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Ode on a Grayson Perry urn - Tim turnbulll - Coggle Diagram
Ode on a Grayson Perry urn - Tim turnbulll
Born in 1960 Yorkshire worked as a poet in a young offenders prison
The power of art
The title of 'Ode on a Grayson Perry urn,' is a reference to / allusion / or parody of Keats' 'Ode on a Grecian urn,' creating a stark contrast between the influence of art in the 19th century and then in the 21st. The poem parodied is that of the Romantic era, which introduces a motif of romanticism that it contrasted with the stark realities of class divide throughout the poem.
Both poems muse on art's power to preserve fleeting moments for eternity
The initial description of the urn isn't particularly flattering, juxtaposing the infatuated tone of Keats' poem.
'What's all this here?'
'A kitschy vase some Shirley Temple manque has knocked out'
The use of colloquial language, or verbs such as 'knocked' present the urn as classless, similarly to the culture its representing
The urn encourages the speaker to reflect upon his experiences of the culture it's representing
British culture and class
'Crap estates,'
colloquial language introduces and entrenches the motif of class divide
'On the Queen's highway'
emphasis on class divide
The allusion to designer names such as
'Calvin's'
or
'Burberry,'
which is presents a contrast between their behaviour / culture and what they're wearing.
The speaker desrcibes Perry as
'Some Shirley Temple manque,'
the word manque is borrowed from French, which juxtaposes the working class background of the Perry. The allusion to Shirley Temple further illustrates Perry's flamboyancy or star-like qualities. The vase is as classless as the culture its depicting.
'as would a Daily Express expose,'
reference to a lower class newspaper. A reference is made to the classist and exploitative nature of tabloids, poignant during the 2000s/2010s. The urn and daily express include the same contents but depict them differently
'from Manchester to Motherwell or Slough,'
- a use of syndetic listing presents Manchester as a 'rough' area, though in recent years this has been more gentrified.
'each geezer tone and strong,'
- colloquial language, working class expectation of masculinity which contrasts deviation from working class masculinity like Perry as an artist assumes
Art, time and interpretation
'Your gaudy evocation,' the speaker uses direct address to speak to the urn directly
The speaker interrogates the urn, directly addressing it to criticise it's classless nature but also ability to depict a culture that the speaker is familiar with
The poem consists of 5, 10-line stanzas, identical to Keats' ode. Usually associated with Romanticism, which presents a dichotomy with its crude contents.
'You garish crock'
The last couple of lines about beauty mirror that of Keats' poem,
'beauty in the gift of the beholder,'
There is a consistent juxtaposition posed throughout the poem between romanticism and reality.
There's a progression throughout the poem, somewhat crude descriptions of British working class culture, the urn is then adressed, and romantic musings are introduced
Adolescence / rebellion
Rebellion is explored through the rebellious nature of the urn as a
'kitschy'
piece of art, and the rebellion of the
'louts'
depicted in the poem. Grayson Perry is rebellious as an artist for his deviation from gender roles, and the poet is familiar with rebellion as he used to work in a young offender's prison
'no harm befall these children,'
emphasis on those presented as children though they evade any kind of danger. the speaker is familiar with this culture and these kinds of children.
'girls'
- common noun, emphasis on the girls particularly as young, likely because the men they are with are much older than them
A
PASTICHE
OF KEATS!