ts and people he describes. The happy boughs, happy melodist, and the pining lover. I believe the poet and the urn to one in the same. The question is, What was the meaning of “beauty is truth, truth is beauty?” Stiller believes it to mean, “face value, the statement is false, and Keats knew this and understood this, but maybe considered it a simple, sarcastic equation that would guarantee a frivolous, superficial existence in a society consumed with who’s who.” (200). Keats was making a mockery of the ideal, ‘forever happy’ lifestyle by realizing no one is truly happy no matter how thing appear to the outside world. The urn may have been representative of Keat’s dream of a short lifestyle. A group whose motto was “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” and were there beliefs to their end. What was the true sacrifice Keats endured within this work? Was so much of his time spent creating this fictional urn, only to inform society of his final analogy of his time on earth? Did Keats consider himself to be the “Sylvan historian?” Had he mastered the superficial rules to life and living on earth? Was he letting the reader in on his theory? of “Beauty is truth, truth beauty?” These are questions that may remain unanswered by Keats, but remain a mystery to whomever has the opportunity to explore “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Taking a look into to today’s society, we find the same belief. Appearing to be physically perfect is the new trend. We worship Hollywood stars and try to model our own lives after them. The media makes the world of Hollywood perfect and we sometimes have a difficult time deciphering between our world and their world. There are many of us who aspire to be like the ‘stars’ yet there is a hidden message within the lives they lead. “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” This message i...
