Eve of St Agnes

Question 1

What is the significance of the Spenserian style of poetic technique used by Keats?

Answer 1

This style was made in 16th century and so has the effect of creating the poem’s overall romantic, medieval feel. Due to its slow place, it also one that frequently blurs the line between reality and imagination, alluding that of the dream state.

Question 2

What could be suggested about Madeline’s dream state?

Answer 2

Madeline’s imagination is exactly what makes her powerless—it cuts her off from what’s going on around her and tricks her into thinking that their love is pure. Madeline is essentially drugged by her own imagination in order for her to remain innocent to her rape. Keats could be suggesting through this that love does not actually exist, which is the tragedy as their love only exists in the dream state which blinds Madeline to the patriarchy.

Question 3

Why can Porphyro be seen as villainous?

Answer 3

he devises a “stratagem” to trick Madeline into thinking he’s a vision delivered by an ancient Christian ritual.

Question 4

What is an interpretation of
“Hoodwink’d in faery fancy” near beginning of poem?

Answer 4

it refers more closely to a term that was used in falconry where you’d put a hood over the falcon’s head so it couldn’t see and get distracted. Madeline’s “regardless eyes” (64) are covered over with “faery fancy,” which renders her incapable of being sensible to anything other than the vision she anticipates that night, leaving her vulnerable to Porphyro’s true intentions

Question 5

What is the significance of
“at the thought of those enchantments cold”?

Answer 5

Here Porphyro is depicted as a character who enforces reality, the binary opposition to himself and Madeline therefore indicates that their love is unattainable as they are from different worlds.

Question 6

What is the significance?

“Into her dream he melted
[…] meantime the frost-wind blows
Like Love’s alarum, pattering the sharp sleet
Against the window-panes; St. Agnes moon hath set”

Answer 6

This storm, as we find out shortly, is an “elfin-storm from faery land” (344), which means that the symbol of female chastity and power (the moon of St. Agnes) is replaced by the elfin-storm, trumpeting out a warning (the “alarum”) this could infer that Madeline has been defiled and her innocence taken, and so the only way to protect her from the punishment of society having sex out of wedlock is to sustain herself in the dreamworld where she can be blind to the forced love between herself and Porhyro.

Question 7

explore mythology of
“tongueless nightingale”

Answer 7

refers to Philomel, a woman who was raped by her brother-in-law, who then cut out her tongue to prevent her from reporting his crime.

Question 8

How _______ thou art! How _____, chill, and _____!

Answer 8

changed
pallid
drear

Question 9

explore
“How chang’d thou art! How pallid, chill, and drear!”

Answer 9

She’s woken up from her “wakeful swoon”, and the reality she faces is “pallid, chill and drear”, because of this she stays in the dreamworld in order to maintain the purity of love.

Question 10

What is the significance of the fact that at the beginning of the poem there was
“frosted grass”
and at the end a
“storm”?

Answer 10

The pathetic fallacy initiated at the beginning of the poem creates an outset suggestive of the disorder to come. The cyclical pattern of the coldness indicated by the “frosted grass” and “storm” infers that reality is cold which implies that love therefore cannot exist in the harshness of reality

Question 11

“her ______ eyes divine”- near beginning

Answer 11

maiden

Question 12

What is the significance of
“maiden eyes divine”?

Answer 12

• Madeline is described as an innocent “maiden”, who does not centre around the materialistic focus of “plume,tiaras and all rich array”, making her appear a more pure soul, which “divine” substantiates due to its relation to God.
• The fact that Madeline is surrounded by the corruption of society, Porphyro could be seen to release her from the reality of her life as a noble “maiden” which inevitably would lead to her being married to a nobleman, deprived from choice.
• In this way Keats compares Madeline to St.Agnes who was bound to God, and therefore as the myth requires her to look to “heaven with upward eyes” implies that Porphyro has been sent by God, which justifies how he was able to sneak into the castle undetected.
• The fact that her eyes are “divine” could express Porphyro’s worship of her later calling her a “splendid angel”

Question 13

“with ____, regardless eyes”- near beginning

Answer 13

vague

Question 14

explore
“with vague, regardless eyes”

Answer 14

Her “divine eyes” have transitioned to “regardless eyes” due to the drugs given by Angela; for this reason it clear that Madeline is now vulnerable due to the absence of her clarity to which she is blinded now to Porphyry’s actions. The fact that her eyes are now “vague” also insinuates her uncertainty and suggests that her vision is blurred, and as she is “hood wink’d” her mind unguarded.

Question 15

“That he might ____ and ________ all unseen” near beginning

Answer 15

gaze
worship

Question 16

Explore
“that he might gaze and worship all unseen”

Answer 16

Porphyro is presented as a heroic character, his intentions appear pure with his obvious admiration for Madeline as he “worships” her portraying that he does in fact love her. These honest intentions therefore indicate to the reader that the climactic sex scene inferred in the poem is of a genuine and romantic nature, unlike an adverse perception that it is violent and unrequited. The fact that he “gaze”’s on her implies that he is in certain awe of Madeline which as well upholds the view that he admires her.

Question 17

“held _________ hordes,
Hyena _______, and hot-blooded _____,”
near beginning

Answer 17

held barbarian hordes,
Hyena foeman, and hot-blooded lords,

Question 18

“Against his _______”

Answer 18

lineage

Question 19

What is suggested from
“Against his lineage”?

Answer 19

Porphyro is of a lesser social standing to that of Madeline, it could through this be insinuated that he uses her as a vehicle in order to transcend the boundaries of his social ranking due to her stature as a “maiden”. It could also be inferred that he takes Madeline’s virginity in order to punish those who are “against his lineage” through unifying with a noble daughter “against” their wishes; Madeline’s disparity to remain pure therefore means that she has to blind herself to the reality of her rape in order to maintain her innocence, indicating when she is now his “lovely bride”, as only in marriage can Madeline not be condemned by her family and by church, and only in the dream state can their love then exist.

Question 20

“Love’s ______ citadel” near beginning

Answer 20

fev’rous

Question 21

explore
“Love’s fev’rous citadel” near beginning

Answer 21

Porphyro’s not just trying to get into the castle, he’s trying to defend his love for Madeline with a castle (“citadel”) of his own.

Question 22

Porphyro is described as a
“_____-lord of all the _____ and ____”

Answer 22

liege
Elves
Fayes

Question 23

“From ______ men like thee”-angela
near beginning/middle

Answer 23

wicked

Question 24

“I will not harm her, by all ______ I swear”

Answer 24

saints

Question 25

significance of
“And win perhaps that night a peerless bride,”

Answer 25

The verb “win” indicates that Porphyro is a symbol of the patriarchy, entrapping Madeline as his wife to be “won” rather than as an equal as lovers. The fact that he wants a “peerless” bride suggests his superficial reasoning for his admiration of Madeline based wholly on her beauty. A more interpretative point could be that “peerless” could mean that he does not want a bride who can “peer”, ergo see his evil in taking her innocence.

Question 26

“His poor _____ ________ back with ____ in her brain

Answer 26

guide
hurried
agues

Question 27

what is an agues?
“his poor guide hurried back with agues in her brain”
middle/end

Answer 27

an illness

Question 28

explore
“Out went the taper as she hurried in”

Answer 28

The absence of light indicate a shift to a more eerie setting to which Porphyro now appears as a predator and a villainous character due to Madeline’s vulnerability blind to his presence.

Question 29

“so pure a _____, so free from ______ taint”

Answer 29

thing
mortal

Question 30

Explore
“so pure a thing, so free from mortal taint”

Answer 30

The noun “thing” objectify’s Madeline as a possession to be had rather than a person to be unified with, the fact that Porphyro is centrally concerned with her being “so pure” implies he is desperate for a woman whom he can respect and be a good wife due to her innocence. Keats through this implies that their love is unbalanced as he evidently wants to “win” Madeline as his bride because she is “free from mortal taint” and if she was to have already lost her virginity he would not worship her. Adversely, it could be suggested that Porphyro admires Madeline because she is “free from mortal taint” in regards to her purity of soul, as earlier implied in the poem she did not care for the materialistic “plume,tiaras and all rich array”.

Question 31

“plume,______ and all rich _____“-beginning of poem

Answer 31

tiaras
array

Question 32

“Pensive awhile she dreams awake, and sees”

Answer 32

This is tragic because she will be awake for her rape, but can not do anything to prevent this due to her vulnerability and her being drugged by the potions for St.Agnes Eve, she then chooses to stay in the dream state where she can pretend that it is just her visions.

Question 33

As though a rose should shut, and be a bud again.

Answer 33

The natural imagery further depicts her innocence and the fact that she has “shut” could imply she has “shut” herself from the reality of her rape in order to remain innocent as a “bud again”

Question 34

the poppied warmth of sleep oppress’d

Answer 34

Madeline has been drugged from “the poppied warmth of sleep oppress’d” and so further implies her vulnerability and depicts Angela as the reason for her tragic downfall as she has allowed Porphyro to “enspie” upon her while she is in a position of powerlessness

Question 35

explore
“Stol’n to this paradise, and so entranced”

Answer 35

Porphyro has entered Madeline’s “wakeful swoon” and so it can be inferred that as they are both in a dream state, their love is existent in purity as Porphyro has transcended the reality of him “gazing on that bed” as an intruder, and has instead openly uncovered himself so that they can be together as lovers.

Question 36

“__________ as fear in a ____wilderness,

Answer 36

Noiseless
wide

Question 37

explore
“Noiseless as fear in a wide wilderness” middle

Answer 37

He’s been sneaking around this castle full of “barbarian hordes” all night, but now, when he’s in the safest, most domestic place, that place is wide, and he himself is “fear”. This suggests a genuine emotion from Porphyro who is no longer depicted as a predator and highlights his love. The fact that he believes that her room is alike a “wilderness” indicates the difficulty of finding love and how Madeline is more complex as a “splendid angel” to win over.

Question 38

explore
“Morphean amulet!” middle

Answer 38

a Morphean amulet is a sleep charm, referring to Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep and so it could be suggested that Porphyro will try to enter the dream world to be with Madeline so that they can be together and escape reality where they cannot be together due to their family feud and his “lineage”

Question 39

“my love, my _____ fair” MIDDLE

Answer 39

seraph

Question 40

What is a seraph?
“my love, my seraph fair”?

Answer 40

the highest order of angel

Question 41

explore the significance of
“twas a midnight charm
Impossible to melt”

Answer 41

Madeline’s “midnight charm” makes it impossible for Porphyro to “melt” into her dream and therefore impossible to be together, links to later in the poem where he eventually “melts into her dream”. Porhphro here is stripped of any villainy as he will not love Madeline until she has awoke.

Question 42

explore
“took her hollow lute,”

Answer 42

expresses the courtly love of their romance in which he plays a medieval instrument in order to awake her so that they may be together

Question 43

explore
“pale as smooth-sculptured stone.”

Answer 43

A like La Belle Dans Sans Merci, Porphyro appears “pale” in his waiting for his female love, so much so that he is as “pale as smooth-scultptured stone”. In doing so Keats foreshadows their tragic end due to the beginning of the play where in chapel there are the “sculptur’d dead,” implying that they cannot be together. Another interpretation could be that as soon as Madeline awakens into the real world, she see’s Porphryo for who he is as a “sculptured stone” representative of the patriarchy alike how in isabella the brothers are made from “cruel clay”.

Question 44

“Give me that voice again, my Porphyro”

Answer 44

Madeline has just crossed the liminal boundary between reality and the dream state, the fact that she calls him “my Porphyro” indicates that in the dream world the patriarchy is non-existent, she now holds power equally to a man and so Keats portrays reality in comparison as something in which does not allow their love to exist due to societal boundaries and their confinements due to their status

Question 45

“For if thou diest, my Love, I know not where to go”

Answer 45

this links to Isabella as both female characters cannot live without their lover, they have become bound to their love and so do not want to be in an “eternal woe”, which is the real world she has awakened to exist in. It is significant therefore that in the next stanza he becomes “Beyond a mortal man”, into which they can be together at the moment where he reaches spiritual transcendence with his “splendid angel”.

Question 46

“No dream, alas! alas! and woe is mine!
Porphyro will leave me here to fade and pine.—

Answer 46

Porphyro has tricked Madeline into believing that they were in the dream world in which he “melted into her dream”, when he reveals that there was “no dream” the vibrancy and constancy of their love has “fade{ed}” and she realises now that in reality she has been ruined in the eyes of the church who would condemn her from sex outside of wedlock. This means that she must now remain in the dream state, blinded by this deceit in order to maintain her purity in the eyes of God. The fact that the beadsman dies at the end of the poem is suggestive that Keats explores the harshness of the church which in the 1800’s had augmented the patriarchy and the subservience of women.

Question 47

“A ______‘_ pilgrim,—saved by ______”

Answer 47

famish’d
miracle

Question 48

explore
“A famish’d pilgrim,—saved by miracle”

Answer 48

Keats reinforces Porphyro’s pure love for Madeline through presenting him as a “pilgrim” which is a person who journeys to a religious place for worship, in such case Madeline is his place of worship. The fact that he is described as “famish’d” is significant in reflecting that they have consummated their love as he is no longer “famish’d” as he was “saved”. As a “miracle” is something which defy’s the laws of science it can be suggested that they have both now entered the dream state where their love can exist as a “miracle”.

Question 49

‘tis an _____-storm from _____ land,

Answer 49

elfin
faery

Question 50

“There are no ears to hear, or eyes to see”-near end

Answer 50

The fact that there are “there are no ears to hear, or eyes to see,” could be suggested to have been because of the “elfin storm” which has enabled their escape.

Question 51

“sleeping ______”

Answer 51

dragons

Question 52

“They glide, like ________”

Answer 52

phantoms