Bright Star Would I Were Stedfast as Thou Art Annotation

Andrew has a great involvement in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. His poems are published online and in print.

John Keats And A Summary of "Bright Star"

"Bright Star" is one of romantic poet John Keats' most popular sonnets. It is written in the form of a typical Shakespearean sonnet, with 14 lines made up of an octet and a sestet with the volta, or plow, occurring at line 9 and ending with a rhyming couplet. The rhyme scheme is Shakespearean: ababcdcdefefgg

John Keats was deeply in dear at the time it was created, probably in the autumn (October) of 1819. Fanny Brawne, the love of his life, inspired this and several other poems penned around this time, all of which express his undying love for her.

Here are a few lines from one those poems—"I cry your mercy-compassion-love! -aye, love!"—written in what must have been a frenzy of passion and love for Fanny Brawne:

O! permit me have thee whole,—all, all, be mine!
That shape, that fairness, that sweet minor zest
Of love, your kiss—those hands, those eyes divine,
That warm, white, lucent, million-pleasured breast Yourself
—your soul—in pity give me all,
Withhold no atom'southward cantlet or I die.

Keats is saying that he wants all of Fanny Brawne, down to her atoms, or he volition perish. In "Bright Star," Keats echoes these sentiments only introduces the idea of his being like a star, unchangeable all the same forever in the company of his honey. John Keats was drawn to the stars and the romantic idea of them beingness fixed and constant, unlike the chaotic world of humanity.

Keats wrote a letter to his brother Tom in June 1818 during his visit to the English Lake District. Here, he describes his first experience of Lake Windermere:

"There are many disfigurements to this Lake, —not in the way of state or h2o. No; the two views nosotros have had of it are of the most noble tenderness—they tin can never fade away—they brand one forget the divisions of life; historic period, youth, poverty and riches; and refine ane'southward sensual vision into a sort of north star which can never stop to be open lidded and stedfast."

Keats was also a great admirer of Shakespeare and could well have been influenced by the Bard of Avon.

This is from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, where Caesar addresses the conspirators who want to get rid of him:

But I am abiding every bit the northern star,

Of whose true-prepare'd and resting quality

There is no fellow in the firmament.

The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks;

They are all fire and every one doth smoothen;

But in that location'due south but ane in all doth hold his place.

The star, and so, represents this ideal of continuance and fixedness which contrasts with the changing nature of human existence—timeless quality as opposed to temporal disuse.

In the verse form, the speaker wishes to be a bright star only not to exist as a alone entity, aloof and watching. Instead, he wants to always exist with his fair love, awake forever. This is quite a alpine order but a archetype theme for someone every bit romantic equally Keats.

John Keats did not alive long enough to consummate his honey for Fanny Brawne. He died in Rome on Feb 23rd, 1821, of consumption. In a letter to her penned March 1820, he wrote:

I wish to believe in immortality—I wish to alive with you for ever.

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What Are the Themes in "Bright Star"?

Ideal Dearest
Romantic Aspiration
Immortality and Human Decease
Cede For an Ideal
Earthly Desires and Cosmic Existence
Nature's Continuance and Human being restlessness

"Brilliant Star"

Line-past-Line Analysis

In this section, we'll take a look at each line in the verse form more than closely to examine its meaning and identify the poetic devices used in the piece.

Line 1

The speaker addresses the star directly (it could be the North Star, Polaris) and contrasts the star's continuance with his own. He wishes he were as stedfast—steadfast in modern spelling—that is, stock-still and without change. Here, Keats is introducing the thought of nature vs. humanity, the star never changing in its advent, and the homo—the individual—only the reverse.

Lines 2 and 3

Just the speaker doesn't want to exist out in that location on his own, watching, overlooking the globe in isolation, eternally open up-eyed (lids autonomously), without company of whatever sort. Note the enjambment—the second line running on into the 3rd, maintaining the sense and momentum.

Lines 4, 5 and 6

The Eremite is a hermit, a Christian recluse. The speaker states clearly that this is not a conventional religious desire. He doesn't want a Christian eternity, and he does not want purification (ablution . . . in the ritualistic washing of the trunk sense).

Keats was not a regular churchgoing Christian and is generally known to have had a 'lack of religion', hence the nickname Keats the pagan, which was not altogether fair or accurate. He was intensely religious—nature was his spiritual source—but did not practice conventional Christian beliefs.

Lines 7 and eight

The long judgement continues with a description of a snowy landscape, bringing to mind a cold, distant-if-idealistic visual. The speaker has no wish for this 'lone splendour'—there has to be more.

Line 9

The turn, or volta, occurs hither. The speaker wants to be fixed and constant, just he too wants to exist with his love (Fanny Brawne), using her breasts as a pillow, sensing their movement as he lies awake forever in this restless country.

Lines 10–14

The language hither is obviously ("for e'er, ever"), reflecting the longing for an eternal loving relationship. Either information technology must be or not. Death will be the outcome otherwise.

So the speaker, the poet, in near desperation wishes to be in love with his dear for all time. He wants to be similar the star but tin this ever be realised? Surely it's not on? Being homo is all about being changeable, vulnerable and subject to the vagaries of the world.

There are allusions to a sexual motive hither—the lover'due south chest, the sweet unrest, the tender-taken breath, the swoon to death in pure orgasm? This seems unlikely, however, given Keats' own personal health and future prospects.

What Is The Metre (Meter) of "Brilliant Star"?

Bright Star has a basic iambic pentameter beat out but has several lines that pause the familiar daDUM stress pattern of the iambic, bringing varied rhythm and step.

For case, the first human foot of the showtime line is a spondee with double stress for stronger effect at the start. And the second line begins with a trochee, or the start syllable stressed. Note in line 8 how an amphibrach and anapaest combine to produce a lilting rhythm that rises. This combination repeats in the concluding line to expert issue.

Bright star, / would I / were sted / fast as / thou art—
Not in / lone splen / dour hung / aloft / the night
And lookout / ing, with / eter / nal lids / aoffice,
Like nat / ure'due south pat / ient, slumber / less E / remite,
The mov / ing wat / ers at / their priest / like chore
Of pure / ablut / ion round / earth's hu / man shores,
Or gaz / ing on / the new / soft-fall / en mask
Of snow / upon / the moun tains / and the moors—
No—yet / still sted / fast, yet / unchange / able,
Pillow'd / upon / my fair / love'south ripen / ing breast,
To feel / for ev / er its / soft fall / and swell,
Awake / for ev er / in a sugariness / unresiduum,
Still, still / to hear / her ten / der-tak / en breath,
And so / live ev er— / or else swoon / to death.

What Are the Literary/Poetic Devices in "Bright Star"?

In this section, we'll examine some of the poetic devices Keats employed in this Shakespearean sonnet.

Alliteration

Ingemination occurs when two or more words beginning with consonants are close together in a line, affecting phonetics and adding texture and interest. For instance:

"would I were," "mountains and the moors," "feel for ever its soft autumn and swell," "hear her tender-taken"

Caesura

Caesura occurs when a line has a intermission halfway, usually with punctuation. For example:

"Like nature'south patient, sleepless Eremite,"

Enjambment

Enjambment occurs when a line runs on into the adjacent without punctuation, carrying sense and momentum, every bit in lines 2, 5 and 7.

Andrew Spacey (author) from Sheffield, UK on August eleven, 2020:

Thanks for the visit Ann. All practiced here so far.

Ann Carr from SW England on August 11, 2020:

Interesting in-depth analysis every bit usual, Andrew. Y'all always explain things well. I'1000 not a great fan of the romantics merely I come across the artistry in them.

Promise y'all're keeping well in this strange time!

Ann

deatontherlon.blogspot.com

Source: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Bright-Star-by-John-keats

Bright Star Would I Were Stedfast as Thou Art Annotation

John Keats And A Summary of "Bright Star"

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