Ode on a grayson perry urn Flashcards
Hello! What’s all this here? A kitschy vase
some Shirley Temple manqué has knocked out
delineating tales of kids in cars
on crap estates, the Burberry clad louts
who flail their motors through the smoky night
from Manchester to Motherwell or Slough,
creating bedlam on the Queen’s highway.
Your gaudy evocation can, somehow,
conjure the scene without inducing fright,
as would a Daily Express exposé,
A kitschy vase- starts off very contrastingly from grecian urn, not idyllic unlike keat’s first stanza
some shirley temple- reference to grayson perry’s girlish style and flamboyance
on crap estates- reference to grayson perrys artistic journey of squatting in London
flail their motors- depicts life of youth as gleeful chaos
Queens highway- reminder that the uk remains a monarchy with levels of hierarchy in a ridgid class system
YOUR- reference to imagined observers highlighted
without inducing a fright- suggestive that turnball in middle class and expected to be shocked and alarmed
daily express expose- disproval of upper class and older gen, turner subtly derrides the daily express- upper class and older gen reads
can bring to mind the throaty turbo roar
of hatchbacks tuned almost to breaking point,
the joyful throb of UK garage or
of house imported from the continent
and yet educe a sense of peace, of calm -
the screech of tyres and the nervous squeals
of girls, too young to quite appreciate
the peril they are in, are heard, but these wheels
will not lose traction, skid and flip, no harm
befall these children. They will stay out late
the hoyful throb- positive tone underlined through joyful- praises diversity of modern culture and introduces that this poem is not entirely critical
-recalls connection of music to grecian urn, but contrasts as isnt as idyllic but still described as joyful like the music from ancient antiquity
-the screech of tyres- seemingly a parody of modern youth
the peril they are in- sense of danger intoduced , contrasts heavily to youth in grecian urn, carefreeling playing beneath the trees (can be interpreted as a criticism of modernity)
forever, pumped on youth and ecstasy,
on alloy, bass and arrogance, and speed
the back lanes, the urban gyratory,
the wide motorways, never having need
to race back home, for work next day, to bed.
Each girl is buff, each geezer toned and strong,
charged with pulsing juice which, even yet,
fills every pair of Calvin’s and each thong,
never to be deflated, given head
in crude games of chlamydia roulette.
arrogance and speed- speaker suggests youth will forever live in their arrogance and escape pressure from reality with speed. this is indicative that the vas onky captures joyful moments that liberate them from the harsher realities of life
buff, geezer- introduces youthful slang coloquial language, tone takes a turn to wryness
pulsing juice- introduces undertones of sexuality, similar to grecian urs 3rd stanza references to physical intimacy
filled every pair of calvins and each thong- contrasting modern approach to sexuality in comparison to gerecian urn. devirtued, less romanticised nblunt reality of physicality and sexual culture amidst modernity
chlamidya roulette- disease, referencing modernity’s sexual culture as diseased and corrupt. based on lust not love.
-links to connotations of fever in grecian urn
Now see who comes to line the sparse grass verge,
to toast them in Buckfast and Diamond White:
rat-boys and corn-rowed cheerleaders who urge
them on to pull more burn-outs or to write
their donut Os, as signature, upon
the bleached tarmac of dead suburban streets.
There dogs set up a row and curtains twitch
as pensioners and parents telephone
the cops to plead for quiet, sue for peace -
tranquility, though, is for the rich.
sparse grass verge-reference to gardens and nature suggest the untamed nature of youthb, just like the unpredictbality of nature
buc fast and diamond white- cheap wine and soda associated with delinquency and the careless attitude of youth
rat boys- allusion to a notable delinquent, a kid who began burglary when 11 and police found him hiding in a wall
corn rowed cheerleaders- implies change in acceptibility of society vs grecian urn
bleached- suggests the impermenance of their mark due to the lack of opportunities. grayson perry by permenantly portraying these people keeps their mark on the urn, giving those who dont hve equal opportunities in life to leave their permenant mark on the world
‘dead suburban streets- idea of recklessness contrasts with familial nature of suburban areas
pensioners and parents-parody of youth highlighting disorer. makes us question if the speaker is eqqually of the older generation and the truth of the narrative
is for the rich- class disparity in modernity, missed opportunities for less fortunate.
And so, millennia hence, you garish crock,
when all context is lost, galleries razed
to level dust and we’re long in the box,
will future poets look on you amazed,
speculate how children might have lived when
you were fired, lives so free and bountiful
and there, beneath a sun a little colder,
declare How happy were those creatures then,
who knew the truth was all negotiable
and beauty in the gift of the beholder.
returns to the romanticism of how peop[le look back on the past and the way keats does, the suggestion is that beauty is subjective.
predicts further corruption of society
rumination of how soviety coulf be further corrupted, Suggests there was imperfection beyound the romanticisation of ancient life and antiquity.
art doenst just preserve life it transforms and elevates them, shows how art doesnt change but the poeple who interpret it do
form and structure
borrows keats form
-written in 5 10 line stanzas of iambic pentameter
title
parodies john keats ‘ode on a grecian urn’
