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The Eve of St. Agnes

January 01, 1970

This article is about the poem by John Keats. For the poem by Alfred Tennyson, see St. Agnes (poem). For information on the saint, see Saint Agnes.

The Eve of St. Agnes is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas set in the Middle Ages. It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in 1820. The poem was considered by many of Keats's contemporaries and the succeeding Victorians to be one of his finest and was influential in 19th-century literature.[1]

Eve of St Agnes, John Everett Millais c. 1863

The title comes from the day (or evening) before the feast of Saint Agnes (or St. Agnes' Eve). St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins, died a martyr in 4th-century Rome. The eve falls on 20 January; the feast day on the 21st. The divinations referred to by Keats in this poem are referred to by John Aubrey in his Miscellanies (1696) as being associated with St. Agnes' night.[2]

Background edit

Keats based his poem on the folk belief that a girl could see her future husband in a dream if she performed certain rites on the eve of St. Agnes; that is, she would go to bed without any supper, and transfer pins one by one from a pincushion to a sleeve while reciting the Lord’s Prayer.[3] Then the proposed husband would appear in her dream.

A Scottish version of the ritual would involve young women meeting together on St. Agnes's Eve at midnight, they would go one by one, into a remote field and throw in some grain, after which they repeated the following rhyme in a prayer to St. Agnes: "Agnes sweet, and Agnes fair, Hither, hither, now repair; Bonny Agnes, let me see The lad who is to marry me."[3]

Keats started writing this seminal work while staying in Chichester. He travelled to Chichester, probably arriving on St Agnes' Day, 20 January 1819. It is said that the medieval architecture of Chichester inspired the great hall and house where Madeline lived. [4] A statue of Keats resides in Eastgate Square in Chichester to commemorate the fact he started this poem there. The statue was unveiled by Chichester-based actress Dame Patricia Routledge. [5]

In the original version of his poem, Keats emphasised the young lovers' sexuality, but his publishers, who feared public reaction, forced him to tone down the eroticism.[6]

Plot edit

 
The flight of Madeline and Porphyro, painting by William Holman Hunt

On a bitterly chill night, an elderly beadsman says his prayers in the chapel of the ancestral home of Madeline's family, where a loud party has begun.[7] Madeline pines for the love of Porphyro, sworn enemy to her kin. She has heard 'old dames full many times declare' that she may receive sweet dreams of her lover if, on this night, St. Agnes' Eve, she retires to bed following the proper rituals.

Later that night, Porphyro makes his way to the castle and braves entry, seeking out Angela, an elderly woman friendly to his family, and importuning her to lead him to Madeline's room at night, where he may but gaze upon her sleeping form. Angela is persuaded only with difficulty, and first obtains some food from the banquet for them.[7]

Concealed in an ornate, carved closet in Madeline's room, Porphyro watches as Madeline makes ready for bed. He creeps forth as she sleeps, to prepare a feast of rare delicacies. Madeline wakes and sees before her the same image she has seen in her dream and, thinking Porphyro part of it, receives him into her bed. Waking in full and realising her mistake, she tells Porphyro she cannot hate him for his deception since her heart is so much in his, but that if he goes now he leaves behind "A dove forlorn and lost / With sick unpruned wing".

Porphyro declares his love for Madeline and promises her a home with him over the southern moors. They flee from the castle, passing insensate, drunken revellers and rush into the night. Angela's death is revealed in the poem's final stanza and the beadsman, "after thousand aves told, / For aye unsought for slept among his ashes cold".

Commentary edit

Written in the Gothic style, the poem reflects "...many of the same concerns that Keats explores in his odes--imagination, dreaming and vision, and life as a mixture of opposites."[8] In it, Keats blends a medieval legend with a tale of star-crossed lovers, such as Romeo and Juliet and the traditional French romance Floris and Blancheflour.

Alluded to by others edit

  • Rudyard Kipling's short story "Wireless" (1902) has the narrator witnessing a recreation of the poem by a man in a trance who, by virtue of the similarities of his situation to that of Keats (he is a consumptive apothecary's assistant), becomes "tuned" to the poet.[9]
  • H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Outsider" features the final stanza of the poem as an epigraph.[10]
  • Harry Clarke's The Eve of St. Agnes is a stained glass masterpiece inspired by the poem.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ Sperry, Stuart M. (1993). "Romance as Wish Fulfillment: The Eve of St. Agnes", in Romantic Poetry: Recent Revisionary Criticism edited by Karl Kroeber and Gene W. Ruoff. New Brunswick NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 373–85. ISBN 978-0813520100. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  2. ^ "The Eve of St. Agnes", Bookshop.org
  3. ^ a b Castelow, Ellen. "Eve of St Agnes", Historic UK
  4. ^ "John Keats in Chichester". The History Guide.
  5. ^ "Take a seat next to Keats". Chichester Observer.
  6. ^ "Manuscript of ‘St Agnes Eve’ by John Keats", British Library
  7. ^ a b Michie, Allen. "Poetry Remembrance: John Keats, 'The Eve of St. Agnes' — Forever Young at 200", The Arts Fuse, 9 September 2020
  8. ^ Melani, Lilia. "The Eve of St. Agnes", Brooklyn College - CUNY, 19 February 2009
  9. ^ "Wireless". The Kipling Society.
  10. ^ ""The Outsider" by H. P. Lovecraft". www.hplovecraft.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  11. ^ "The Eve of St Agnes by Harry Clarke". Hugh Lane Gallery.

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Eve of St. Agnes
  • An omnibus collection of Keats' poetry at Standard Ebooks
  • 'St. Agnes Eve', Text of 'St. Agnes' Eve' by Keats from Bartleby.
  • The Eve of St. Agnes at Internet Archive (scanned books color illustrated). Notable editions:
  • The Theme of The Eve of St. Agnes in the Pre-Raphaelite Movement, An analysis of the poem at Victorianweb
  •   The Eve of St. Agnes public domain audiobook at LibriVox

January 01, 1970
agnes, this, article, about, poem, john, keats, poem, alfred, tennyson, agnes, poem, information, saint, saint, agnes, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, t. This article is about the poem by John Keats For the poem by Alfred Tennyson see St Agnes poem For information on the saint see Saint Agnes This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed March 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Eve of St Agnes news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The Eve of St Agnes is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas set in the Middle Ages It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in 1820 The poem was considered by many of Keats s contemporaries and the succeeding Victorians to be one of his finest and was influential in 19th century literature 1 Eve of St Agnes John Everett Millais c 1863 The title comes from the day or evening before the feast of Saint Agnes or St Agnes Eve St Agnes the patron saint of virgins died a martyr in 4th century Rome The eve falls on 20 January the feast day on the 21st The divinations referred to by Keats in this poem are referred to by John Aubrey in his Miscellanies 1696 as being associated with St Agnes night 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 3 Commentary 4 Alluded to by others 5 References 6 External linksBackground editKeats based his poem on the folk belief that a girl could see her future husband in a dream if she performed certain rites on the eve of St Agnes that is she would go to bed without any supper and transfer pins one by one from a pincushion to a sleeve while reciting the Lord s Prayer 3 Then the proposed husband would appear in her dream A Scottish version of the ritual would involve young women meeting together on St Agnes s Eve at midnight they would go one by one into a remote field and throw in some grain after which they repeated the following rhyme in a prayer to St Agnes Agnes sweet and Agnes fair Hither hither now repair Bonny Agnes let me see The lad who is to marry me 3 Keats started writing this seminal work while staying in Chichester He travelled to Chichester probably arriving on St Agnes Day 20 January 1819 It is said that the medieval architecture of Chichester inspired the great hall and house where Madeline lived 4 A statue of Keats resides in Eastgate Square in Chichester to commemorate the fact he started this poem there The statue was unveiled by Chichester based actress Dame Patricia Routledge 5 In the original version of his poem Keats emphasised the young lovers sexuality but his publishers who feared public reaction forced him to tone down the eroticism 6 Plot edit nbsp The flight of Madeline and Porphyro painting by William Holman Hunt On a bitterly chill night an elderly beadsman says his prayers in the chapel of the ancestral home of Madeline s family where a loud party has begun 7 Madeline pines for the love of Porphyro sworn enemy to her kin She has heard old dames full many times declare that she may receive sweet dreams of her lover if on this night St Agnes Eve she retires to bed following the proper rituals Later that night Porphyro makes his way to the castle and braves entry seeking out Angela an elderly woman friendly to his family and importuning her to lead him to Madeline s room at night where he may but gaze upon her sleeping form Angela is persuaded only with difficulty and first obtains some food from the banquet for them 7 Concealed in an ornate carved closet in Madeline s room Porphyro watches as Madeline makes ready for bed He creeps forth as she sleeps to prepare a feast of rare delicacies Madeline wakes and sees before her the same image she has seen in her dream and thinking Porphyro part of it receives him into her bed Waking in full and realising her mistake she tells Porphyro she cannot hate him for his deception since her heart is so much in his but that if he goes now he leaves behind A dove forlorn and lost With sick unpruned wing Porphyro declares his love for Madeline and promises her a home with him over the southern moors They flee from the castle passing insensate drunken revellers and rush into the night Angela s death is revealed in the poem s final stanza and the beadsman after thousand aves told For aye unsought for slept among his ashes cold Commentary editWritten in the Gothic style the poem reflects many of the same concerns that Keats explores in his odes imagination dreaming and vision and life as a mixture of opposites 8 In it Keats blends a medieval legend with a tale of star crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet and the traditional French romance Floris and Blancheflour Alluded to by others editRudyard Kipling s short story Wireless 1902 has the narrator witnessing a recreation of the poem by a man in a trance who by virtue of the similarities of his situation to that of Keats he is a consumptive apothecary s assistant becomes tuned to the poet 9 H P Lovecraft s short story The Outsider features the final stanza of the poem as an epigraph 10 Harry Clarke s The Eve of St Agnes is a stained glass masterpiece inspired by the poem 11 References edit Sperry Stuart M 1993 Romance as Wish Fulfillment The Eve of St Agnes in Romantic Poetry Recent Revisionary Criticism edited by Karl Kroeber and Gene W Ruoff New Brunswick NJ Rutgers University Press pp 373 85 ISBN 978 0813520100 Retrieved 24 May 2017 The Eve of St Agnes Bookshop org a b Castelow Ellen Eve of St Agnes Historic UK John Keats in Chichester The History Guide Take a seat next to Keats Chichester Observer Manuscript of St Agnes Eve by John Keats British Library a b Michie Allen Poetry Remembrance John Keats The Eve of St Agnes Forever Young at 200 The Arts Fuse 9 September 2020 Melani Lilia The Eve of St Agnes Brooklyn College CUNY 19 February 2009 Wireless The Kipling Society The Outsider by H P Lovecraft www hplovecraft com Retrieved 25 September 2022 The Eve of St Agnes by Harry Clarke Hugh Lane Gallery External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Eve of St Agnes An omnibus collection of Keats poetry at Standard Ebooks St Agnes Eve Text of St Agnes Eve by Keats from Bartleby The Eve of St Agnes at Internet Archive scanned books color illustrated Notable editions The Eve of St Agnes 1900 calligraphy by Ralph Fletcher Seymour Introduction by Edmund Gosse The Eve of St Agnes 1885 illus by Edmund H Garrett The Theme of The Eve of St Agnes in the Pre Raphaelite Movement An analysis of the poem at Victorianweb nbsp The Eve of St Agnes public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Eve of St Agnes amp oldid 1216955296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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