The poems “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats and “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes are recognized examples of Anglo-Saxon literature. These works are similar in their singing character – the ode and the blues have a singsong musical rhythm. However, these works are very different in meaning, content, and means of expression used. “Ode to a Grecian Urn” aims for a classical form with some innovations, while “The Weary Blues” initially draws not on classical verse traditions, but on blues rhythms.
“Ode to a Grecian Urn” is a measured philosophical work written in the ecphrasis technique, a description of a painting or sculpture. The organization of the poem combines classical and romantic features. The stanzas begin with a classic ABAB rhyme and end with a Miltonian sestet, so the final lines break the feel of a traditional Greco-Roman ode. Keats’s Iambic pentameter mimics speech and the natural course of thought: “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on (Keats, lines 11-12). “Ode to a Grecian Urn” sounds less modern because it relies on classical form and rhythm and has the original idea to emulate the style of the ode.
“The Weary Blues” is more of an emotional poem that aims to show a picture of a black man’s life and convey his feelings. The piece is written in free verse and combines rhyming and non-rhyming lines in a single syncopated rhythm to mimic the musicality of the blues. The words of the narrator and the protagonist of the work have rhyme, melodiousness, and melodiousness since he is a musician. Hughes uses alliteration: “droning a drowsy syncopated tune” to make the poem sound more like a song (Hughes, line 1). “The Weary Blues” sounds more modern due to its unusual, non-classical construction, which combines an abstract description of the mise-en-scene with the emotional narrative of the protagonist.
Works Cited
Keats, John. “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Gleeditions, Web.
Hughes, Langston. “The Weary Blues.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, Web.