Class 12 English — Chapter 11: A Thing of Beauty

What you'll learn

• ▸The Enduring Nature of Beauty
• ▸The Therapeutic Power of Beauty
• ▸Sources of Human Suffering
• ▸Beauty as a Relief from Sorrow
• ▸Manifestations of Beauty in Nature
• ▸Metaphor of the 'Flowery Band'
• ▸Beauty in Heroism and Legends
• ▸Beauty as an 'Immortal Drink'
• ▸Introduction to John Keats and Romanticism

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- 12074CH12 3 A Thing of Beauty About the poet John Keats (1795-1821) was a British Romantic poet. Although trained to be a surgeon, Keats decided to devote himself wholly to poetry. Keats' secret, his power to sway and delight the readers, lies primarily in his gift for perceiving the world and living his moods and aspirations in terms of language. The following is an excerpt from his poem 'Endymion; A Poetic Romance'. The poem is based on a Greek legend, in which Endymion, a beautiful young shepherd and poet who lived on Mount Latmos, had a vision of Cynthia, the Moon Goddess. The enchanted youth resolved to seek her out and so wandered away through the forest and down under the sea. Before you read What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us? Are beautiful things worth treasuring? A thing of beauty is a joy forever Its loveliness increases, it will never Pass into nothingness; but will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and qui…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

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1. Describe what makes something beautiful. Get Solution →
2. Explore the meaning of nature's beauty. Get Solution →
3. List other famous poems about beauty. Get Solution →
4. Who is the author of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty'? Get Solution →
5. The poem 'A Thing of Beauty' is an excerpt from which larger work by the poet? Get Solution →
6. In the Greek legend that the poem is based on, who is Endymion? Get Solution →
7. According to the first line of the poem, a thing of beauty is a joy for how long? Get Solution →
8. What are 'rills' as defined in the provided text? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 Human brains have a specific region that lights up when perceiving beauty.
• 💡 Some flowers, like orchids, pretend to be female insects to attract mates.
• 💡 The world's oldest living tree is over 5,000 years old, found in California.
• 💡 A single average cloud can hold enough water to fill hundreds of swimming pools.
• 💡 John Keats wrote this famous poem at only 21 years of age.

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