Sunday, January 1, 2012

Whom does the poet call the 'Sylvan historian'? Why?

The Urn is the sylvan historian because it is rather like a picture frame.  It has many carvings along its sides which tell the story--and each story will never change as long as the urn itself is in tact.

Among those scenes are the trees (sylvan reference) which will never lose their leaves and will stand forever strong against all elements of weather.

Under the trees are the lovers who are caught forever just before they kiss...the moment of highest expectation and the height of love...which will never be lost as they are frozen in time.  They will always be young with the buds of spring blushing in their cheeks.

The town which is deserted of people will always stand peacefully overlooking the water as the priest leads the garlanded heifer to her sacrificial ceremony.

The lute player will always be playing his "silent" music which is even more beautiful than that music we can hear because we each imagine our own version of the music--guaranteed to be lovely to our ears.

The urn is a historian because it captures each of these scenes and preserves it forever in time.  "Beauty is truth, truth beauty and that is all you need to know."

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