KEATS’ STYLE IN EVE OF SAINT AGNES
Keats's ambition to write a romance was best realized by this poem, a version of the Romeo-and-Juliet story about two young lovers whose families are enemies. Keats makes use of the legend of St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins. On January 20, the night before the saint's day, a young girl was supposed to perform certain rituals before going to bed in order to have a
dream of her future husband.
The poem is set in an
old castle. The coldness of winter and the drafty castle are contrasted with the warmth of Madeline and her ardent lover, Porphyro. As in many romances, the hero and heroine promise a renewal of life in a setting of danger and deca.
STYLE. Keats used the Spenserian
stanza, a form associated with adventure and romance.
STANZAS. The first character we meet is the beadsman, an old holy man praying in the cold chapel. As he leaves the chapel he hears the sounds of music coming from the main hall of the castle, where preparations are being made for a
feast and a ball. The"golden tongue" of the music contrasts with the chill of the silent chapel.
In stanzas 4 and the music blares in the hall, where guests in rich and glittering costumes burst in to start the festivities. Madeline is among the party, but she is absent-minded, thinking only of what she must do that night to have a dream of her future husband. She must eat no supper, she must go to bed without looking to either side or behind, and she must pray for the vision of St. Agnes. Thinking of these rules, Madeline barely notices the various guests and the young men who with to dancee with her. She is oblivious to the "looks of love, defiance, hate, and scorn" exchanged by the others.
Meanwhile, Porphyro approaches the castle. He is not an invited guest but an intruder, a member of a family at war with Madeline's kinfolk. He hopes to sneak in and find Madeline, to see and worship her, and perhaps to "speak, kneel, toouch, kiss" (
line 81). Entering a remote part of the castle, he happens to meet his onlly friend there, a feeble old dame named Angela. She is frighened for Porphyro and warns him, in stanza 12, that all his enemies are present at the feast. Undaunted, Porphyro asks about Madeline. When Angela relates Madeline's plan to pra to St. Agnes for a vision, he determines to enact the vision Madeline expects. Angela objects, calling Porphyro "cruel" and "impious" (line 140). But he protests and makes an ambiguous promise that he "will not harm her" (line 145). Then he threatens to make a noise and alert his enemies if Angela does not help him carry out his plan. Angela gives in and leads him to Madeline's bedchamber, saying, "Thou must needs the lady wed" (line 179). Porphyro hides in the closet while Angela hobbles off to get some fancy treats from the feast to bring to Madeline's
room. These will enhance the idea that her vision is all a dream.
In stanza 23 Madeline enters her room. She is silent; the pale moonlight shining into the dark room through a window of stained glass, casts colors on Madeline's breast as she kneels in silent prayer. Then, as Porphyro watches, Madeline takes off her jewels and her dress, and not looking behind, she lies down and falls asleep. Porphyro gazes at her and then sets to work creating a dream image in her room. He arranges a table full of the most exotic delicacies, a love-feast of fruits and spiced sweets. When all is ready he speaks to her, but she is lost in her dream. He takes up her lute and plays a love song.
In stanza 33 Madeline opens her eyes. She has just been dreaming of Porphyro, and when she sees him in reality he seems to her not so perfect as in her dream. In comparison the real Porphyro seems "pallid, chill, and drear" (line 311). She asks for her dream again. In response, Prophyro does what any lover would want to do; he "melted" into her dream, making it come true.
Outside, a cold windstorm has arisen. Calling her his "bride," Porphyro urges Madeline towith him from this hostile house and to come across the moors to where, he says, "I have a home for thee" (line 351). The two lovers glide down the great stairway and out of the main door while the partakers of last evening's feast lie about in drunken sleep.
The last stanza tells us that Madeline's father, the baron, had nightmares, as did many of his guests. And old Angela and the beadsman die before dawn. Thus Porphyro had done all that he planned--gaze, kneel, speak, touch, kiss--and more, carrying away a bride from the stronghold of hostility and death.
The poem works through a series of contrasts in imagery: light and dark, warm and cold, noise and silence, young beauty and aged deformity, to present contrasts between hate and love, dream and reality, passion and death.
More reviews about the John Keats