The Essay - Alice Oswald on Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn

Alice Oswald on Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn

Download Alice Oswald on Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn

1819 was a stunningly fertile year for John Keats, when he wrote five of the greatest and most frequently anthologised odes in the English language, fresh-minting phrases now in common use , such as "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.....","Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty....." and "O, for a beaker full of the warm South....."

All this week, leading contemporary poets each celebrate a single ode, explaining what it means to them.

From her home in rural Devon, Alice Oswald brings together her unique blend of poetic sensibility, classical scholarship and personal impressions as she explores Keats' great poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn.

Classically educated poet and former gardener Alice Oswald has won many awards and is commonly considered to be amongst the greatest poets writing in English today.

Producer: Beaty Rubens


Published on Monday, 7th January 2019.

Available Podcasts from The Essay

Subscribe to The Essay

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Essay webpage.