Friday, January 2, 2015

What does the "Attic Shape" represent in "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats?

Keats begins the fifth stanza by addressing the urn as an "attic shape." The word "attic" refers to Attica, a region of ancient Greece of which Athens was the chief (primate) city. "Shape" simply refers to the shape of the urn. Therefore, the speaker of the poem is saying that the urn was crafted in Attica.


If you are searching for symbolism or some other relevant literary device (since you ask what attic shape "respresent[s]", I do not believe that it is present here. I believe that this is just a brief mention of the city in which the urn was made.

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