Transcendentalism and Romanticism Presentation

... uary (St. Agnes Eve) will have visions of her lover. The poem tells of what happened to Madeline and Porphyro on that night.

Keats contrasts the holy devotion and piousness of the Beadsman with the passion of human love in this poem, both deep forms of love but both very different in nature. At the commencement of the poem, it is clear from the language used that St. Agnes Eve is in the middle of winter. Words such as freeze, black, cold convey this impression. This imagery also conveys a picture of close proximity to death in the case of the old Beadsman. Keats contrasts the bleak, cold, icy and unfeeling concept of death with the warm colour of life. This death-like imagery in contrast with that of young, vibrant love makes the point about the briefness of human existence and Keats invites us to throw ourselves into all that life has to offer. He realises, with insight unusual in such a young man, but explained by the proximity of his own death, that old age, death and coldness comes to us all, and it is important to appreciate the sensuousness of life while it lasts.

Verse 33. Innocent love, unconscious of physical/sexual connotation - the sexual element later in the poem is less obviously described, and almost forms part of the dream.

Verse 34. "He knelt with joined hands and piteous eye" - emphasis on purity of love, and the worship of pure, unspoilt, untouched beauty.

The Old Beadsman is used to great effect by Keats in the poem as his age and experience is well contrasted with the youthful lovers and their innocence. However, the cold of winter and of the church, and later the storm, appears not to affect the young lovers. Keats draws a parallel between this and the ability of youth to block out the unpleasant elements of life, and simply enjoy life without any of the worries of death, in this Keats shows his own longing to experience the joy and recklessness of youth, and shows his consciousness of his own approaching death once more.

The story appears to be part dream and part reality, occasionally the difference between the two can be very difficult to grasp. ("The world of these young lovers might be thought of as a dream world wher ...