A Thing of Beauty
Chapter: 8th English : Unit 4 : Poem : A Thing of Beauty
Poet: John Keats
Poem: A Thing of Beauty
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, and health, and quiet breathing
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
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;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink
About the Poet
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John Keats (1795 – 1821) was a British Romantic poet. Although trained to be a surgeon, Keats decided to devote himself wholly to poetry. Keats’ secret, his power to sway and delight the readers, lies primarily in his gift for perceiving the world and living his moods and aspirations in terms of language. "A Thing of Beauty' is an excerpt from his poem ‘Endymion: A Poetic Romance’. The poem is based on a Greek legend, in which Endymion, a beautiful young shepherd and poet who lived on Mount Latmos, had a vision of Cynthia, the Moon Goddess. The enchanted youth resolved to seek her out and so wandered away through the forest and downunder the sea.
Glossary
bower (n) - shelter under the shade of trees
wreathing (v) - cover, surround, encircle something
pall (n) - covering
rills (n) - clear stream
sprinkling (v) - falling in fine drops
