Tone of "Ode on a Grecian Urn"

The tone of "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is part melancholy and part wonder and praise. Melancholy is seen in Keats comparison of the urn's engraved scenes of nature to the earth's real scenes. For instance, the "happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;" (Keats, p.979) shows the speaker's joy in the way the fact that the urn's branches will stay the same, but the reader then must realize that real boughs must shed their leaves and "bid the spring adieu". The wonder and praise is found in the formal diction and almost songlike language. While the use of "thou", "thy", and "loth", was common in Keats time, the modern use of this type of diction is usually reserved for a reverential tone, such as prayer or the language found in the Holy Bible. The tone then becomes one of praise and reverence for the urn and it's unchanging beauty. Wonder is heard in the question the speaker asks the urn, such as the questions asking about the characters and scenes contained on the urn's surface. "What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape" and "What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?" (Keats, 978-9). The speaker is full of curiousity and wonder. He is not simply observing a well-crafted vase, but almost longing to be part of the scenes and know what story each detail tells.