"Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a poem written by the English Romantic poet John Keats in May 1819, published in January 1820. It is one of his "Great Odes of 1819", which include "Ode on Indolence", "Ode on Melancholy", "Ode to a Nightingale", and "Ode to Psyche". Keats found earlier forms of poetry unsatisfactory for his purpose, and the collection represented a new development of the ode form. He was inspired to write the poem after reading two articles by English artist and writer Benjamin Haydon. The poem focuses on two scenes: one in which a lover eternally pursues a beloved without fulfillment, and another of villagers about to perform a sacrifice. The final lines of the poem declare that "'beauty is truth, truth beauty,' – that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know", and literary critics have debated whether they increase or diminish the overall beauty of the poem. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" was not well received by contemporary critics. It was only by the mid-19th century that it began to be praised, although it is now considered to be one of the greatest odes in the English language. A long debate over the poem's final statement divided 20th-century critics, but most agreed on the beauty of the work, despite various inadequacies that kept it from perfection.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

904:

Sergius III, whose pontificate was marked with feudal violence and disorder in central Italy, came out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sergius_III

1845:

"The Raven", a narrative poem by American poet Edgar Allan Poe about a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, was first published in the New York Evening Mirror. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven

1856:

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that established the Victoria Cross , originally to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross

1943:

The Battle of Rennell Island, the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign, began. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rennell_Island

2002:

In his State of the Union Address, U.S. President George W. Bush described governments he accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction as an "axis of evil", specifically naming Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/axis_of_evil

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

usher (v): 1. To guide people to their seats. 2. To accompany or escort (someone). 3. (figuratively) To precede; to act as a forerunner or herald http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/usher

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all. --John Updike http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike