Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art

1. Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art By: John Keats (1795-1821)

2. The life of Keats… Parents died at the age of 15 This left his family in debt and with hard times

3. He apprenticed medicine at 17 In 1816, he was one step away from being a surgeon

4. Life as a Poet… 1818- he published his first book of poetry Failure instead of success Harsh Reviews lead to doubting himself…

5. After his brother passed, he miracously poured out amazing pieces of literature…

6. Along came Fanny… Fanny Brawne was the love of his life. He sent her loving letters She helped him through the Hardships of life….

7. A moment of silence… 25 years old… 1795-1818

8. “The Works” O Solitude appeared in the Examiner in May 1816 Lamia Isabella The Eve of St Agnes Bright Star is considered one of the most famous Romantic period Pieces

9. O’ Solitude O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,- Nature’s observatory - whence the dell, Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell, May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep ’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell. But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee, Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind, Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d, Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be Almost the highest bliss of human-kind, When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

10. About the Poem… Keats was a very lonely man He describes the place he wants to be alone… He praises solitude, it’s not so bad after all… He finds peace in the woods, in most of his poems…

11. “Bright Star” Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art-- Not in lone splendour hung aloft the nightAnd watching, with eternal lids apart,Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike taskOf pure ablution round earth's human shores,Or gazing on the new soft-fallen maskOf snow upon the mountains and the moors— No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

12. Theme The poet’s desire is to be like a star He wants to live in an unchanging state

13. Structure Shakespearean Sonnet ababcdcdefefgg Extremely Dynamic Lines 1-12- Conflict adress 12-13- couplet

14. Poem Analysis Lines 1-4 First lines state that the star is the main focal point. The star is said to be eternal (“patient”) unchanging (“sleepless”) and beyond the speaker’s immediate grasp (“aloft”) The star is explained as watching over the watching over the earth Eremite is a religious hermit, one who lives a life of seclusion

15. Lines 5-8 • This part describes what the star is watching over • One symbol is pureness • The “moving waters” suggest their “ablution” is religious purification • “priest like tasks” which is performed on “human shores” • Snow is called “the new soft-fallen mask” • He shows this because he wants humans to be pure and spiritual • His way of interpreting life • These ongoing changes and eventual decay that result in death.

16. Lines 9-14 • Now changes the focus of the star’s life, to his own. • Here he compares himself to the star • He wishes to be “unchangeable” • He wishes that his human eternity be human love • To be “pillowed” upon love’s breast • Here he introduces a symbol of eternity • He uses words as “ripening” and “aloft” • Thus a paradox is created

17. Paradox • While the star is merely “watching” the “moving waters,” the speaker wishes to actually “feel” his love’s living body. • His desire is not to exist in “lone splendor” but rather to be in “unchangeable” proximity with his love — to be, in other words, eternally human. • Personification- the star feels human qualities it is patient • The speaker envisions a “sweet unrest”

18. Last Two Lines Talks of living the sensual experience of Love Which becomes characterized as slipping away of time feeling as if it is “forever” Speaker hopes he can be “swoon to death” at the moment of complete happiness

19. Discussion

20. Comparison to “Bright Star” • An allusion of this poem is the poem • “Choose Something Like a Star” by Robert Frost

21. O Star (the fairest one in sight),We grant your loftiness the rightTo some obscurity of cloud—It will not do to say of night,Since dark is what brings out your light.Some mystery becomes the proud.

22. But to the wholly taciturnIn your reserve is not allowed.Say something to us we can learnBy heart and when alone repeat.Say something! And it says, 'I burn.'But say with what degree of heat.

23. Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.Use language we can comprehend.Tell us what elements you blend.It gives us strangely little aid,But does tell something in the end. And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,Not even stooping from its sphere,It asks a little of us here.

24. It asks of us a certain height,So when at times the mob is swayedTo carry praise or blame too far,We may choose something like a starTo stay our minds on and be staid.

25. About the poem The speaker of the poem looks to the star guidance. Just like Keats poem, they both look to star and mention is position, not to change.

26. The turn around… In line 18, Frost mentions Keats’s “Eremite” Eremite is Keats’s wilderness solitude

27. Movie Time The drama based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which was cut short by Keats' untimely death at age 25.