A “Bright Star” by Keats, is a sonnet that shows his infatuation to be with his lover for eternity. The poem’s main theme deals with the love and appreciation of things that are unchanging. This theme is brought up many times in the poem. For example, Keats uses a bright star and the earth to describe his innermost desires to be immortal, unchanged, and rejuvenated. He expresses deep feelings toward his lover, and if he had to live without her, he would welcome death.
In the first two lines, Keats shows us that he would love to be around forever and full of life. “Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art” (1).
A star implies something that is around forever and unchanging because, in spite of occurrences throughout life, the star will reside in the sky each night. Adding bright to the star shows the importance of life to it and that to be unchanging alone is not enough for admiration. “Not alone splendour hung aloft the night” (2).
This line states the bright star is not alone in its brilliance, but is accompanied by other stars. With this line, Keats expresses the importance of companionship and the fear of being alone.
“And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature’s patient, sleepless Ermite” (3-4).
Using the term eternal lids apart projects Keats’ immortality and human characteristics because he cannot see everything and grows tired. If he could be a bright star, he would see his love endlessly without losing desire. Line four compares the earth to the bright star. Like the star, the earth is sleepless and, therefore, full of life and lasting forever. Patient implies the earth’s ability to be unaffected by the events that occur around it. The earth continues its course around the solar system unwaverly.
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Keats then continues his poem, “The moving waters at their priestlike task / Of pure abolution round earth’s human shore’s” (5-6).
The water acts as a purifier to the earth like a priest blesses his children. Keats desires to have this quality in order to earn the advantage of revitalizing himself. Keats knows that he is subsequent to change and needs something to return to his pure state.
In the next two lines, Keats brings about another quality of earth, in which he has deep admiration towards. He describes snow as being a mask that hides the ugliness of the mountains and moors. These in-depth feelings show insecurity about a certain unattractiveness that he possesses.
“Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors” (7-8).
Keats now shows us his real intent of the poem by describing his emotional journey to be with his lover eternally and without change. “No — yet still steadfast, still unchangeable / Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breasts” (9-10).
His deep emotions appear in line ten as he yearns to be as close as possible to his love. Keats’ true motive is revealed in that he strides for an eternal, unchanging existence only to be with her.
“To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest” (11-12).
Now Keats explains that he has yet another desire, in which his lover be alive for eternity. The interpretation of soft fall and swell could only represent the precious breaths taken by his lover everyday of her eternal life. Her presence is mandatory in Keats’ life because he possesses an undying love for her. Keats implicitly describes being with her in a wakeful state forever without the troubling effects of mortality, which would prevent him from spending every possible second with her due to sleep.
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Keats’ concludes his poem by displaying a powerful statement that if he cannot hear his lover breathe, he will welcome his own death with no regrets. “Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, / And so live ever—or else swoon to death.” (13-14).
Keats shows that as long as he can be with his lover, he will live forever. But if they must part, then he welcomes death. This portrays Keats’ feelings towards life where death brings no fear and life means nothing without his lover.
John Keats explains to us his feelings toward his human emotions, which leaves no room to explore his deeper spiritual desires. He tends dip into mystic and unexplained phenomena in the universe to describe his feelings. This is probably due to the fact that his earthly human self is on the verge toward death and his spiritual side is fully alive.
