Sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that follows one of a number of different rhyme schemes. “When I Have Fears” follows the rhyme scheme of the Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet. Notice that it is divided into four parts: three quatrains, or four line sections, and a final couplet, or two-line section.
Theme. A theme is a central idea in a literary work. As you read, consider what the overall theme of this poem "When I Have Fears" might be.
Apostrophe. An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which an object or person is directly addressed. As you read “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” consider to whom or what this poem is addressed.
Paradox. A paradox is a contradictory statement, idea, or event.
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Keats’s sonnet “When I Have Fears” is a moving meditation on death written by a young poet who knew that his own life would be cut short. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is an exploration of the value and purpose of art. The skilled potters of ancient Greece made urns for various purposes, including storage of wine and a variety of foods. These urns were often decorated with figures. In Keats’s poem, the speaker addresses a Grecian urn and the various figures that appear on it: a bride, men or gods, maidens, a pipe-playing youth, a lover, and a priest leading a cow to sacrifice.
As you read "Ode on a Grecian Urn," note the paradoxes in a cluster chart like the one below.
What would you most like to accomplish before you die?
When have you eagerly anticipated some event and found that your imagination of it was far better than the actual event?
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