"Ode to a Grecian Urn"

Ode to A Grecian Urn engages in a conversation about time as the speaker contemplates the difference between him, a man in the present time, and the urn, an object of eternity. The discussion of time is a frequent conversation of the Romantics.  In this poem the discussion of time is not just about memories i.e. Wordsworth wishing for five years ago at Tintern Abbey.  No, Ode to a Grecian Urn is a much more extreme examination of time.  In this poem, the speaker draws a comparison between the temporal and eternity.  The speaker recognizes that his life is temporal while the lives of the figures on the urn are forever.  Given this recognition, the speaker contemplates the value of his life verse those on the urn. The figures on the urn can never quite accomplish their goals because time never changes.  Keats writes:

....thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,

However, though they can never fulfill these actions, they have the luxury of never fading.  They are always in the  moment right before the kiss meaning that they will never experience the moment after the kiss.  They will never lose anything because time doesn't change. Keats writes:

"...ye soft pipes, play on;"

"She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!"

The comparison Keats draws asks a very provocative question about life's experiences.  Would one rather enjoy life and have experiences but yet fade away with time or would one rather remain in one perfect, exciting moment forever?  I don't know what the answer to this should be; i suppose it differs for all people.  I would venture to guess that Keats' laments the passing of time and envies the eternity of the urn. I base this opinion on the tone of longing or envy i sense in the following lines:

"When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain..."