Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn

Anurag Jain poetry

Structure

Themes: Materialism

This poem states that in this day and age our society is materialistic and obsessed with vanity. This is emphasised by the endless references to brands or objects that are well known (particularly in Britain) – ‘Burberry…Manchester to Motherwell or Slough…Daily Express’. These nouns all have connotations associated with Western Society. Note how only materialistic things - like clothing and 'motors' - are used to describe these people, not their personalities.

• Turnbull was inspired by Keats' "Ode to a Grecian urn"
• Turnbull keeps to the same structure as Keats - five stanzas of ten lines with a rhyming scheme ABABCDE(DCE).
• The triplet may vary between DCE/CED.
• Turnbull also keeps to the ordering as Keats over the five stanzas.
• Turnbull deliberately keeps the form traditional, but the use of poetic techniques - alliteration, enjambment, caesura - are as much features of Turnbull's poem as of Keats'.

Pastiche - a copy with an amusing intent (of Keats' poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn"), Turnball updates the poem for a modern reader.

Themes: Time vs beauty

Turnbull presents the idea of how beauty is subjective and how sometimes the greatest beauty is beauty that does not conform to society’s ideal. Turnbull highlights that the people depicted on this urn are free from time similar to Ode on a Grecian Urn - also, the people depicted are simultaneously frozen in time as well. Within the urn, all beauty is forever conserved and is unchangeable, and this reflects the idea that beauty in this world is eternal. In essence, the Urn exists outside of time in another realm, different to the human one in a sense. The people inside this urn do not age and this is some all humans crave - youth.

Poetic devices

• Enjambment is used consistently through the poem to create fluidity in the poem
• It could also represent how eventually, the objects around us will continue to exist on into the future because the future is eternal and endless.

Tone/Voice

Language

What other poems can this poem be compared to?

Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn

Please Hold - humour and modern life

Look We Have Coming to Dover - reinventions of classic poems

The voice of our speaker is inviting and engaging as he/she adopts a chatty style. This is evident from the initial beginning of the poem: ‘Hello! What’s all this here?’. The use of exclamatory language and language that the reader will be able to relate to means that a familiar, informal atmosphere what is created.

‘Shirley Temple manque’ – the term ‘Manque’ used in reference to a person who has not been able to live up to their own personal ambitions. It can be used in relation to a role model or public figure of some sort. In this case it is ‘Shirley Temple’ a famous actress who rose to fame as a child. The lexis choice made by the poet indicates to the reader that many young girls perhaps wish to be as famous as Shirley Temple but have failed to do so.

Out of the Bag - mix of high and low cultures

You, Shiva and my mum and Look we have coming to Dover- culture and society

Poetic devices

Language

• 5 stanzas, each with 10 lines each (similar to an 'Ode to a Grecian Urn'.

• Each line is metered in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter creates a regular rhythm that is steadfast and continuous throughout the poem.

• Turnball uses medial caesura in order to draw the reader's attention to words that carry a greater meaning. For example: ‘the nervous squeals of girls, too young to quite appreciate they are in…’ The use of caesura allows the poet to highlight the issues of our society and how innocence is often exploited and abused in our society.

‘crap estates…clad louts’ – the use of alliteration highlights certain adjectives such as ‘crap’ and ‘clad’, both of which are monosyllabic and produce a harsh and abrupt sound, almost as if the people being described who live on these ‘crap estates’ are of a distasteful nature. Typically, the noun ‘louts’ would be used to describe an aggressive male. The fact that these ‘louts’ are clothed in ‘Burberry’ a high-class British designer is ironic and suggests to the reader that the clothes they wear (and their personalities) are not genuine - it's all a facade

Imagery

The image of reckless youth is evoked, with the 'live fast, die young' psyche inherent throughout the poem. The phrase "pumped on youth and ecstasy" has connotations of youthful abandon and rebellion. Ecstasy is a criminalised drug that many teenagers experiment with. This suggests their sense of happiness is artificial and will end in a severe descent (when they grow older and have lost the energy of youth), just like the high from ecstasy. Both things are finite and when they have gone, all you're left with is a nasty hangover - the thing about these people is that they are forever frozen in time, which symbolises the eternal beauty of art.

Context

Tim Turnbull was born in 1960 in North Yorkshire. He worked in the forestry industry for many years and started writing poetry in the early nineties. He studied at Middlesex and Sheffield Hallam Universities while becoming a regular on the London performance scene.

"given head in crude games of chlamydia roulette" young people often experiment with their sexuality and often take risks. Put these together and you have the image of a dangerous game of Russian roulette - like being unable to know which chamber the bullet is in, there are no ways to tell if a person has chlamydia. Despite its obvious risks, they still insist on playing this 'game', maybe for the adrenaline rush or the fact that they feel socially implored to do so. Another thing worth noting is the word 'games' - this gives a playground feel to this line, suggesting they are immature and haven't passed into the adult world yet.

Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn has been described as a modern rendition of Keats' Ode On a Grecian Urn. Grayson Perry is a ceramic artist, who stealthily comments on societal injustices and hypocrisies through his art. He has the tendency to cross-dress and shows his subjects at odds with their attractive appearances.

What is an ode?

An ode is a formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea.

In this poem, Turnbull seems to glorify this group's way of life. He celebrates their youth, their courage, and their rebellious nature. Even the public road network that these youths congregate on (dubbed the 'Queen's highway') is elevated to almost regal status. The surroundings of these people seem to be bettered simply by their presence.