A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

Meaning of “A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever”

The phrase “a thing of beauty is a joy forever” means a beautiful object, natural or artificial, makes a person happy for a long time even if its beautify fades, or put into different circumstances. It is always a source of enjoyment, happiness, and pleasure for a person or a group of people.

Origin of “A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever”

John Keats used the phrase in his poem ‘Endymion,’ written in 1818 after the closing of the Age of Enlightenment. While British philosopher like Shaftesbury and Hume believed that beauty depends on one’s good moral standards and character. John Keat’s approach was different. He said that beauty is available to anyone who had eyes to see. It is a direct claim that a beautiful thing gives enjoyment to the people. It can be interpreted in different ways.

In 1885, Julia Magruder parodied Keats in her novel, Across the Chasm as “The mud-scraper’, she wrote her mother, in her first letter home, ‘is a thing of beauty, and the coal-scuttle a joy forever.”

Examples from Literature

Example #1

Endymion, Book I by John Keats

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
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, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.”

The phrase is written in in the very first line while the rest of the lines present its explanation. The phrase is a complete sentence in itself. It has now become a proverbial sentence, as it shows and represents the aesthetic sense of a person. The next few lines also list out the things we can consider as beautiful and how a person can experience pleasure when looking and tasting them. The interesting point is explained in the last line that such a thing exists in every person.

Example #2

A Thing of Beauty by A. J. Cornin

It is a beautiful novel written by A. J. Cornin, with the first part of this phrase as the Title, ‘A Thing of Beauty’. This novel was first published in 1956. It was initially titled as Crusader’s Tomb but was later changed to A Thing of Beauty. It is because the novel tells the story of a painter, Stephen, who sacrifices his life for his passion for art. His continuous struggle to create beauty in his paintings alludes to the concept of beauty of John Keats.

Example #3

Thing of Beauty by Hothouse Flowers

A thing of beauty is not a thing to ignore
Can’t you see (can’t you see)
It in the magic when a boy meets a girl? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you feel it, can’t you feel it
In the wonders of the changes of the world? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you see (can’t you see)
It when right comes out of wrong? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you feel (can’t you feel)
It as it goes on and on? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you see (can’t you see)
It in what’s left beneath the ground? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you feel (can’t you feel)
It in the mystery of sound? (of sound, thing of beauty)
Can’t you see
Can’t you see it in the glory of the sun? (thing of beauty)
Can’t you feel, can’t you feel it in the wonder of the one…
One
Can’t you feel one and only?
One and only
Can’t you feel it, can’t you feel it, feel it
Thing of beauty?

This final part of the lyric ‘Thing of Beauty’ by Hothouse Flowers gives a clue to the original phrase of John Keats and its popularity. It starts with the first part of the phrase, ‘A thing of beauty’ and ends with it. The poet has beautifully stated how little things can make a person ponder and see these little things are beautiful and that they should not be ignored. The most beautiful thing is the refrain ‘can’t you see,’ adds beauty to this part of the lyric. It also reminds that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

Examples of Sentences from Literature

Example #1: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever for him, as he has always liked flowers wherever he finds them.” This sentence has used this phrase as a metaphor for flowers.

Example #2: “Like a thing of beauty as a joy forever, he moves around and spreads happiness whoever he meets. In fact, he himself is a thing of beauty.” In these two sentences, the phrase has been used as a simile as well as a metaphor. The first use is as a simile as the use of the word “like” suggests. In the second, it has been used as a metaphor, as the person has been likened to the beauty. Also, there is a repetition of “a thing of beauty” as it has been repeated for the sake of emphasis.

Example #3: “A thing of beauty is a beauty of thing; a quality that makes a person and little objects to be artistically described for its qualities.” As the first part of this phrase has been reversed to create effects for beauty, it is the use of chiasmus.

Example #4: “Although a thing of beauty is a joy forever, in fact, it depends on a person whether he considers that thing beautiful or not. It is also that every person has a different yardstick for beauty.” Here the phrase has been used as a complex or complicated sentence, but as a literary device, it has been used as a metaphor.

Example #5: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever” shows the use of caesura. In fact, a caesura is an internal interval or pause that ends sense but not make it a metrical unit. Here, the first part is “a thing of beauty” after which there seems a pause. Therefore, it is the use of caesura that Keats has made.