“Bright Star” by John Keats

1. “Bright Star” by John Keats Megan McIntyre

2. Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art- Not in lone splendor hung along aloft the night And watching, with eternal lids apart, Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask Of snow upon the mountains and the moors- No- yet still steadfast, still unchangeable Pillowed upon my fair love’s ripening breast, To feel for ever its soft swell and fall, Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, And so live ever- or else swoon to death. A B A B C D C D E F E F G G

3. Rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g 14 lines in length- no stanzas 10 syllables per line Speaker of the poem: the poet Written by John Keats to his love: Fanny Brawne. Written in 1819

4. Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art- Not in lone splendor hung along aloft the night Keats wishes he was as unchanging, as immortal as the star. Points out the star is isolated, but also so beautiful

5. And watching, with eternal lids apart, Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite, Allusion: The star watches the Earth unceasingly- never missing a thing. Keats is envious. er·e·mite/ˈerəˌmīt/ Noun: A Christian hermit or recluse. Famous Eremite: Gautama Buddha. Abandoned his family for “spiritual enlightenment” and doing so lead to the founding of Buddhism.

6. The moving waters at their priestlike task Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores Ablution: the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels Poem shifts from talking of the star to talking of what the star sees on Earth. Talks of what the star witnesses: the tide moving twice daily (cleanse of the planet)

7. Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask Of snow upon the mountains and the moors- The star also views the fresh-fallen snow, the changing of seasons Alliteration: mountains and moors Metaphor: soft-fallen mask of snow compares: snow and mask

8. No- yet still steadfast, still unchangeable Pillowed upon my fair love’s ripening breast, But through it all, the star is still unchangeable. Always watching, never doing. Unlike he and his love. Keats feels almost as immortal as the star when he is with his love- though he is still only a human.

9. To feel for ever its soft swell and fall, Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, He wouldn’t mind resting his head on his beloved’s chest for all time- it’s the best place for him on Earth. And to wake in “sweet unrest”. He doesn’t sleep so well, but it doesn’t matter because he was with his love. Oxymoron: Sweet unrest

10. Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, And so live ever- or else swoon to death. Listens to her breath as he relaxes. And he wishes that if he must live on earth, not be the bright star, that he could spend eternity with his head on Fanny’s chest: or else he will die. “Still, still”: two meanings Repeating it twice to prove a point OR Play on words to say he is still motionless.

11. Bright Star Poem