‘On Seeing the Elgin Marbles’1817

Have you ever seen . . . ?

What did it make you think? How did you feel?

What are the Elgin Marbles?

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/ancient_greece_and_rome/room_18_greece_parthenon_scu.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/02/world/london-journal-on-seeing-the-elgin-marbles-with-sandwiches.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Background to the Poem

John Keats and his friend Haydon viewed these ancient sculptures in 1817, 11 years after they were shipped to England from Athens, Greece. Keats felt an overwhelming sense of his own mortality and a love for the classical artwork. Soon after his visit to the British Museum, John Keats wrote the poem "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles" to share his experiences.

Poetic TermsEkphrasisPetrarchan sonnetOctaveSestetEnjambmentAnapest

EkphrasisEkphrasis was created by the Greeks.  The goal of

this literary form is to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present.  In many cases, however, the subject never actually existed, making the ekphrastic description a demonstration of both the creative imagination and the skill of the writer. 

Keats made himself and his own experience of viewing art an important part of his ekphrastic poems.  This shift in emphasis reflects a transformation in the genre of ekphrasis, which increasingly came to include the reaction of a particular viewer as part of the description of an object.

http://writingaboutart.org/pages/ekphrasis.html

What are your views about where the Elgin marbles should be?Read the following article BBC

news article:The Real Story of the Elgin Marbleshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3841179.stm

Look at the following statements about the poem and see which ones you agree with

Keats sees Grecian grandeur (the Elgin marbles) wasted by time and the elements until they become just a shadow of their former glory.

It is in the wasting away of the Elgin marbles by time and the elements, that Keats sees his own mortality.

Keats also sees an immortality in the Elgin Marbles: that something so beautiful can still endure despite the wasting of time.

Keats is left impotent by the sight of the Elgin Marbles

His spirit is too weak to fully appreciate the Elgin Marbles in this first encounter

The main theme of this poem is the concept of mortality.

Keats discusses his own internal conflict when looking at the Elgin Marbles, rather than focusing on the marbles themselves

Instead of opening up another new world of glory, beauty, and truth, the Elgin Marbles reflect his own image – and he does not like what he sees – because in it he can see nothing but his own mortality.

This poem is an example of a failed ekphrastic* poem

*(Ekphrasis is a literary term created by the Greeks. An ekphrastic poem aimed to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present.)

Comparison with: ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s HomerCompare the reference to the

eagle in both poems. How does the image differ? Explain how this simile/metaphor helps to convey Keats mood in both the poems.

The structure – comparision with: ‘On First looking into Chapman’s Homer’Both these poems are Petrarchan

sonnets, but how do they compare?

Is there a definite split between the octet and sestet in terms of a mood shift in ‘Elgin Marbles?’