Throughout his poem, "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art" Keats expresses his envy of the stars. In the beginning of the poem, Keats focuses on one star and describes its view from the sky. Honestly, he makes it sound as if being a star is pretty awesome. I'd love to be able to hang out in the sky and observe the Earth. His envy stems from three main characteristics: the star is stable and fixed in its position, it is never alone, and it never has to sleep.
The first four lines of the poem reveal these qualities:
"Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art-
Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless eremite." (1-4)
Within these lines, Keats also adds a religious aspect to the poem. An eremite is a Christian hermit or recluse. Compared with line two, this idea is slightly confusing. I think that, perhaps, Keats means that although the hermit may be apart from the others both physically and within his beliefs, he is still surrounded by them. He is not technically alone in the sky. This also compliments the steadfast nature of the stars. In terms of religion, the star or eremite feels very strongly and will maintain faith even if it is alone. (I'm not sure if I should be using it or he) What do you guys think about this? Any other explanations?
In the next few lines the poem continues to discuss religion, but I would like to skip ahead to the romance that occurs within the last lines of the poem.
Keats gets personal and explains why he is envious of the star's eternal life, he would like to live forever with his lover. More specifically, he would like to lay "upon my fair love's ripening breast" (10) awake for eternity, feeling the "soft swell and fall" (11) of her chest. Again, this connects to the three main points of jealousy. Keats would like to stay fixed in his position, to never be apart from his lover and to be awake forever with her. How romantic.
*SWOOOON*
Hmmm, perhaps the speaker is addressing the North Star, which is motionless in the sky, while other stars appear to revolve around it? Maybe this is why he compares the star to an eremite--it's alone in nearly every way. The speaker emphasizes how alone the star is in the beginning of the poem because this is what makes him realize he doesn't actually want to be a star, steadfast as it may be. He'd rather sleep next to his lover. Awwwwwwww.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the last line: "Like nature's patient, sleepless eremite," I almost say a negative connotation in the use of the word "eremite." Wouldn't lying awake, sleepless, in complete seclusion be a bad thing? Essentially, being a star, you are lying awake in the night when everyone else is supposed to be sleeping. Wouldn't that be kind of annoying? When can a person's mind be at piece if he is a) sleepless, and b) in complete solitude. Does being in solitude amongst others in solitude provide a comfort (like you mention)? I'm not sure, but I almost feel as though the opening lines are so contrasting in ideas that they may be...sarcastic?
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention that the hermit will "stand his ground/" keep his faith even when alone. I feel like this is a vital characteristic to have in life: in solitude, you must have something to believe in (or you'll lose your mind). Hannah Jenkes mentions this in Night of the Iguana...
I find that this poem can be torn between the eternally romantic presence of love and the restless, perhaps not so wonderful aspects of love. What stuck out to me, though, was the imagery of love as a holy thing. Keats uses "sleepless eremite" (4) and "pure ablution" (6) to describe the effects of love on the speaker. It seems like a such a hopeful and redeeming thing that no matter what the speaker's place in life is (or ours for that matter) he can be made pure in the face of love. It is "stedfast, still unchangeable" (9), so the feelings of eternity and purity remain, but part of being in love is the "sweet unrest" (12). If the speaker feels it so deeply, his existence is contingent on his lover. If he is away from her he feels restless and unable to maintain a sound sense of self. I think that's where some of the perceived tension might come from.
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