Why did the speaker in Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" seem to have a change in opinion towards the urn? Was there some sort of historical significance?

John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a compelling poem for many reasons. One of the main reasons, however, is the remarkable shift in tone that can be observed taking place between the beginning and the end of the poem. Often, it's possible to see this shift in tone as resulting from Keats gradual acceptance of the urn as a stand-alone piece of art.

In the first section of the poem, the speaker impatiently questions the urn, asking for answers regarding its historical and mythical significance. For instance, he asks, "What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?/ What mad pursuit?" (8-9). In other words, the speaker wants to know more about the identities of the people depicted in the urn's painted scene; he wants to have greater knowledge regarding the "truth" behind this particular work of art.

Being a inanimate object, the urn obviously can't answer the speaker's impatient queries. However, the narrator gradually seems to accept this fact. By the end of the poem, he ceases his questioning, and affirms:"'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all/ Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know'" (49-50). This quote is historically significant because it's often attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds, a prominent authority on art in Keats' day. The quote basically states that the beauty of a work of art, including this particular urn, is the only truth that one needs to know. This pronouncement satisfies the formerly impatient speaker. Moreover, the poem's shift in tone is significant because Keats uses it to affirm his opinion that art is the highest form of truth in existence.