JOHN KEATS

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John Keats was born October, 1795, and died on the 23d of February, 1821. He was the son of a livery-stable keeper, who had married his former proprietor's daughter. The parents had wished to educate Keats and his two brothers, but before Keats was fifteen, both his father and mother had died. He was then apprenticed to a surgeon at Edmonton, under whom he remained four years, and then went up to London to complete his training for a medical degree. This he received in due time and began to practise, but he found literature so much more attractive that, in about a year, he gave up his attempt to practise medicine. At about this time he became acquainted with Leigh Hunt, who had a good deal of influence upon Keats's literary beginnings. His first volume of poetry, which appeared in 1817, shows this influence strongly. A year later his Endymion was published and was so severely criticised by Blackwood's and especially by the Quarterly that Keats took it much to heart; some have supposed that this attack very much hastened his death. His brother George had moved to America in 1818, and his brother Tom was now dying with consumption. Keats nursed him faithfully until his death. Immediately after this sorrow, he fell deeply in love, but his health was so greatly impaired that he found it necessary, in 1820, to take a trip to Italy. He did not grow stronger, however, but died at Rome on the 23d of February, 1821.

Keats's poetry is noted especially for its sensuous beauty, its descriptions, and its remarkable reproduction of the Greek and romantic spirits.

The Eve of St. Agnes (Page 88)

Around St. Agnes' Eve, which is the night before the Feast of St. Agnes on January 21, and which corresponds to the Scotch "Hallowe'en," there grew up the superstition that a maiden could, by observing certain traditional precautions, have in her sleep a vision of her future husband. Perhaps the most common way to obtain this vision was for the girl to go to sleep on her back with her hands behind her head; then at midnight she would dream that her lover came and kissed her. This is the superstition that Keats has made use of in The Eve of St. Agnes.

St. Agnes was a Roman girl, who at thirteen was loved by the son of a Roman prefect, but, however, being like her parents a Christian and having vowed virginity, she told her lover that she was already betrothed. The youth, thinking he had some earthly rival, as a result fell so very sick that his father tried to intercede with the girl's parents. When he found these people were Christians, he tried to compel Agnes to become a vestal virgin or marry his son. Agnes, because she refused to do either of these things, was dragged to the altar, but because here, by her prayers, she restored to her lover the sight which he had lost, she was set free by the Prefect. The people, however, tried to burn her, but were themselves consumed in the fire, until finally one of their number slew her with his sword. A few days after her death, her parents had a vision of her, surrounded by angels and accompanied by a lamb (Agnus Dei). After her canonization it was customary to sacrifice on St. Agnes' Day, during the singing, two lambs whose wool the next day was woven by the nuns into pallia for the archbishops. (Cf. I. 115, 117.) Cf. Agnus and Agnes.

[143] 5. Beadsman. Bead originally meant prayer; hence "to say one's beads." A beadsman was an inmate of an almshouse who was bound to pray for the founders of the house. In Shakespeare the word is used to denote one who prays for another.

[144] 31. Snarling. Does this verse resemble the sound described? What is the name of this figure?

[145] 40. New-stuffed. What does this mean here?

[146] 46. St. Agnes' Eve.See Introductory Note.

[147] 70. Amort (Fr. À la mort); lifeless, spiritless.

[149] 75. Porphyro (Gr. porphyro = a purple fish, purple). Why did Keats choose this name instead of Lionel, as he first intended?

[150] 77. Buttress'd means supported, but here it must mean protected from; i.e. Porphyro was in the shadow of the buttress.

[151] 81. Sooth; truth. Cf. soothsayer.

[152] 86. Hyena. Find out the characteristics of this animal, and see what the force of the epithet is here.

[153] 90. Beldame (bel + dame) originally meant a fair lady, then grandmother and, in general, old woman or hag.

[154] 105. Gossip originally meant a sponsor at baptism (God-sib), then a boon companion, and finally a tattler.

[155] 115. Holy loom. See Introductory Note.

[156] 120. Witch's sieve. This refers to the superstition that witches could hold water in sieves and could sail in them. Cf. Macbeth, I. 3. 1, 8:—

"But in a sieve I'll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do."

[157] 126. Mickle; much.

[158] 135. Lap.

"Madeline is asleep in her bed; but she is also asleep in accordance with the legends of the season; and therefore the bed becomes their lap as well as sleep's."

Leigh Hunt.

[159] 138. How make purple riot in his heart?

[160] 171. Merlin was the sorcerer in Arthur's court. Vivien succeeded in getting from him a secret by which she shut him up in a hollow tree. See Tennyson's Merlin and Vivien. Malory has another version of the story.

[161] 173. Cates; provisions,—especially rich, luxurious provisions. Cf. cater, caterer.

[162] 174. Tambour frame. Tambour is a kind of drum; cf. tambourine. A tambour frame is a round frame for holding material which is to be embroidered.

[163] 208. Casement high.... On these next three stanzas Keats spent much time. They are considered beautiful description. Why?

[164] 214. Heraldries are coats of arms.

[165] 215. Emblazonings; colored heraldries.

[166] 218. Gules; the tincture red. In a shield without color gules is indicated by vertical parallel lines.

[167] 241. Missal; a mass book for the year. What is the meaning of this line? Paynims; pagans.

[168] 257. Morphean. Morpheus was the god of sleep.

[169] 262. Azure-lidded sleep. Note the different senses appealed to in these next stanzas. Keats is called one of our most sensuous poets.

[170] 266. Soother; used here for more soothing.

[171] 267. What are lucent syrops? Note derivation.

[172] 277. Eremite; hermit.

[173] 292. Keats wrote a poem about this time called La Belle Dame sans Merci.

[174] 346. Wassailers was a term originally used for men drinking each other's health with the words wes h[=a]l, be whole.

[175] 375. Angela. Have the deaths of Angela and the Beadsman been foretold?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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