John Keats’ poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a classic piece of Romantic literature that emphasizes the theme of the power of art and beauty. The poem is a meditation on an urn, which is a type of ceramic vessel in which people of Ancient Greece placed ashes after a cremation. The poem suggests that art and beauty can live on, even after the physical manifestations of it have passed away.

The following excerpt from the poem emphasizes this theme:

“Thou, silent form! dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.””

The theme emphasized here is that beauty and truth, often considered the highest ideals in art and literature, are eternal. The speaker of the poem speaks to the urn as if it is a witness to the passing of generations and all the suffering and sorrow that comes with them. Yet the urn remains, and is a lasting reminder of the beauty and truth that can transcend the physical world.

The poem ultimately suggests that beauty and truth can be appreciated and remembered, even after the people and things associated with them have disappeared. By emphasizing this theme, Keats strengthens the Romantic belief in the power of art and beauty to live on.