Ode on  a Grecian Urn     In" Ode on a Grecian Urn", I like the side with the picture of the woman and the piper better then that of a team coming to the ultar. Compared to "unvarnished bride of quietness, foster of silence and slow time, and Sylvan historian", the urn is really old. Needless to say, the parent of the urn (the one who created the urn) was died for hundreds or thousands of years. Probably, no one knows exactly who created the urn, but the urn is still passed from generation to generation. There are two sodes on the urn. One is the picture that a pair under the tree; one is a piper, the other is a maid. The piper plays the pipe, and the girl listens. The speaker said, "Heard melodies are sweet, but unheard melodies are sweeter." to show that he feels the beautiful voice from the pipe. It is impossible to hear any voice from the urn, but we can try to imagine the melodies. Such unheard melody is also some kind of frozen art forever. The most interesting part is what the speaker said to comfort the upset piper who can never touch the maid. "Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, though winning near the goal- yet, do not grieve; she cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!" It is true that the piper never can get the maid and kiss he, but he can keep company with her forever and doesn't have to worry that the maid will disappear. On the other side is a picture of the ancient people with several processes: starting from the town, heading to the ultar, arriving the ultar. The speaker seems to be interested in them, so he asked, "Who are coming to sacrifice?" The speaker described the situation, but that's not the point. What he is concerned about is the last sentence of the fourth stanza: not a soul to tell why thou art desolate can e'er return." We all know it's out of question to get the answer of why the religious service was held from those on the urn. But the speaker still hopes to remain that we should pay more attention to the past experience of human beings. As for "Ozymandias", the old stature is not as spectacular as the Grecian urn. It is dramatic irony that Ozymandias, king of kings, has nothing left. (Nothing beside remains) Ozymandias is not like the urn, and it is not kept well. All Ozymandias has is a shattered visage and the boundless wreck. Maybe Ozymandias wants to have power, but king of kings cannot possess the power.                                                                              Hedy  HOME