate/parthenon_sculptures.aspx
British Museum, https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/ImageAc_marbles.jpg
Giovanni Battista Lusieri, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lusieri_at_work_at-Parthenon.jpg
Joseph Küschner, https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/ImageParthenonRekonstruktion.jpg
Matt Barrett, "The Parthenon (or Elgin) Marbles" http://world wide web.athensguide.com/elginmarbles/index.html
Mary Beard. "Lord Elgin – Saviour or Vandal?" http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/aboriginal/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml

Contributor:
Samantha Zulkowski

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"Ode on a Grecian Urn" Revisited

What Is A Grecian Urn?

Photograph by Richard Oldfield

The urns of early Ancient Greece were for everyday utilize; to behave water, or hold wine. Some urns were even given as trophies to the winners of a sporting event. As order became more advanced in their knowledge, the fine art of the urn began to prevail. During the Protogeometric and Geometric ages, the Grecians decorated the urns with shapes and the urn remained its natural color. After in the era though, the artists were able decorate with actual beings and use colors. The hues that could be used were blackness, ruby and yellow but the colors were limited by the firing.(Art, Pottery)¹ The scenes that were painted on the urn were of greek gods and myths, or of battle or hunting scenarios. The knowledge of these urns is important to the realization of the reality in John Keat's poem Ode to the Grecian Urn. Every bit he decribes how the scene changes on the urn in his verse form, we are able to create a visualization of the urn in the poem.

Analysis of Verse form
By using words and phrases that invoke the image of a grecian urn, the reader is able to connect with the speaker of the poem and meet what he is seeing. The poem begins past describing the urn as a Sylvan historian, pregnant that the urn is telling the history of forests, which in fact would hold truthful. Very frequently Grecian urns would depict tales that were set in forests. The starting time stanza too stresses the importance of the urn'southward silence; informing the reader that what is being described is simply an object. Keat's uses phrases like "helpmate of unravish'd quietness", and " foster kid of silence" (Line ane, ii). It is the silence of the urn that makes information technology viable for the speaker to question the tale that is depicted.

Not simply does the speaker question the tale, but he admires the power of the urn to immortalize beauty and truth. Keats writes, "do not grieve;/She cannot fade, though grand hast not thy bliss,/For always wilt thou dearest, and she be fair!" (Line 18-xx) So even though the man is in abiding persuit of this beautiful woman on the urn, he will never fall out of beloved with her and she will exist eternally beautiful. Time has no affect of the the urn's tale creating an immortal story. Keats continues to admire the timelessness of the story by noting the eternal leap of the setting proclaiming, "happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed/Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu" (Line 21-22). The pictures on the urn shall never modify therefore it will ever be springtime on the urn. Keat'southward continues, "And, happy melodist, unwearied,/For ever pipe songs for ever new;/More than happy dearest! more happy, happy dear!/For ever warm and still to be bask'd,/For ever panting, and for e'er young" (Line 23-27). In lines 23-24, Keats is speaking about the melodist, on the urn, who will forever brand new and happy songs on his pipe; songs which will never grow old due to the urn and it being "frozen" in time. Post-obit these lines, Keats is speaking of the immature lovers whose love will never grow cold and unhappy. The human will exist "For e'er panting" because, on the urn, he will always be chasing his lover, and the two volition never abound erstwhile. These lovers volition never experience "All breathing human passion far above,/That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and disgust'd,/A burning forehead, and a parching natural language (28-xxx). Love, in life, does not always last forever. Information technology sometimes grows tired and old, but for these ii young lovers, frozen in time, that will never happen. They will never experience what a "eye loftier-sorrowful and cloy'd" feelings like.

The last two stanzas of the poem are significant with respect to Fine art. In section 4, the speaker relates to the importance of one's imagination and how fine art helps one bring out the emotional and more meaning aspects of life. In that location is a certain amount of trust that is discovered when Keats mentions iii different towns, in hopes that a permanent discovery will be found. When Keats states, "will silent exist!" he is examining that the urn is frozen in fourth dimension and volition exist silent and independent with all of the emotions and feelings kept within.

Background on the Romantics:

The literary movement of the early 19th century was known equally the Romantic time period. Writers of this time emphasized the importance of using emotions and self-expression to gain an insight to truth. Unlike previous literary periods, the idea of post-obit and studying the classics was rejected. For example, writers and poets from the Augustan time menstruation strongly believed that great literature followed strict guidelines, such equally following the classics, and followed a very different criteria regarding literature. The Romantics' master focus notwithstanding, was encompassing truth by means of exploring and expressing emotions on a level that could not be reached by recreating ideologies of the past.

The idea of becoming closer to Nature and the accent on the utilise of ordinary people and language are also of import characteristics of the Romantics. John Keats, along with other famous writers such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge examine the reality of Nature, and use subjects that are appeal and relate to the ordinary person. The creation of a new type of language was even attempted by Wordsworth in order to portray the significance of the ordinary man. Information technology is through the imaginative and creative characteristics of the Romantic fourth dimension period that writers, such every bit Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats, were able to construct such profound pieces of literature.

John Keats' Signature

"Ode On A Grecian Urn"

by John Keats

Sketch of John Keats by Joseph Seven, 1816.

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst 1000 express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunt nearly thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, simply those unheard
Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, just, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Off-white youth, beneath the copse, grand canst non leave
Thy song, nor ever tin those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal – yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though 1000 hast not thy bliss,
For e'er wilt thou love, and she be off-white!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More than happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and all the same to be relish'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human being passion far above,
That leaves a heart loftier-sorrowful and disgust'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Atomic number 82'st yard that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What lilliputian town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-congenital with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morning time?
And, piffling boondocks, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why grand art desolate, tin eastward'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Yard, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Common cold Pastoral!
When old historic period shall this generation waste matter,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Dazzler is truth, truth beauty," – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Black-effigy Neck Amphora. Athens, 2d quarter, 6th century BC

From the Duke Classical Drove

Other Places to Observe Grecian Urns: The 1997 full length animated characteristic flick produced by the Walt Disney Company, Hercules, featured Grecian urns every bit the transitions between gaps in time. Every fourth dimension the story progresses, the film returns to the urn which continues to tell the story of the god-like man past the paintings on its side. In the following clips, the narrators of the story, the muses, use the urn equally their visual aid. each urn scene begins with a shot of the storyline etched on an urn and morphs into the animation of the film. The movie even uses the correct color schemes that would take been used on the aboriginal urns. Also notice the intricacy of the fine art piece of work and the foursquare shape of the images that are depicted. While it is merely an blitheness, the clips are a helpful visual aid when reading Keat's Ode to a Grecian Urn because it is a modern accept on the aboriginal art form.

(Start Video Edited past wbslnger2004 ; Second Video Edited by essexboi1993 ; Third Video Edited by essexboi1993 )

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Works Cited:
one. "Art in Ancient Greece". Pottery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_in_ancient_Greece#_note-0 .
essexboi1993: Youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaVMxugfJuk . Hercules. Walt Disney Company. 1997.
essexboi1993: Youtube.com, http://world wide web.youtube.com/watch?five=UkFUlPTyCVM . Hercules. Walt Disney Visitor. 1997.
Wbslnger2004: Youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIcV2gKcMlc . Hercules. Walt Disney Company. 1997.
2. "myth." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. xx Nov. 2007 <httpEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2007.
3. Keats, John. "Ode on a Grecian Urn." The Longman Album: British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch & Kevin J.H. Dettmar. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 2006. 905-906.

Contributors:
Rebecca Kane, Lauren Cuddeback, and Amanda Tomasetti

sullivannoing1949.blogspot.com

Source: https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/keatss-poetry/

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