A Thing of Beauty by John Keats

A Thing of Beauty Summary in English

A Thing of Beauty is a poem by John Keats. The poet says that the beautiful things give us extreme happiness and delight. They are eternal and never declines or fades. It provides us shady place, which gives us a comfortable sleep comprising of sweet dreams and relaxation. This leads to good health. The sight of lovely and beautiful things lives in our memories for whole lives.

People have an attachment to Earthly things. It traps people and keep connected to materialistic things. This connection with materialistic things distracts humans from eternal happiness. The world has a lot of negativity, hatred, and greed.  It causes gloom and sadness.

We can overcome these negative vibes with the help of beautiful things that surround us. As beautiful things bring nothing but positivity. Man and nature are strongly intertwined. The beauty of nature is what keeps us connected to this planet. Every morning, we select beautiful fresh flowers and make garlands. They lift our spirits and make us forget about our problems for a while.

The poet informs us about some beautiful things that are all around us. Beauty is certainly in the eyes of the one who beholds. This means one can see the beauty in anything.

The poet talks about the various creations of God like the Sun which provides energy, the moon and the natural beauty of the trees.

There are various animals, pretty daffodils that make our world lively. The flowing streams of water provide a refreshment and cooling effect to us in the hot summer season. The forests have plenty of pretty musk rose flowers. All such things are things of beauty. We must not forget the beautiful and inspiring stories of the brave soldiers. These brave soldiers risked and sacrificed their lives in order to protect others.

These beautiful things have a resemblance to the fountain of immortality bestowed upon us by God as a gift and a blessing. Such beautiful things are an inspiration for all of us to continue living. They make life worth living. Also, they also help us in maintaining our faith in goodness. Life without these beautiful things would certainly become very hard.

 

Text 

A THING of beauty is a joy forever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still 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,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

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:

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms   

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

All lovely tales that we have heard or read:

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

About Author

John Keats was a great poet of the Romantic Period. Among the Romantic poets he was the last to be born and the first to die. He was born prematurely in 1795. He existed for the sake of poetry. He believed that poetry should be spontaneous. His major works are ‘Endymion’, ‘Hyperion’, and ‘The Fall of Hyperion’. His fame rests on his five odes ‘Ode to Psyche’, ‘Ode on Melancholy’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ and ‘Ode to Autumn’.

About poem 
The presented poem is an excerpt from his poem 'Endymion; A Poetic Romance'. The poem is based on 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 so wandered away through the forest and down under the sea.

Summary

The poet believes in the fact that beauty stays forever and never fades away. It never goes off with the passing time rather it increases and beautifies more and more. He compares beauty with a shady place that gives us the comfort to fall asleep and dream, quietly breathing will lead to good health.

Everyday beauty files our heart to cherish each and every moment and builds our desires to forget the gloomy days and even if we are surrounded by melancholy things and bad people. According to the poet, the reason behind sadness and cruel people is negativity all around, and to counter these we need to enjoy each and every moment of our life because these beautiful things bring positivity.

The poet here explains that beauty is all around us in earthly things, we just need the vision to cherish those things. These are nature’s gifts like sun, moon, trees, etc providing us with shade, beauty, and coolness and are considered a boon for humanity. These are blessings that we need to cherish every moment to keep away from the negative vibes.

The poet carries forward his idea of gifts of nature present on the earth, like beautiful musk of roses giving a nice and sweet fragrance. Further describes the tales of the valiant comrades who laid their lives for their nation or humanity. These beautiful things are like nectar which are immortal and need to be cherished in spite of having many sorrows in our life.

Conclusion

The poem a thing of beauty tells us to value those things that are bestowed upon us in the form of trees, sun, moon, rivers and are a boon to humanity but instead of feeling grateful towards god’s gifts, we focus on negative vibes like sorrow and unhappiness.

Solution:

Q1. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.

Ans: Everything of nature is a thing of beauty and a source of joy. Some of them are: sun, moon, old and young trees, daffodils, clear streams of rivers, musk-roses in the forest and the lovely tales of mighty men are the things of beauty which are mentioned in the poem.

 Q2. List the things that cause suffering and pain.

Ans: The poet lists a number of things that cause suffering and pain, like despair, depression, unhealthy and wrong ways taken up by humans to achieve their desired goals, etc. The poet also feels the lack of noble souls in this world.

Q3. What does the line, ‘Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth’ suggest to you?

Ans: This line suggests that things of beauty bind us to the earth with a beautiful connection. According to the poet world is not worth living because of the various reasons that result in gloom and depression, the zeal to live a happy and content life can be derived from the sight of the beautiful bounties of nature around us.

 Q4. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?

 Ans: Human beings love life despite of troubles and sufferings because there are many natural and beautiful things around them. These things of beauty never fade. They give joy and optimism to human mind, and thus, help in overcoming or bearing the troubles and sufferings.

 Q5. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead’?

 Ans: The ‘grandeur’ of the ‘mighty dead’ lies in their noble deeds. They have left behind the beautiful legacy of their brave acts. Their selfless sacrifice for their nation and deeds for the welfare of mankind still continue to inspire us.

 Q6. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting impression on us?

Ans: The poet believes that when we encounter a beautiful thing, even if for a short moment, the pleasure remains with us forever. It leaves a lasting impact that inspires us to live life with hope and optimism.

 Q7. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?

 Ans: The poet uses the image of ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ to describe the beauty of the earth. The earth keeps showering upon us countless beautiful sights like sun, moon, flowers, rivers and greenery.