A Thing of Beauty Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English will make you outstanding in securing the best marks in the poetry section of Flamingo. A Thing of Beauty NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poem 4 will cover a summary in English and Hindi, a critical analysis of all stanzas, important words, and phrases of A Thing of Beauty; CBSE/HBSE previous year’s questions; the central idea of the poem; poetic devices; and comprehension of stanzas will give you an edge over other students. Every line is made by a well-known English teacher who has been teaching for at least 25 years.
About John Keats, Sensuous poet: A Thing of Beauty
“John Keats(31 October 1795-23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death at 25 in the year 1821″.
His poems were not appreciated during his lifetime. He became famous after his death. At the end of the 19th century, he was recognised as one of the most beloved English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats’ work was the most significant literary experience of his life.
All his great odes contain sensuous appeal. His famous odes are: “Ode to Nightingale”, “Ode to Autumn”, and “Ode to Melancholy.” His use of ‘sensuous’ language was the main characteristic of his entire poetry. 
“A Thing of Beauty” is a small part of his poem “Endymion: A Poetic Romance” and 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 youth resolved to seek her out and therefore, he wandered away in the forest and down under 
the sea.
A Thing of Beauty Summary Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
Introduction
“A Thing of Beauty” is a small part of his poem “Endymion: A Poetic Romance” and 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 youth resolved to seek her out; therefore, he wandered away in the forest and down under the sea. The poem’s main idea is explained in the first line, “A Thing of Beauty.” The poet starts with a positive note that beauty never ends and its attraction goes on increasing.
Summary main points
Beautiful things boost positivity.
What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us? “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” John Keats elaborates on his main idea through this line. A beautiful thing always brings joy to our lives. It never “passes into nothingness”. He emphasises that beautiful things never go extinct. Its attraction always increases. Beautiful things always act as a “bower”, which gives us shade in the summer, where everyone can relax and calm down. The poet uses all positive words like joy, loveliness, beauty, bliss, quiet, sleep, and sweet dreams. They convey the positive aspects of beautiful things. John Keats belonged to the Romantic Era when poets used to write about nature and its surroundings. The poet explains the natural things that are always beautiful. John Keats was a sensual poet, and his theme of beauty is related to the human senses.
Beautiful things eliminate our negativity.
Beautiful things are always helpful in decreasing our stress and anxiety. The poet discussed in the next stanza some negatives we have in our lives and how they can be neutralised by beautiful things. “morrow”, “wreathing”, “despondence”, “inhuman dearth”, “gloomy days”, and “dark spirits” are some of the negative words used by the poet in the second stanza to explain that these negative vibes can be wiped out by the positivity of beautiful things. Beautiful things’ acts are noble, and they help us to eradicate our gloomy days, despondence and darkened ways to make us happy and positive. The poet uses symbols of the sun, moon, trees, and shady boon to moving the pall from “dark spirits”.
Beautiful things are spiritual and act as a fountain of immortal drink.
In the third stanza of the poem, the poet compares “sheep” with human beings, and Endymion was a shepherd. Here the poet brings spirituality in the form of sheep. Sheep and daffodils live in a green world, which acts against the hot season where we find “fair musk-rose blooms.” This is the beauty of the green world, where things are dead but beauty always remains life in the form of nature. Beautiful things are compared to fountains of immortal drink. After drinking this immortal drink, humans will go to heaven. Such is the beauty of beautiful things. Heaven’s blessings are there in the form of an “immortal drink”.
Conclusion
In the poem, “A Thing of Beauty”, John Keats elaborates on his point that “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
The Thing of Beauty Summary in Hindi Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poem 4(courtesy: Google Translate)
परिचय
“A Thing of Beauty”, “ए थिंग ऑफ ब्यूटी” उनकी कविता “एंडिमियन: ए पोएटिक रोमांस” का एक छोटा सा हिस्सा है और यह एक ग्रीक किंवदंती पर आधारित है, जिसमें एंडिमियन, एक सुंदर युवा चरवाहा और कवि जो माउंट लैटमोस पर रहते थे, ने सिंथिया का एक दर्शन किया था, चंद्रमा देवी। युवक ने उसकी तलाश करने का संकल्प लिया; इसलिए, वह जंगल में और समुद्र के नीचे भटक गया। कविता का मुख्य विचार पहली पंक्ति, “ए थिंग ऑफ ब्यूटी” में समझाया गया है। कवि एक सकारात्मक टिप्पणी से शुरू करता है कि सुंदरता कभी खत्म नहीं होती और उसका आकर्षण बढ़ता ही जाता है।
सारांश मुख्य बिंदु
सुंदर चीजें सकारात्मकता को बढ़ावा देती हैं।
एक खूबसूरत चीज हमें क्या खुशी देती है? “सौन्दर्य की अनुभूति सौन्दर्यवान वस्तु से अधिक समय तक बनी रहती है।” जॉन कीट्स इस पंक्ति के माध्यम से अपने मुख्य विचार को विस्तार से बताते हैं। एक खूबसूरत चीज हमारे जीवन में हमेशा खुशी लाती है। यह कभी भी “शून्यता में नहीं जाता”। वह इस बात पर जोर देते हैं कि सुंदर चीजें कभी विलुप्त नहीं होतीं। इसका आकर्षण हमेशा बढ़ता रहता है। सुंदर चीजें हमेशा एक “बोवर” का काम करती हैं, जो हमें गर्मियों में छाया देती है, जहां हर कोई आराम कर सकता है और शांत हो सकता है। कवि सभी सकारात्मक शब्दों का उपयोग करता है जैसे आनंद, प्रेम, सौंदर्य, आनंद, शांत, नींद और मीठे सपने। वे सुंदर चीजों के सकारात्मक पहलुओं को व्यक्त करते हैं। जॉन कीट्स रोमांटिक युग के थे जब कवि प्रकृति और उसके परिवेश के बारे में लिखते थे। कवि प्राकृतिक चीजों की व्याख्या करता है जो हमेशा सुंदर होती हैं। जॉन कीट्स एक कामुक कवि थे, और उनकी सुंदरता का विषय मानवीय इंद्रियों से संबंधित है।
खूबसूरत चीजें हमारी नकारात्मकता को खत्म कर देती हैं।
खूबसूरत चीजें हमेशा हमारे तनाव और चिंता को कम करने में मददगार होती हैं। कवि ने अगले श्लोक में चर्चा की कि हमारे जीवन में कुछ नकारात्मकताएँ हैं और उन्हें सुंदर चीजों से कैसे बेअसर किया जा सकता है। “कल”, “पुष्पांजलि”, “निराशा”, “अमानवीय कमी”, “उदास दिन”, और “अंधेरे आत्माएं” कुछ ऐसे नकारात्मक शब्द हैं जिनका उपयोग कवि ने दूसरे श्लोक में यह समझाने के लिए किया है कि इन नकारात्मक वाइब्स को मिटाया जा सकता है सुंदर चीजों की सकारात्मकता से बाहर। सुंदर चीजों के कार्य प्रकृति में महान होते हैं, और वे हमें हमारे उदास दिनों, निराशा और हमें खुश और सकारात्मक बनाने के अंधेरे तरीकों को मिटाने में मदद करते हैं। कवि सूर्य, चंद्रमा, वृक्षों और छायादार वरदान के प्रतीकों का उपयोग “अंधेरे आत्माओं” से दूर करने के लिए करता है।
सुंदर चीजें आध्यात्मिक हैं, जो अमर पेय के फव्वारे के रूप में कार्य करती हैं।
कविता के तीसरे श्लोक में, कवि “भेड़” की तुलना मनुष्यों से करता है, और एंडिमियन एक चरवाहा था। यहाँ कवि भेड़ के रूप में आध्यात्मिकता लाता है। भेड़ और डैफोडील्स एक हरी-भरी दुनिया में रहते हैं, जो गर्म मौसम के खिलाफ काम करती है जहां हम “उचित कस्तूरी-गुलाब खिलते हैं।” यह है हरी भरी दुनिया की खूबसूरती, जहां चीजें मरी हुई हैं लेकिन सुंदरता हमेशा प्रकृति के रूप में जिंदा रहती है। सुंदर चीजों की तुलना अमर पेय के फव्वारे से की जाती है। इस अमर पेय को पीने के बाद मनुष्य स्वर्ग में जाएगा। ऐसी है सुंदर चीजों की सुंदरता। स्वर्ग का आशीर्वाद “अमर पेय” के रूप में है।
निष्कर्ष
कविता में, “ए थिंग ऑफ ब्यूटी”, जॉन कीट्स अपने बिंदु पर विस्तार से बताते हैं कि “सौंदर्य की चीज हमेशा के लिए एक खुशी है।”
A Thing of Beauty Critical Analysis Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
The poem, “A Thing of Beauty,” written by John Keats, explains the beauty and its importance for human beings in everyday life. The poem is based on Romantic poetry where poets like William Wordsworth and Byron explain the fundamentals of “Return to Nature” due to the industrial revolution, which created greed, corruption, and materialism. John Keats used the AABB rhyme scheme in “A Thing of Beauty.”
Stanza 1.
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, health, and quiet breathing.
Important words and phrases meaning in stanza 1.
- A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Nature always brings joy to our life.
- loveliness increases: Beauty always moves up
- it will never Pass into nothingness; Beauty never ends
- A bower quiet for us: Nature provides a pleasant place in the shade under a tree
- Full of sweet dreams, health, and quiet breathing.: In Nature, we get sweet dreams, good health, and comfortable breathing.
Critical analysis of stanza 1 A Thing of Beauty
In stanza 1, John Keats justifies the theme of “A Thing of Beauty” in the very first line of the stanza. The poet further embellishes the positive aspect of nature. The beauty of beautiful things always increases and never ceases. It never dies and it lives forever. Nature gives us shade and keeps us away from being too hot. We can relax under the shade of trees and we can have good dreams as we move away from the tension of daily life. Good breathing makes us healthy. There is no industrial pollution in the lap of nature.
Antonyms and Synonyms in stanza 1 of “A Thing of Beauty”
Synonyms:
- Forever: Synonyms: always/endlessly/permanently
- Loveliness: beautiful/kudos/splendour
- Nothingness: pettiness/smallness/unimportance
- Quiet: calm/peace/cool
- Bower: arbor/grove/shady
Antynonyms:
- Forever: never/end/limited
- Loveliness: ugliness/foulness/horribleness
- Nothingness: existence/being
- Bower: uncover/without shade
- Quiet: noise/loud/public
Stanza 2.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, despite all,
Some shape of beauty moves away from the pall
From our dark spirits. Such as the sun, the moon,
Important words and phrases meaning in stanza 2.
- morrow: morning
- wreathing: arrangement of flowers
- flowery band: a bundle of flowers
- bind us to the earth: attachment to earth
- despondence: feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression despondent
- inhuman dearth: People without ethics, qualities. People are self-centered.
- noble natures: people are bad but nature is always noble.
- gloomy days: days full of anxiety, fatigue, tension, and stress.
- unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways: unethical ways of humans
- beauty move away the pall: beautiful things move away the cover from bad things and give us hope.
- dark spirits: Men with dark ideas and thinking.
Antonyms and Synonyms in a stanza of “A Thing of Beauty”
Synonyms:
- wreathing: enlacing/entwining/implicating.
- despondence: despairing, desperate, dissolution,and hopeless
- inhuman: barbaric/barbarous/bestial/brutal
- gloomy: bad/darkened/bleak/cloudy/dim.
- darkened: bright/good
Antonyms:
- wreathing: straighten. flatten.
- despondence: happiness
- inhuman: human
- gloomy: happy/cheerful/bright
- darkened: beautiful
Critical analysis of stanza 2.
In stanza 2, the poet puts light on the daily human problems of frustration, anxiety, and tension. Nature consoles us in our dismal days where people have unhealthy and unethical ways of living. Beautiful things cover all such bad things created by dark spirits, demons, and devils. John Keats uses symbols of the sun, moon, and trees which are used by the poet to prove his point that nature gives us hope.
Stanza 3
Such as the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
Important words and phrases meaning in stanza 3.
- Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon: John Keats uses the symbols such as the sun, moon, and trees old, and young to represent the symbol of nature. - sheep: represent humans as Endymion is the shepherd.
- daffodils: daffodil flower symbol of nature.
- green world: the lap of nature.
- they: humans.
- clear rills: transparent small streams. Symbol of beautiful things.
- cooling covert: shelter of bushes gives protection from heat.
- Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms: an abundance of musk rose smell.
- sprinkling: spray.
Antonyms and Synonyms in stanza 3 of “A Thing of Beauty”
- Synonyms of gloomy days: bleak, cheerless, desolate, dismal, and dreary. While all these words mean “devoid of cheer or comfort,” gloomy often suggests a lack of hope or promise.
- Antonyms of gloomy: happy
- sprouting: germinate, grow, bud.
- rills: brook, channel, creek.
- dark spirits: beast, demon, devil
Critical analysis of stanza 3.
In stanza 3, John Keats further develops his ideas about nature and its importance in our daily lives, when we are in full tension due to the competitive nature of work. The poet uses symbols of the sun, moon, and trees to soothe the anxiety of human beings. The sheep symbolize human beings and the shepherd is Endymion, who lives on a mountain in the lap of nature. Daffodils and brooks help us to feel calm and cool due to our hectic schedule. Musk rose sprinkles the beautiful feather on us to calm us. Therefore, the poet advises us to “return to nature.” John Keats arouses our senses to feel.
Critical analysis of stanza 4 of A Thing Of Beauty
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from heaven’s brink
Critical analysis of stanza 4 of A Thing Of Beauty
John Keats honors the kudos of our ancestors and says they are missed on Doom’s Day. Their eminence is a symbol of positivity like nature, which is always beautiful. The splendor of beautiful things is like an “endless fountain” and pours the “immortal drink”. Nature is like heaven, where we are glorified. The poet uses the image of an “endless fountain” for nature and appeals to us to “Return to Nature” like all other poets of the Romantic Era.
Important words and phrases meaning in stanza 4.
- “grandeur of the dooms”: Referred to the honor and splendour of our ancestors whose acts became symbols of positivity. These celebrities are always missed on Doom’s Day.
- “mighty dead”: Splended ancestors/ kudos/eminence
- “lovely tales”: Beautiful tales of our ancestors we are fond of reading.
- “endless fountain”: God’s Blessings Symbol is never endangered. Image of nature in the endless fountain.
- “immortal drink”: Beautiful things are like immortal drinks and never ended. Nature is a symbol of unending life. Amar Jeewan.
- “Pouring unto us from heaven’s brink”: The poet kudos/honors Nature as God’s gift of heaven.
Important antonyms and synonyms in stanza 4 of A Thing Of Beauty
- grandeur: Synonyms: glory/majesty/splendour/magnificence
- grandeur: Antonyms: brave/dishonourable/inelegance
- Immortal: Synonyms: never dying/eternal/endless/enduring
- Immortal: Antonyms: ceasing/ending/temporary
A Thing of Beauty Poetic Devices Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
Metaphor in A Thing of Beauty
Definition: The comparison of two unrelated things is to convey some hidden meaning in the poem. John Keats used some metaphorical words in his poem, “A Thing of Beauty.” The poetic device, a metaphor creates some sensational effects and meanings of higher values.
- Bower: calm, cool, shade.
- Sweet dreams are happy dreams that make us cool, calm, and tension-free.
- Flowery band: The flowery band binds us to earth and belongs to beautiful things, which conveys a positive attitude towards beautiful things.
- Pall: John Keats used the word “pall” for a cool shade like trees, old and young. They shave us from the heat.
- Endless Fountain of Immortal Drink: The poet explains that something is heavenly and compares the fountain of immortal drink to nature or beautiful things which are auspicious for humans. Humans can have heavenly feelings.
Alliteration in A Thing of Beauty
Definition: Alliteration means the happening of the same incidents at the beginning of the poem two or more times in a single line. It is a repeat of consonant sounds of two words placed near each other. It is a poetic device. The poet uses it for creating some fear and associated feeling to it.
The poetic device, Alliteration, in the poem, A Thing of Beauty
1. The poet creates a rhythm. in A Thing Of Beauty.
- The poet used the AABBC rhyme scheme to make his point of view in A Thing of Beauty.
- “That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,” - Put more emphasis on phrases to deliver the meaning.
2. Put more emphasis on phrases to deliver the meaning:
- “simple sheep”:
- “such are daffodils”:
- ” a flowery band to bind us to the earth”
- “spite of despondence, of inhuman dearth”
- “some shape of beauty moves away the pall”
- “from our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon.”
- “Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon”
- “That for themselves a cooling covert make”
- “‘Gainst the hot season, the mid forest brake”
- “Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms”
The poetic device, Imagery, in the poem, A Thing of Beauty
Definition: It denotes some imagination and is used by the poet in the form of some imageries. They touch one of our five senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Uses of imagery in A Thing of Beauty
- A flowery band to bind us to the earth: It represents Earth is beautiful.
- Some shape of beauty moves away from the pall
- From our dark spirits. Such as the sun, and the moon.
- Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
- With the green world they live in, and clear rills.
- An endless fountain of immortal drink.
- Pouring unto us from heaven’s brink
Rhyme scheme: AABBC( forever, never, keep, sleep, breathing)
Inversion: Normal order of words is sometimes reversed to put more effects. (Are we wreathing a flowery band)
Symbols: “simple sheep” refers to mankind as Christ is considered the shepherd who leads human souls out of the dark world of crimes, sins, and temptations. “heaven’s brink”, and “immortal drink”. are the symbols for Christ.
Transferred Epithet: “gloomy days”, “unhealthy and over darkened ways”
Allusion: A brief reference to a person who represents a mythological character. here Endymion is a shepherd who lives on mountain Latmos and he is searching for Cynthia.
Explain the theme/Central idea of ‘A Thing of Beauty’ Perfect NCERT Solution Class 12 English
The poem, “A Thing of Beauty,” written by John Keats, elaborates on beauty and its importance for human beings in everyday life. The poem is based on Romantic poetry where poets like William Wordsworth and Byron emphasize the fundamentals of “Return to Nature” due to the industrial revolution, which created greed, corruption, and materialism.
John Keats wants to embellish through his poem “A Thing of Beauty” that beautiful things always boost our happiness. They always bring us joy, regardless of our sorrow, stress, anxiety, or despondency. It is so beautiful that it can bring catharsis to our feelings and always soothe us in bad times.
The poet explains the main theme of the poem: a thing of beauty is a joy forever and it never ends. Noble acts of nature are always benign in reducing our despondency and sorrow during difficult times. Noble Nature always brings positive vibes during our “gloomy days”. Beautiful things bring light into our “darkened ways.” Our dark spirits can always be covered by “the pall”. Sheep and daffodils live in green places, and these green places give us cool.
Therefore, the poet compares the beautiful things with heaven, where a “sprinkling” of rose “musk” and a fountain of “immortal drink” make everyone happy in the lap of nature.
A Thing of Beauty Textual Questions Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
NCERT BOOK(Page-99)
Think it out
Q.1. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.
Ans. The poet mentioned the things of beauty in the poem in large numbers. The poet mentioned some beautiful things such as ‘bower’, ‘sweet dreams’, ‘flowery band’, ‘noble natures’, ‘moon’, ‘trees’, ‘sun’, ‘sheep’, ‘daffodils’, ‘musk-rose, ‘fountain’, and ‘immortal drink’.
Q.2. List the things that cause suffering and pain.
Ans. The poet brings a contrast between beautiful things and negative things. By bringing contrast, he explains how can we be happy in the lap of nature? He uses suffering and painful words which increase our stress and anxiety such as, ‘morrow’, ‘wreathing’, ‘despondence’, ‘inhuman’, ‘dearth’, ‘unhealthy’, ‘darkened’, ‘dark spirits’, and ‘dooms’.
Q.3. What does the line, ” therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth” suggest to you?
Ans. The poet wishes to convey that, despite our anxieties and tensions, we still have an attachment to nature, and beautiful things always act as a band of flowers that binds us to this beautiful earth.
Q.4.What makes human beings love life despite troubles and sufferings?
Ans. Life is God-gifted and everyone wants to enjoy the gift of God. Beautiful things help us to come out of trouble and suffering. They soothe us at the time of despondence.
Q.5. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead?
“The mighty dead” are those who have distinguished themselves through brave and noble acts. They live forever, and such brave hearts never die. They become legends of our history and are always remembered. Things that live a long time are called beautiful things. We always owe them for their noble cause. On doomsday or judgment day, a sprinkle of ‘immortal drink’ will be poured on them and they will be part of heaven and rewarded with ‘grandeur’.
Ans. The poet uses the image of a heavenly “fountain of immortal drink” to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth. The poet feels that things of beauty never die. The heavenly fountain will always pour “heaven’s brink” on us.
A Thing of Beauty CBSE/HBSE Previous Years’ Exams Questions Complete NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
Q.2. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting impression on us? HBSE 2020
Ans. The beauty of flowers spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits. It means beautiful things help keep away the dark spirits. The pal is removed by the sun and moon.
