i just started A level english and lord gthis women has given me so much information in such a simple notion. No extra waffling nor of topics just straight to the point .
I don't think Angela represents moral decay. She's quite elderly, so there's the bodily decay, but moral? I don't see it. She's facilitating young lovers in getting together and getting married, which may help bring peace to warring families. What's immoral about that? I think the element of moral decay is indeed in the poem, but it's exemplified by the revelers. On the one hand, they are so hate-and-violence filled that Porphyro's life is in danger, yet, on the other hand, they are too drunk to notice his coming or the couple's departure. That's where I see the moral decay.
Thanks for commenting again! Always good to hear different perspectives - Keats describes Angela as "weak in body and in soul" and uses a simile to suggest that she is like an "aged crone" (which can be ambiguous...). There is also a suggestion that she is not fully happy with allowing Porphyro into the young maiden's chamber, since she experiences "agues in her brain". It is possible to read Porphyry's concealment in the closet as rather sinister and voyeuristic. Phrases such as "purple riot" also indicate a lustful desire. Angela is not entirely comfortable with the part she plays and is finally persuaded only because of Porphyry's threat to wake his foes. Certainly one interpretation could be that Angela helps Porphyry penetrate the house and take advantage of a vulnerable female.
Can this be linked to Isabella? In regards to the idea that all religious figures seem to die, and the lovers never get to transparently consummate their love.
Thanks for watching! Certainly can be linked to Isabella via portrayal of the women and Gothic imagery / vulnerable female etc. Yes, the religious figures die in Eve of St Agnes but they are old and frail to begin with - their time is past... they serve to contrast with the vigour of youth which is celebrated. Not sure that Isabella / Lorenzo are portrayed as terribly religious so would not link them in that way. I feel Keats wants us to imagine that Madeleine and Porphyro do consummate their love and, as you say, in Isabella this is less transparent though suggested in stanzas ix,x,xi... The link here would be Keats' exploration of youthful passion. Maria
"The hare is limping and the sheep is silent. This is indicative that something is awry with nature. Something is wrong. Nature is not flourishing. Nature is damaged. Nature is not participating as it should be." Gotta disagree. Keats picked the date -- St. Agnes' Eve, the night of Jan 20 -- that was popularly understood to be the coldest night of the year -- and he gave that date titular emphasis. So the fact that it is cold does not represent nature being awry, but represents nature being in keeping with its rhythm. The night of Jan 20 is SUPPOSED to be cold. Had Keats wanted to give a sense of nature being awry, wrong, or damaged, he'd have set the poem in November or March and would have made some reference to the unseasonableness of the cold. We may certainly speak of nature as having a role in this poem that is challenging, inhospitable, and dangerous -- but not because it is awry or wrong, but precisely because nature has reliable rhythms of being that way.
Great to get some discussion going - I think I mean nature is succumbing to the coldness of the season and is deadened by it - serving to enhance the Beadsman's closeness to death - also providing contrast with the extravagance of the party and the warmth of Porphyry's passion.
Totally agree! Strange assertion to have made. I live in Chichester where Keats wrote the poem. Has to be one of the best evocations of winter in English literature. ‘The sculptured dead,on each side” though is bit of a leap. The only prominent tomb in the cathedral from where he drew his inspiration these days is the Arundel tomb which inspired Larkin’s poem. But whose quibbling? The poem is a work of genius. (The cathedral also has a monument to the first person in the world to be killed in a railway accident - but that’s another story, and was erected some years after Keats left town).
i just started A level english and lord gthis women has given me so much information in such a simple notion. No extra waffling nor of topics just straight to the point .
We're glad it was useful!
Honestly the british "hi" at the beggining captured my attention more than the fact that i need this for exam 😂
thank you so much Ma'am. this was great explanation
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Very helpful video, thank you!
I don't think Angela represents moral decay. She's quite elderly, so there's the bodily decay, but moral? I don't see it. She's facilitating young lovers in getting together and getting married, which may help bring peace to warring families. What's immoral about that? I think the element of moral decay is indeed in the poem, but it's exemplified by the revelers. On the one hand, they are so hate-and-violence filled that Porphyro's life is in danger, yet, on the other hand, they are too drunk to notice his coming or the couple's departure. That's where I see the moral decay.
Thanks for commenting again! Always good to hear different perspectives - Keats describes Angela as "weak in body and in soul" and uses a simile to suggest that she is like an "aged crone" (which can be ambiguous...). There is also a suggestion that she is not fully happy with allowing Porphyro into the young maiden's chamber, since she experiences "agues in her brain". It is possible to read Porphyry's concealment in the closet as rather sinister and voyeuristic. Phrases such as "purple riot" also indicate a lustful desire. Angela is not entirely comfortable with the part she plays and is finally persuaded only because of Porphyry's threat to wake his foes. Certainly one interpretation could be that Angela helps Porphyry penetrate the house and take advantage of a vulnerable female.
Can this be linked to Isabella? In regards to the idea that all religious figures seem to die, and the lovers never get to transparently consummate their love.
Thanks for watching! Certainly can be linked to Isabella via portrayal of the women and Gothic imagery / vulnerable female etc. Yes, the religious figures die in Eve of St Agnes but they are old and frail to begin with - their time is past... they serve to contrast with the vigour of youth which is celebrated. Not sure that Isabella / Lorenzo are portrayed as terribly religious so would not link them in that way. I feel Keats wants us to imagine that Madeleine and Porphyro do consummate their love and, as you say, in Isabella this is less transparent though suggested in stanzas ix,x,xi... The link here would be Keats' exploration of youthful passion.
Maria
Thank you for explaining the link - I totally agree. Hopefully I can write as beautifully as you for my exam tomorrow!
I think it is entitled the eve of st agnes for a reason which the maker of this video appears to me has missed
Not missed but not what we wanted to focus on in this video! More Keats videos coming soon 😀
"The hare is limping and the sheep is silent. This is indicative that something is awry with nature. Something is wrong. Nature is not flourishing. Nature is damaged. Nature is not participating as it should be."
Gotta disagree. Keats picked the date -- St. Agnes' Eve, the night of Jan 20 -- that was popularly understood to be the coldest night of the year -- and he gave that date titular emphasis. So the fact that it is cold does not represent nature being awry, but represents nature being in keeping with its rhythm. The night of Jan 20 is SUPPOSED to be cold. Had Keats wanted to give a sense of nature being awry, wrong, or damaged, he'd have set the poem in November or March and would have made some reference to the unseasonableness of the cold. We may certainly speak of nature as having a role in this poem that is challenging, inhospitable, and dangerous -- but not because it is awry or wrong, but precisely because nature has reliable rhythms of being that way.
Great to get some discussion going - I think I mean nature is succumbing to the coldness of the season and is deadened by it - serving to enhance the Beadsman's closeness to death - also providing contrast with the extravagance of the party and the warmth of Porphyry's passion.
Totally agree! Strange assertion to have made. I live in Chichester where Keats wrote the poem. Has to be one of the best evocations of winter in English literature. ‘The sculptured dead,on each side” though is bit of a leap. The only prominent tomb in the cathedral from where he drew his inspiration these days is the Arundel tomb which inspired Larkin’s poem. But whose quibbling? The poem is a work of genius. (The cathedral also has a monument to the first person in the world to be killed in a railway accident - but that’s another story, and was erected some years after Keats left town).