(Contextual note: St. Agnes was the patron Saint of young
virgins, and was supposedly martyred during the “Diocletian persecution”. Rejecting
all her potential suitors, she swore her physical being to Christ at thirteen
years old.)
I found this particular poem to be enchanting in its pictorial prowess. Rich with elaborate imagery from “the tiger-moth’s deep-damask’d wings” (213) to “ivory-headed wand” (92), Keats creates a dreamy tale that dances in the mind’s eye. A narrative poem with a simple and stable chronology, it’s airy and easy to follow as though by reading it we are under a charm ourselves.
The poem places a heavy emphasis on virginal piety and the virtue of the girl “so free from mortal taint” (225), exploring and expounding her dove-like purity. Innocence seems an obvious fixation for the poem (considering the context of the celebration) and fair Madeline’s maidenly ways mask a more sensual desire that she pursues through the charm. By activating the charm, she can give way to the excitation of her sexual desires through dreaming, thus fulfilling her craving while maintaining and preserving her purity. However, Porphyro’s physical presence undermines this attempt when he beds her in her waking hour, and in her ruination she finds freedom “with happy speed” (347) when she flees with her lover. Purity is represented in many ways throughout the poem. Madeline is constantly compared dove, and the reference to St. Agnes’ “lambs unshorn” (72) seems an obvious metaphor for virginity and the deflowering about to take place. The pacing in stanza 26 seems deliberate, building a sort of sexual anticipation that blooms gradually the way a seduction happens slowly. “One by one” “By degrees” and “ rich attire creeps” (248-250) all lend to a slow pacing that feels very intentional, and the emphasis on virginity is only further propelled at the end of stanza 27: “as though a rose should shut, and be a bud again”.
Reading the poem, I get the sense of a subtle nod towards the ineffectuality of religion. The beadsman’s presence at the beginning shows a man who has rejected earthly pleasures and suffers the “bitter chill” (1) in his “harsh penance on St. Agnes’ Eve” (24). He rejects the excess and indulgence of those celebrating only to die by the poem’s end, regardless of his religious resolutions. Meanwhile, Porphyro and Madeline indulge in physical pleasure and escape to what can be assumed to be a happy ending. The particular way Keats chooses to describe the church at the beginning (“Emprison’d in black” 15. “schulptur’d dead” 14”) has its own dark ring, immediately contrasted by the joviality and warmth of the celebration. Mysticism swallows the poem, beautifully blossoming and creating scenes of dreamy reverie that overshadow the religious themes that feel dull in comparison. The prevailing will of magic seems to conquer in the end, and enchantment seems to have a power in the poem that religion can’t broach.
One thing I’m unsure of how to interpret is Angela’s death. While the beadsman’s was foreshadowed (“already had his deathbell rung” 22.) and makes sense in the irreligious interpretation, Angela’s death surprised me. I felt that her helpful role in the couple’s encounter would have given her some sort of invincibility in the poem, so her death came as a surprise to me and I’m unclear about its meaning.
I am also curious as to whether or not Porphyro had insidious intentions when he crept into Madeline’s bed-chamber; was it really was a genuine encounter of bliss, or he was taking advantage of her belief that their encounter was a dream? Does this make him more or less of the hero figure he seems to embody at the poem’s end?
I found this particular poem to be enchanting in its pictorial prowess. Rich with elaborate imagery from “the tiger-moth’s deep-damask’d wings” (213) to “ivory-headed wand” (92), Keats creates a dreamy tale that dances in the mind’s eye. A narrative poem with a simple and stable chronology, it’s airy and easy to follow as though by reading it we are under a charm ourselves.
The poem places a heavy emphasis on virginal piety and the virtue of the girl “so free from mortal taint” (225), exploring and expounding her dove-like purity. Innocence seems an obvious fixation for the poem (considering the context of the celebration) and fair Madeline’s maidenly ways mask a more sensual desire that she pursues through the charm. By activating the charm, she can give way to the excitation of her sexual desires through dreaming, thus fulfilling her craving while maintaining and preserving her purity. However, Porphyro’s physical presence undermines this attempt when he beds her in her waking hour, and in her ruination she finds freedom “with happy speed” (347) when she flees with her lover. Purity is represented in many ways throughout the poem. Madeline is constantly compared dove, and the reference to St. Agnes’ “lambs unshorn” (72) seems an obvious metaphor for virginity and the deflowering about to take place. The pacing in stanza 26 seems deliberate, building a sort of sexual anticipation that blooms gradually the way a seduction happens slowly. “One by one” “By degrees” and “ rich attire creeps” (248-250) all lend to a slow pacing that feels very intentional, and the emphasis on virginity is only further propelled at the end of stanza 27: “as though a rose should shut, and be a bud again”.
Reading the poem, I get the sense of a subtle nod towards the ineffectuality of religion. The beadsman’s presence at the beginning shows a man who has rejected earthly pleasures and suffers the “bitter chill” (1) in his “harsh penance on St. Agnes’ Eve” (24). He rejects the excess and indulgence of those celebrating only to die by the poem’s end, regardless of his religious resolutions. Meanwhile, Porphyro and Madeline indulge in physical pleasure and escape to what can be assumed to be a happy ending. The particular way Keats chooses to describe the church at the beginning (“Emprison’d in black” 15. “schulptur’d dead” 14”) has its own dark ring, immediately contrasted by the joviality and warmth of the celebration. Mysticism swallows the poem, beautifully blossoming and creating scenes of dreamy reverie that overshadow the religious themes that feel dull in comparison. The prevailing will of magic seems to conquer in the end, and enchantment seems to have a power in the poem that religion can’t broach.
One thing I’m unsure of how to interpret is Angela’s death. While the beadsman’s was foreshadowed (“already had his deathbell rung” 22.) and makes sense in the irreligious interpretation, Angela’s death surprised me. I felt that her helpful role in the couple’s encounter would have given her some sort of invincibility in the poem, so her death came as a surprise to me and I’m unclear about its meaning.
I am also curious as to whether or not Porphyro had insidious intentions when he crept into Madeline’s bed-chamber; was it really was a genuine encounter of bliss, or he was taking advantage of her belief that their encounter was a dream? Does this make him more or less of the hero figure he seems to embody at the poem’s end?
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