CBSE Class 12 English A Thing of Beauty Notes

A Thing of Beauty Class 12 English Summary of the Story

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

In this poem, John Keats praises all the beautiful things present around us and the world. According to him, beautiful things get treasured in our mind and grow more beautiful with the passage of time. They provide eternal happiness, everlasting joy to us and leave their imprints on the mind of all human beings who hold a strong bonding with the earth. According to the poet, this earth has abundance of pessimistic people; hatred among the people and sadness that lurks everywhere in human’s life. He holds humans responsible for every negative thing on this earth. According to him, only beautiful things can make our soul pure and thoughts alive.
The closing paragraph tells us of some of the beautiful things on Earth. The examples cited by the poet are the sun, the moon, trees, flowers, streams, musk-rose blooms, architectural sepulchers, even fairy tales or heroic legends Keats sees beauty in the ‘simple sheep; innocent humans seeking solace in nature, and Mother Nature in its own way sprouts a shady abode of relief and consolation. The expression ‘Lily of the Valley’ is quite well-known and rouses images of a delicate lone white flower holding up its head amidst a setting of thorns and barbs and everything contrary in nature to delicateness.
The poet also sees beauty in the death of martyrs and legends. ‘The mighty dead’ are those martyrs who have died bravely for a cause. We honour them by erecting magnificent, grand sepulchers in which beauty is seen. If one looks around, there are innumerable beautiful things to notice – they seem to flow immortally as a fountain, from the gods above to help the pitiable human beings to cope with the harshness of life.

ABOUT THE POET

John Keats, one of the supreme English poets and a major figure in the Romantic Movement, was born in 1795 in Moorfields, London. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron and P.B. Shelly despite his work having been in publication for only four years before his death.
Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most notably in the
series of odes. Today, his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature. His notable works are: To autumn; Ode to Nightingale; On first looking into Chapman’s Homer; Ode on a Grecian Urn.
‘A Thing of Beauty’ is an excerpt from his poem, ‘Endymion: A poetic Romance’ (1818), considered to be an epic poem.

POETIC DEVICES/FIGURES OF SPEECH IN THE POEM

1. Alliteration: There are three pairs of alliteration – N-sound in “Noble” and “Natures” the C sounds in “Cooling” and “Covert” and B-sound in the words “Band” and “Bind”.
2. Metaphor: Metaphor is evidently used in “bower quiet”, “sweet dreams”, “wreathing a flowery band”. “pall” and “endless fountain of immortal drink”.
3. Imagery: The immense use of imagery can be found in the phrase “flowery bands” which visualizes a bunch of flowers like a band. The use of the phrase “shady boon” also pictures the blessing to be shady. The words “daffodils in green world”, “clear rills”, grandeur of dooms”, etc., are instances of use of imagery. “Cooling covert” and “endless fountain of eternal drink” are one of the notable examples of imagery used in this poem.

Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

I. A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams and health and quiet breathing

Question. Explain: “never pass into nothingness.”
Answer: The joy that a thing of beauty give us is eternal. It never loses its importance and it only increases with time. It does not fade away or die out because it leaves an indelible imprint on our heart and soul.

Question. What do you understand by a ‘bower’?
Answer: A bower is a pleasant place in the shade under a tree. It protects persons/animals from the hot rays of the sun.

Question. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
Answer: A thing of beauty is the source of constant joy. Its beauty goes on increasing. It will never pass into nothingness.

Question. Describe the kind of joy a beautiful thing provides.
Answer: Anything that is beautiful provides us an unending, everlasting and eternal joy. It leaves an indelible imprint on our heart and soul.

II. Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the Earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways Made for our searching.

Question. What are the flowery bands that bind us to the Earth?
Answer: Here beautiful and pleasant things have been referred to as flowery bands. It is only those things which have beauty of some or the other kind that bind us to this Earth, or in a way, keep us going. The memory of our beautiful experiences helps us strengthen our bond with the Earth.

Question. Explain ‘spite of despondence’. Why are we despondent?
Answer: It means despite the existence of gloom and darkness around, things of beauty make life on earth worth living. We possess the evil qualities of malice and suffer from the lack of noble qualities. That is why, we feel despondent.

Question. Why is there an ‘inhuman dearth of noble natures’?
Answer: Nowadays, there are only few people who are noble in character and are generous. There is a dearth of such noble souls on our earth; as these days people are mostly selfish and do not think about others.

Question. What message do the above lines convey?
Answer: The above lines convey that life is full of sadness and hopelessness. People have become selfish, and there is a scarcity of noble people.

III. …yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.

Question. How does beauty help us when we are burdened with grief?
Answer: Whenever we look at a beautiful object, we are filled with comfort and joy. When we are burdened with grief, a thing of beauty comes as a ray of hope, and makes us forget our sorrow and suffering at least for some time.

Question. Identify the figure of speech in the second line.
Answer: The word ‘pall’ in the second line is an example of metaphor. Our souls are covered in sadness and disappointment which are compared to a pall or shroud covering the dead.

Question. Why are our spirits referred to as ‘dark’?
Answer: Our spirits are dejected due to extreme sadness and disappointment which may be the result of our own evil actions. So, the poet refers to them as dark.

Question. Explain: “Some shape of beauty.”
Answer: Beauty is an abstract idea and has no specific shape. The poet here means beauty in some form or some beautiful object which provides us eternal joy.

IV. …Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

Question. What does ‘simple sheep’ symbolise’?
Answer: Sheep and lamb are envisioned as symbols of innocence and serene beauty. Jesus Christ was a shepherd and was surrounded by his flock of sheep, his followers. Keats has made special reference to the sheep as symbols of divine beauty.

Question. Explain: ‘the green world they live in.’
Answer: Beauty of nature is at its best in the green surroundings of meadows and pastures which provide support to all human beings. It is in the green world that all living creatures find true happiness and joy and feel relaxed.

Question. What images of beauty has the poet refereed to?
Answer: The poet appreciates the simplicity and serenity of beauty through an image of the sun, the moon, the trees, the sheep, the daffodils, the green pastures, the livid streams, and a fair bloom of musk-roses.

Question. How do ‘daffodils’ and ‘rills’ enrich the environment?
Answer: Daffodils bloom among the green surroundings. The clear water rills or small streams offer a cooling shelter in the hot season.

V. And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from heaven’s brink.

Question. What is the thing of beauty mentioned in these lines?
Answer: The thing of beauty mentioned in these lines is the multitude of stories celebrating the glory of our powerful ancestors, which we have read or heard.

Question. What does Keats mean by ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’?
Answer: Beauty, according to Keats, is a perennial source of motivation and inspiration. He considers it an endless fountain from which mankind can drink the elixir of life.

Question. Who are the ‘mighty dead’? How do we know about them?
Answer: Our ancestors, who were great in their own ways, and the dead emperors have been referred to as the mighty dead. We come to know about them by reading or hearing valorous tales, which speak of their gallantry and exalted sacrifices. They are a source of motivation and inspiration for us through their sagas of their noble deeds.

Question. Which evil things do we possess and suffer from?
Answer: Jealousy and hatred fill our lives with sadness and take away our carefreeness. These are the evils which make us suffer in life.

Important Points for Chapter 4 A Thing of Beauty Class 12 English

Summary
⮚ This poem is an excerpt from ‘Endymion’.
⮚ It is written by John Keats (an English romantic poet)
⮚ Based on Nature’s beauty

Stanza 1
Things which are beautiful to us are our source of happiness forever. Our love also increases for such things. Here the beautiful things are referred to the flowers, trees & river of the nature. The beautiful sight is stored in our memory & gives us peace just like a shady place gives us a good sleep. A sound sleep will provide us with good health of our body & mind.

Stanza 2
After waking up next morning and after a sound sleep all the beautiful memories are compared with wreath of flowers which bind us to the Earth.
In spite of all disappointment, sadness, hopelessness and lack of noble ways, some beautiful sights of nature help us to shed thoughts and bring hope in our lives.

Stanza 3
The poet now says that the sun, the moon, old & young trees provide shade to sheep. Daffodils are present in greenery, there are cool and clear streams which protect us from heat of summer.
In between the forests, there grow bushes with a wild rose, with large white musk-scented flowers. All of these are eternal sources of joy and pleasure.

Stanza 4
The poet says that there is beauty in death too. He finds beauty in imaginary. Stories of all the real life heroes. All lovely tales are also the things of beauty. All these beautiful things are like fountain from the heaven which are poured to us.

Poetic Devices
‘Personification
In human Dearth of Nobler nature
Alliteration (Repetition of Consonant sound) e.g. noble nature, cooling covert band to bind

Oxymoron
(When essence of two words contradict each other e.g. mighty dead.)
Imagery (Brings pictures in the head)
e.g. - Grandeur of the Dooms.
e.g. - cooling covert, clear rills, flowery bands and shady boon etc.

‘Metaphor’
Comparison between two things.
Wreathing flowery band – connecting to nature
bower quiet – shady part in the garden
sweet dreams – happy dreams
endless fountain of immortal drink – deeds of great men & women that inspired people

Transferred Epithet –
‘Epithet’ means a word or phrase which works as an adjective & describes a noun.
e.g. – Unhealthy and over darkened ways, Gloomy days

Question. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the Earth? 
Answer: The poet uses the nature of image as an ‘endless fountain’. Which is showering its purity. The Sun, Moon, flowers, rivers have added endless joy also they have a deep impact on us.

Question. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings? 
Answer: Things of beauty like sun, moon, forests, daffodils, musk roses, tombs built to honour roses, tales from classics and scriptures make human beings love life.

Question. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘might dead’? 
Answer: Grandeur is associated with the ‘might dead’ i.e. our forefathers who were glorious in their own time. Our past is full of stories of their glory. They will always be remembered for their achievements.

Question. List the things that cause suffering and pain? 
Answer: Ill health, gloomy days, depression, Lack of goodness in human beings are the sources of suffering. Lack of noble qualities give birth to many troubles and sufferings.

Question. Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, ‘A thing of Beauty’?
Answer: Keats has mentioned everything in nature as things of beauty. Objects like sun, the moon, the old & young trees, daffodil flowers, small streams. All these things add joy to our life.

Question. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
Answer: Things which are beautiful to us are our source of happiness forever. Our love also increases for such things. The list of things of beauty are the flowers, trees, river streams & flowers. Inspite of all disappointment, sadness & hopeless these things of beauty help us.

Read the extract given below & answer the following questions:
‘Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the Earth,
Spite of despondence, of the in human dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er – darkened ways made of our searching

Question. What are the flowery bands that bind us to the Earth?
Answer: Things like the sun, the flowers, trees etc are referred to flowery bands. The memory of our beautiful experiences helps us strengthen our bond with the Earth.

Question. What message do the above lines convey? 
Answer: These lines convey the message that in spite of all disappointment, sadness, hopelessness and lack of noble ways, some beautiful sights of nature help us to shed thoughts and bring hope in our lives.

Question. Why is there an “in human dearth of noble natures”?
Answer: Because there are very few people who can shed sad thoughts and be happy. Very few people are generous towards others. People are selfish & do not think about others.

Question. What do you understand by “unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways?
Answer: ‘Unhealthy and o’er darkened ways’ are wicked paths that people take to achieve their goals.
These are unfair means people adopt to achieve their goals.

Question. Explain, “never pass into nothingness”. 
Answer: The joy achieved with things of beauty are eternal and unending. Their loveliness keeps on increasing and never fades away.

Question. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal? 
Answer: Keats considered nature’s beauty as an endless fountain of immortal drink. He called this drink immortal because its pleasure and delight will always be the same and only increases with time.

Question. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the Earth. 
Answer: The poet used the image of an ‘endless fountain’ which showers bounties on Earth. He calls this an immortal drink from heaven. The moon, sun, stars, river stream are all the beautiful bounties on Earth.