Transience and permanence in "The Odes" by John Keats (1795 - 1821).

Keats composed the 'Ode on a Grecian Urn', based on a sonnet written by Wordsworth in 1811. The theme of transience and permanence, which struck Keats in Wordsworth's poetry, forms the leading theme in the Odes. The ode, 'To Autumn', may be seen as a temporary 'bridge' in the debate between the two states, in this case symbolised by the seasons. A reprieve is achieved, although the problem is not solved, "Where are the songs of …

…which is transient, and from fleeting moments of happiness. "Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips" this suggests pleasure turning to bitterness in the few seconds it takes for a bee to extract nectar from a flower. The rhetoric of the last stanza provokes thought, and adds strength to its argument against death/suicide. Keats, throughout his poetry, emphasises the point that 'Sorrow and despair reign where neither love nor beauty nor joy can last'.