Question:
Write the central idea of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty'.
Write the central idea of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty'.
Updated On: Sep 24, 2026
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Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Theme:
John Keats's 'A Thing of Beauty' (an extract from 'Endymion') asserts that beauty in the world — in nature, in stories, in human bonds — is a permanent source of joy that never fades and continually renews our spirit.
Step 2: Message:
Amidst life's despondence, sorrow, and hardship — the 'inhuman dearth of noble natures', the gloom of daily struggles — beautiful things like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils, and simple human affections act as an 'endless fountain of immortal drink', lifting the human spirit and connecting us to something eternal beyond our mortal lives.
Final Answer:
The central idea is that beauty in nature and human life is an everlasting source of joy that keeps despair at bay and elevates the human spirit, binding us to the earth in a beautiful, healing way.
John Keats's 'A Thing of Beauty' (an extract from 'Endymion') asserts that beauty in the world — in nature, in stories, in human bonds — is a permanent source of joy that never fades and continually renews our spirit.
Step 2: Message:
Amidst life's despondence, sorrow, and hardship — the 'inhuman dearth of noble natures', the gloom of daily struggles — beautiful things like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils, and simple human affections act as an 'endless fountain of immortal drink', lifting the human spirit and connecting us to something eternal beyond our mortal lives.
Final Answer:
The central idea is that beauty in nature and human life is an everlasting source of joy that keeps despair at bay and elevates the human spirit, binding us to the earth in a beautiful, healing way.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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