The Eve of St.

Agnes
Study Guide by Course Hero

"The Eve of St. Agnes" mixes the present and the past tenses.
What's Inside
ABOUT THE TITLE
The poem is about the Eve of St. Agnes, January 20, when
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 unmarried girls would enact specific traditions they believed
would allow them to dream of their future husbands. The story
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 takes place on this date. At its center is a young woman hoping
to dream of her husband and a man who uses the tradition to
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 4
convince her he is meant to be her husband.
h Characters .................................................................................................. 6

k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 8

c Plot Analysis .............................................................................................. 11

d In Context
g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 14

l Symbols ....................................................................................................... 17
Spenserian Stanzas
m Themes ........................................................................................................ 17 British poet Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–99) invented the
Spenserian stanza and first used it in his epic poem The Faerie
b Narrative Voice ........................................................................................ 19 Queene (1590). Each stanza of the form contains nine lines.
The first eight use iambic pentameter, that is, each line has five
metrical "feet" of one unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable: da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da
j Book Basics DUM. The final line is in iambic hexameter, which has six
metrical feet: da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da
AUTHOR DUM. The rhyme scheme of a Spenserian stanza is
John Keats ABABBCBCC.

YEAR PUBLISHED Iambic pentameter is the most commonly used meter

1820 throughout English poetry. To use a line from this poem as an
example, "They glide/, like phan/toms, in/to the/ wide hall."
GENRE
Drama, Fantasy Iambic hexameter adds a "foot" to this pattern. An example
from the same stanza of the poem is this line: "The key/ turns,
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR and/ the door/ upon/ its hing/es groans." Hexameter was
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is narrated by a third-person omniscient used in classical Latin and Greek poetry, such as The Iliad
speaker. As the events unfold, the speaker reveals an (Homer). Another name for an iambic hexameter is
emotionally invested perspective. "Alexandrine."

TENSE In this stanza from the poem, the "A" rhyme in lines 1 (hall) and
The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide In Context 2

3 (sprawl) is noted with boldface. The rhyming words in the "B" Shelley (1792–1822) and George Gordon, Lord Byron
lines are in capital letters. These are lines 2 (glide), 4 (side), 5 (1788–1824). Keats knew Shelley, and he also met the "father"
(hide), and 7 (slide). The rhyming words in the "C" lines are of the Romantic era of English literature, William Wordsworth
underlined: 6 (owns), 8 (stones), and 9 (groans). (1770–1850).

However, Keats's most popular work is closest thematically to

They glide, like phantoms, into the the works of Wordsworth's collaborator for Lyrical Ballads,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1722–1834). Coleridge's express
wide hall;
purpose in this foundational work was to write of the
Like phantoms, to the iron porch, supernatural, as well as of the natural. This style of combining
the fantastic and the natural can be readily seen in the work of
they GLIDE;
Keats, including "The Eve of St. Agnes."
Where lay the Porter, in uneasy
Keats's work fits several of the core traits of Romanticism.
sprawl, Romanticism (c. 1780–1830) was a literary, artistic, and
philosophical movement that rejected the orderliness and
With a huge empty flaggon by his
rationality of the neoclassical. Instead, Romanticism's outlook
SIDE: incorporated nature, the individual, altered consciousness, and
the supernatural. The Romantic movement stressed
The wakeful bloodhound rose, and imagination, individualism, and subjectivity. In its focus on
shook his HIDE, nature, individual or subjective experience, and the
supernatural, Keats's work aligns with the Romantic movement.
But his sagacious eye an inmate
Gothic literature, named for its use of and inspiration from
owns:
Gothic-style medieval architecture, was popular in the late
By one, and one, the bolts full easy 1700s and throughout the 1800s. It is contemporary, in part,
with the Romantic era in Britain, and it reaches into the
SLIDE:— Victorian era (1837–1901) as well. Consequently, Keats, a
The chains lie silent on the voracious reader, would have been familiar with its traits. Some
standout examples of the genre are Horace Walpole's Castle
footworn stones;— of Otranto (1765), Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho (1794),
The key turns, and the door upon Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk (1796), and Charles
Robert Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820). The famous
its hinges groans. novel Frankenstein, written in 1818 by Keats's contemporary
Mary Shelley (1797–1851), is arguably also classifiable as a
Notably, two other second-generation Romantic poets used Gothic novel.
the Spenserian stanza: George Gordon, Lord Byron
(1788–1824) in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812), and Percy
Novels in the Gothic genre used medieval architecture such as
Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) in his poem "Adonais" (1821). The
castles and ruins as settings. They also featured imagery
full title of Shelley's poem is "Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of
evoking fear or mystery. Hidden passages, shadowy paths, and
John Keats."
sounds in the night are typical of the genre. Further, they made
use of flat characters—steadfastly pure heroines, tortured
villains, and well-intentioned heroes. An examination of Keats's
Romanticism and the Gothic poem "The Eve of St. Agnes" will reveal numerous Gothic
tendencies, both in setting and in the presentation of the
Positioning John Keats (1795–1821) in the literary canon helps characters Madeline and Porphyro.
readers understand the scope of his work. He is classified as a
"second-generation" Romantic poet, along with Percy Bysshe

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide In Context 3

body of the Catholic Church), is as follows:

St. Agnes: History, Sainthood,
and Traditions Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
St. Agnes (c. 291–c. 304 CE) was a beautiful, sought-after
daughter of a wealthy family in Rome. According to legend, St. Thy kingdom come.
Agnes loved Jesus, the son of God in Catholic and Christian
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in
belief, so much so that she refused all offers of marriage. Her
devotion resulted in her death at the age of 12 or 13. heaven.
One of the suitors she refused to marry was the governor's Give us this day our daily bread,
son, Procop, who attempted to woo her with gifts. When she
and forgive us our trespasses,
refused him, Procop took her to his father and accused her of
being a Christian. The governor also offered her gifts—this time as we forgive those who trespass
in exchange for denying God. She again refused, despite being
held in chains. Ultimately, she was sent to a brothel and then to
against us,
her death. She was executed with a sword. One account says and lead us not into temptation,
she was first tied to a stake to be burned to death but the
wood would not ignite.
but deliver us from evil.

In another version, Agnes was condemned by a Roman official This tradition differed slightly in Scotland. The
named Sempronius. He had her dragged naked through the objective—seeing one's future husband or wife—remained the
streets. In this version of her story, her hair grew to cover her same, but the ritual was to throw grain onto the ground in a
nakedness, and the men who tried to rape her were blinded. St. field at midnight. Instead of the Lord's Prayer, the girls and
Agnes remained a virgin. In fact, according to one account, she boys would say: "Agnes sweet and Agnes fair, / Hither, hither,
healed her attacker. now repair; / Bonny Agnes, let me see / The lad [or lass] who is
to marry me." The prayer was supposedly granted with a vision
St. Agnes is the patron saint of young girls, chastity, and rape
of the future husband or wife's shadow in a mirror on St.
survivors. Her symbols are traditionally a lamb (innocence) and
Agnes's Eve.
a palm branch (martyrdom). Her body lies in Rome under the
high altar in the church of Sant'Agnese Fuori le Mura, and her
skull is kept in the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome's
Piazza Navona. On the feast day of St. Agnes, January 21, the
Marriage in the Middle Ages
pope blesses two lambs. The wool from these lambs is turned
The Middle Ages, or the medieval era, in Europe is traditionally
into pallia (vestments), which are sent to archbishops.
the period beginning in about the year 500 CE and extending
Traditions arose from the history and legends surrounding St. to the Renaissance, roughly between the 13th and 15th
Agnes. St. Agnes's Eve became associated with discovering centuries. This era is sometimes called the Dark Ages, and it is
one's future husband through assorted rituals. Some of these characterized by a prevailing religious sentiment. The Catholic
traditions lasted well into the 19th century in Europe. These Church maintained dominance and vast influence over society
rituals included eating "dumb cake," a salty cake prepared with at this point in history. Many people thought of Europe as being
other maidens in complete silence, and walking backward to a church-state, called Christendom. The church wielded
one's bed. Maidens would also sprinkle sprigs of rosemary and political and martial might and influenced everyday life.
thyme with water before placing one sprig in each shoe that
A woman's options in the Middle Ages were marriage or a life
they set beside the bed before sleep. Another tradition
of celibacy as a nun. A girl—particularly one of noble
involved taking pins one by one from a pincushion and placing
birth—could be considered old enough to marry once she
them in one's sleeve, an act completed while reciting the Lord's
reached puberty, around the age of 12, but most were married
Prayer. This prayer, according to the Vatican (the governing

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Author Biography 4

in their teens. Marriages in this period were a business grandmother. Keats continued his education at Enfield, which
transaction. Marriage was not for love or attraction, but the was only two miles away. Keats's mother returned in 1808 or
result of an arrangement made by parents to make alliances or 1809, but Frances was sick with tuberculosis. The disease had
gain property. This information is useful when contemplating just killed her brother a few months earlier. Keats cared for his
Madeline's situation with Porphyro. In essence, he stole her mother during her illness, cooking her meals and reading to
father's property. She would be unable to be an asset to her her. She died in March 1810.
father to make a fruitful alliance because she left without an
agreement in place. This makes the actions of the servant Keats's maternal grandmother, Alice Whalley Jennings, who

Angela even more treacherous. She helped someone who was was in her mid-70s at the time, named Richard Abbey and John

not welcome within the castle gain access to a valuable, Nowland Sandell as guardians of the four children. Keats was

virginal daughter. 14.

Many people in the Middle Ages also believed consummation, For the next year, John Keats continued his studies at Enfield.

or finalizing a marriage by having sex, was necessary for the He was close friends with the headmaster's son, Charles

marriage to be valid. This detail strengthens the interpretation Cowden Clarke, as well as with the headmaster, John Clarke.

that Porphyro "melting" into Madeline's dream symbolically The influence of these friendships is found not only in the

represents sexual intercourse. This is further supported by his academic passion Keats developed, but in his interest in

reference to her as "my bride." Technically, a marriage required reform and liberty. Keats's association with the Clarkes also

both the exchange of vows and consummation. However, granted him access to a great variety of literature. Through

marriage in the Middle Ages was not only had the purpose to their library, he read Greek mythology, history, and travel

create a contract and exchange property, but was also writing. At this time—at age 15—he also worked on learning

perceived as a sacrament that should take place with the French. He translated a vast portion of the Aeneid, an epic

blessing of the church. poem in Latin, written by ancient Roman poet Virgil between
30 and 19 BCE.

In 1811 Abbey, a wealthy tea merchant, removed Keats from

a Author Biography Enfield Academy and placed him as an apprentice with
surgeon Thomas Hammond. Information on this part of Keats's
life is scant. He studied anatomy and medicine, which would

Early Life and Education have included training to set bones, tend wounds, and the like.
It was not a career requiring a university degree.

John Keats was born to Frances Jennings Keats and Thomas Keats began visiting the Clarkes during this time. According to
Keats in London on October 31, 1795. John was followed by Charles Cowden Clarke, Keats borrowed Ovid's
four more children, George (1797–1841), Tom (1799–1818), Metamorphoses (c. 8 CE), John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667),
Edward (1801–02), and Frances Mary, known as Fanny and Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1596). After a
(1803–89). The family appeared to be close and happy. presumed quarrel with Hammond, Keats left his apprenticeship
and moved to London in October 1815. There he completed a
At age eight Keats began attending Enfield Academy. Within
six-month study at Guy's Hospital. By this time Keats had
the year, his father was in an accident, and he died on April 15,
already begun writing poetry. By 1816 he was a licensed
1804. Up until his father's death, Keats had been outgoing and
apothecary, or medical provider; however, he did not use the
cheerful. Over the next couple of months, Frances relocated
license. Instead, he chose to focus on his writing.
the children to her mother's home and married a man named
William Rawlings. When the marriage failed, Frances lost the Notably, the Keats' guardian Richard Abbey would withhold the
family's horse stables, fondly called the Swan and Hoop. Not Keats children's funds from this point until 1833, when Fanny
only did the stables provide for the family, but her father had Keats pursued a legal resolution. Between this time and John
owned them before she married Thomas Keats, who had taken Keats's death, the funds withheld for John Keats were in the
them over in 1802. Frances left her family in 1805, and Keats range of £2,000 (two thousand pounds). At the time, between
and his siblings lived in Edmonton, Middlesex, with their £50 and £200 per year would have been a comfortable living.

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Author Biography 5

summer before. The Brawnes visited the Dilke family while

Writing and Publishing Keats was staying with them, and through the Dilkes he came
to know and love Fanny Brawne. Within four weeks of Tom's
In or around 1815, John Keats met Leigh Hunt (1784–1859), a death, Keats and Fanny expressed their mutual love. They
newspaper editor at the politically radical Examiner. Because became engaged 10 months later, although they never married.
Hunt had been imprisoned from 1813 to 1815 for his political During this time Keats was still writing. In 1819 he penned his
opinions, Keats's association with Hunt was a political act, famous "La Belle Dame sans Merci," as well as "The Eve of St.
revolutionary and likely to attract negativity from conservative Agnes" and the odes ("Ode to Psyche," "Ode to a Nightingale,"
critics. Keats sent a poem, via Cowden Clarke, to Hunt upon and others). Although "La Belle Dame sans Merci" was written
Hunt's release from prison in 1815. Hunt would be the first in April 1819, it was not published until 1820 in a slightly altered
publisher of Keats's work. In 1816 the Examiner published two form. The next volume of his work, the last during his life, was
of Keats's sonnets: "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" published in mid-1820. This collection was greeted with
and "O Solitude." positive reviews.

Leigh Hunt was also instrumental in another way. He Unfortunately, by this time Keats was suffering from the
introduced Keats to several Romantic literary figures, including tuberculosis that would kill him early the following year. He
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). Their influence led to the coughed up blood in February 1820, alerting him to his
publication of Keats's first volume of poetry, Poems by John impending death. He continued to suffer from tuberculosis as
Keats (1817). Although Shelley supposedly liked Keats a great well as depression about the end of his life. This resulted in an
deal, Keats had a less positive opinion of Shelley. attempt to part with Fanny. However, Fanny and her mother
Consequently, when Shelley suggested Keats create a larger nursed him for a month, after which he made plans to go to
body of work before publishing further, Keats ignored the Italy for his health. The final stage of his relationship with
advice. In 1818 Keats published Endymion, a 4,000-line text Fanny was conducted solely through letters during this
inspired by Greek mythology. Critics, especially those at separation. He departed England in November with his friend,
Blackwood's Magazine and Quarterly Review, savaged the painter Joseph Severn (1793–1879).
Endymion in their influential reviews. Shelley would later charge
negative reviews with hastening Keats's early death.

Keats continued to write, study literature, and publish. He also Death and Legacy
continued to join in the literary and intellectual society he'd
found. Notably, although he met and shared meals with William Although he planned to marry Fanny upon his return from

Wordsworth (1770–1850), Keats took issue with the poet's Rome, Keats died in Italy on February 23, 1821. He was 25 at

arrogance. In 1818 Keats embarked on a walking tour of the the time of his passing. Despite living such a short amount of

English Lake District and Scotland with his friend Charles time, Keats made a remarkable variety of contributions to

Brown. Although at the time Keats expected this to be the start literature. He is canonically remembered as a second-

of his travels, he returned home to find his brother Tom sick generation Romantic poet. In addition to his poems, he left

with tuberculosis. Their brother George had already moved to behind numerous letters detailing his career, life, and

the United States, so Tom's care was left to Keats. Keats philosophical thoughts.

continued writing even as he looked after Tom, from August

One of the contributions scholars have gained from Keats is
until Tom's death on December 1, 1818.
the idea of "negative capability." This idea is highlighted in a
letter he wrote in 1817 after a conversation with his friends
Charles Dilke and Charles Brown. In this letter Keats describes
Love and Tuberculosis being struck by the idea of negative capability, or the state
"when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries,
Keats met the love of his life, Fanny Brawne (1800–65), in 1818, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason."
the same year he contracted tuberculosis. On December 1, the What Keats means here is that embracing the negative, or the
day Tom Keats died, Keats went to live with his friend Charles absence of certain knowledge, is important. To Keats, this
Dilke. Fanny's family had rented half of the Dilkes' house the quality is essential to the great minds of literature, such as

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Characters 6

Shakespeare. As a contrast, he uses the example of fellow

Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), who was
"incapable of remaining content with half knowledge." In
Keats's view, the things a person does not have can also define
them, just as much as the things they do have. Keats argues
there is potential in mystery and there is power in passivity
toward it. He adds to this idea in a letter to Richard
Woodhouse in 1818, suggesting the importance of passivity in
"poetical Character." This "poetical Character" is "everything
and nothing ... it enjoys light and shade; it lives in gusto, be it
foul or fair, high or low, rich or poor, mean or elevated."

h Characters

Madeline
Madeline hopes she will dream of her future beloved. She is
devout, and she follows the superstitious ritual carefully. When
she awakens, she finds a man, Porphyro, in her room. He
professes affection, and ultimately she leaves with him since
the discovery of his presence in her room would end badly for
all parties.

Porphyro
Porphyro is aware that Madeline's father would not be pleased
to find him in pursuit of Madeline. He enlists the aid of an old
female servant, Angela, to lead him to Madeline's room, where
he watches her disrobe and sleep. He wakes her, professes his
affections, and ultimately steals away with her into the freezing
night.

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Characters 7

Character Map

Madeline
Pious young woman
dreaming of a husband

Lovers Servant

Porphyro
Young suitor willing to Angela
use guile and seduction Confidant Aged woman
to succeed

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Summary 8

death is coming soon. Instead of attending to the music, he sits

Full Character List in ashes and stays awake praying for sinners throughout the
night.
Character Description

Madeline
Madeline is a young, pious woman Stanzas 4–6
hoping to dream of her future spouse.
The music continues softly, and the doors of the castle are
Porphyro is a young man who steals into opened in preparation for thousands of guests. The guests are
Porphyro the virginal Madeline's room to force her finely dressed in clothing decorated with jewels and feathers.
to be his bride.
The speaker recognizes that these people are all thinking of
old triumphs and romances, but he decides to disregard most
Angela is an old servant in Madeline's
Angela home, who leads Porphyro to the young of the assembled revelers and focus on "one Lady" among
woman's bedchamber in secret. them.

This woman has been thinking about love and St. Agnes
The Baron, Madeline's father, is hosting a
Baron throughout the cold day. She knows of the feast of Saint
party on St. Agnes's Eve.
Agnes from older women who have told her that virgins can
The Beadsman is a man who is paid to have visions or dreams of future love if they follow certain
Beadsman pray for others. As the poem opens, he is rituals, or ceremonies. These include skipping the evening meal
praying in a cold, deserted church. and lying in bed gazing upward toward heaven without looking
around.
Hildebrand is a "dwarfish" man attending
Hildebrand
the party in Madeline's home.

Lord Maurice is an old man attending the

Stanzas 7–9
Lord Maurice
party in Madeline's home.
The speaker reveals the lady's name, Madeline. Despite the
party going on around her, she keeps her gaze down as she
thinks about the rituals of St. Agnes's night that might give her
k Plot Summary a glimpse of her future husband. Many men approach her, and
Madeline does some dancing, but she does not pay much
attention to her partners. The speaker notes that Madeline
seems to be "hoodwink'd" into believing these St. Agnes's day
Stanzas 1–3 superstitions by fairies or magic. In the meantime, a young man
named Porphyro, who is passionately in love with Madeline, has
The poem opens by establishing the date: January 20, the eve
traveled across the moors (wilderness areas) to visit her. He
of the feast of St. Agnes. It is so bitterly cold that even the
stands in the shadows and prays to the saints to let him see
animals are uncomfortable. The Beadsman (one who prays for
her. He hopes to speak to her or perhaps kneel before her,
a fee) has numb fingers as he moves them on his rosary—a
touch her, and kiss her.
string of beads used as an aid to prayer. His breath is visible as
he kneels in a cold chapel outside a castle so that it resembles
the smoke of incense from a censer, or vessel used for burning
incense in a church service.
Stanzas 10–12
After finishing his prayers, the Beadsman, who is barefoot and Porphyro stealthily enters the castle, aware he is not welcome
thin, rises from his knees and exits the chapel, passing cold there. He refers to the inhabitants as barbarians who want to
statues along the way. As he leaves, he hears the sounds of kill him because of his family—presumably referring to a feud
beautiful music, but he doesn't pay much attention, because his between the two families. The only exception is an old, frail

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Summary 9

woman who doesn't hate him as the rest of the castle's was. Porphyro objects and swears adamantly he will not harm
household does. Porphyro happens to encounter this old Madeline. Weeping, he promises not to displace even one of
woman as she shuffles past the place where he is hiding the curls on her head. She asks him to calm down, because he
behind a pillar. He startles her, but she quickly recognizes him is giving her a fright. He speaks more gently and convinces her
and takes his hand. She warns him to leave before the "blood- to help him.
thirsty" partygoers find him.

The woman's warnings become specific: she notes that the

party's attendees include Hildebrand, who has cursed
Stanzas 19–21
Porphyro's entire family and their lands, and Lord Maurice, who
Porphyro's plan is this: Angela will take him to Madeline's
despite his gray hair is still a threat. Porphyro suggests they sit
bedroom and hide him in a closet. That way he can spy on
and tries to ask her a question, but the woman directs him to
Madeline as she gets ready for bed and then, when the
follow her, warning him that the stones he stands on will soon
enchantment of St. Agnes's Eve is upon her, he will reveal
hold his dead body if he does not.
himself to her and somehow win her as his bride. Angela
agrees and notes that there will be delicacies to eat in the
closet, where he will also see Madeline's lute. She instructs him
Stanzas 13–15 to pray while he waits for her to prepare the way for him. She
stresses that after this he must marry Madeline or Angela will
Porphyro follows the old woman, a tall feather on his hat not get into heaven.
brushing the spiderwebs along the ceiling as he walks. They
stop in a small, silent room lit by moonlight, and Porphyro Angela leaves, and then she returns and instructs Porphyro to
addresses the woman by name, Angela. Then Porphyro asks follow her. Eventually, they reach Madeline's bedroom, where
her where he might find Madeline. He asks her to swear by a the young man happily hides. Angela leaves him there and
loom associated with one of the St. Agnes's day hurries away.
rituals—weaving fabric using lamb's wool. This reference to St.
Agnes reveals he knows it is the eve of a holy day.

Angela clearly thinks he believes he is safe in coming to see

Stanzas 22–24
Madeline because it is a holy day, and she warns him that this
As Angela's hand is faltering on the stairway railing, Madeline
does not assure his safety. Men can do murder on holy days
approaches her chamber, carrying a candle. Madeline takes a
just as they do on other days. She tells him Madeleine intends
moment to help the old woman down the stairs before
to perform the rituals of St. Agnes (such as fasting, lying in bed
returning to her chamber. The speaker advises Porphyro to get
a certain way, and saying a special prayer) in order to conjure
ready, as Madeline is coming. Madeline enters the room so
up the image of her future husband. Angela, who doesn't seem
quickly the candle goes out, and she closes the door behind
to think the rituals are anything more than the silliness of
her. She is visibly excited and breathing quickly. She does not
young women, laughs at the thought. Porphyro watches her
speak a word, but she can hear her heart beating. The speaker
laughing, wondering what other knowledge the old woman has.
of the poem pauses to describe the stained glass window and
He doesn't like the idea that Madeline will be taking part in
the carvings of fruit, flowers, and knotted bunches of grass in
rituals.
the wood around it. The windowpanes have thousands of
colorful symbolic pictures and designs stained onto the glass,
like the designs seen on shields.
Stanzas 16–18
Porphyro has a sudden idea—one that makes his face flush
and his heart fill with passion and love. When he outlines this
Stanzas 25–27
plan to Angela, however, she reacts harshly, calling him a cruel
Madeline kneels and prays as the light of the moon shines
and wicked man. She adds he is not the person she thought he
through the stained glass and illuminates her. The speaker

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Summary 10

says a red light shines on her breast and hands and a pale motionless before her, she begins to moan and weep. She had
purple light shines on the silver cross she is wearing. Porphyro been dreaming of him, but in her dream he had clearer eyes
thinks she seems like a saint and angel. She seems so pure and a sweet voice, and now she sees he is cold and pale. In
and beautiful—almost like a supernatural being rather than a fact, seeing Porphyro looking this way makes her think he is
mere mortal—that he feels faint. Madeline loosens her hair, dying. She cries to think about what will happen if he dies.
removes her jewelry, and disrobes, unaware she is being
watched. The speaker reminds the reader of the rules of the
ritual: Madeline cannot look behind her or the ritual won't work. Stanzas 36–38
She lies in bed, trembling and in a dreamlike state, until the
warmth of sleep overcomes her. Filled with passion beyond that of a mere mortal, Porphyro
rises from his knees and, in the poet's words, "melts" into
Madeline's dream. The two versions of him, the dream and the
Stanzas 28–30 real, combine, although how this occurs is left open to the
reader's interpretation. Outside, the moon sets, and the wind
Porphyro looks at Madeline's dress on the floor where she left blows sleet onto the windowpane.
it and listens to her breathing. Then he leaves his hiding place
and peeks between the curtains of her bed to watch her sleep. As the storm continues outside, Porphyro calls Madeline his

He begins to set the table, covering it with a colorful cloth. bride and assures her this is not a dream. Madeline seems

Suddenly, the sounds of music can be heard as someone distraught by this, crying out that Porphyro will leave her. She

opens a hall door. Porphyro wishes for a "drowsly Morphean calls herself forsaken and forlorn, like a dove with an injured

amulet." Named for Morpheus, the god of sleep or dreams in wing. He tries to reassure her, saying he will be her vassal, or

Greek mythology, this is something to keep Madeline asleep servant, and claiming that she is like a shrine in which he, like a

through the noise of the party still going on downstairs. weary pilgrim, can find salvation.

Thankfully, the hall door is soon shut, and the room is silent
once again. Madeline does not wake but sleeps on in her
lavender-scented linen sheets. Porphyro continues to prepare Stanzas 39–40
the table with a feast of candied apples and other fruits,
creamy jellies, dates, sweet drinks, and spiced desserts. Porphyro warns that morning is near and they should leave
together now, while the drunken or sleeping party guests won't
notice. He tells her he has a home for her across the southern
Stanzas 31–32 moors. Madeline agrees and hurries, afraid they will be caught
by her family. The castle is described as desolate. There are

The table is set with the tasty foods, and Porphyro tries to lamps flickering but no sounds of human life. The carpets

wake Madeline, saying, "Thou art my heaven." He calls her his move, and the arras, or tapestries, flutter when the wind gusts

angel and says if she does not wake up, he will sleep beside in.

her instead. He places his arm on her pillow. But she is deep in
sleep, as if caught in an enchantment. Porphyro stays by her
for a time, thinking, caught up in dreamlike fantasies. Stanzas 41–42
The desolate tone continues, and the young lovers are
Stanzas 33–35 described as being like phantoms, or ghosts. They creep past
the porter, who is asleep with an empty bottle nearby. A

Since Madeline still sleeps on, Porphyro takes up her lute and bloodhound wakes up and shakes itself as they pass by, but it

plays an old song, "La belle dame sans mercy." Madeline doesn't raise any uproar since it recognizes Madeline. They

moans and then opens her eyes wide while Porphyro falls to quietly unbolt the door and turn the key in the lock. The door

his knees. Madeline's eyes fall on Porphyro, who at first creaks slightly as they leave. They are gone, fleeing into the

appears as in her sleeping vision. As she looks on him, kneeling storm.

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Analysis 11

The poem switches from present to past tense here, indicating to the story, as it raises the question of whose face she will
this was a story from the past. The speaker reveals that the see.
Baron and the other partygoers had terrible dreams the night
Madeline and Porphyro fled—of witches and monsters and Porphyro's entrance in the story adds suspense. He is in

"large coffin-worm," presumably a parasite that feeds on the danger from Madeline's family, who are locked in a feud with

dead. The speaker reveals that old Angela and the Beadsman Porphyro's family. When he sneaks into the castle on the night

both died that same night. her family is throwing a huge party, he is in immediate danger.
He also poses a danger to Madeline. His plan—to hide in her
room, spy on her as she sleeps, and then wake her in the midst
of her dream—places them both in a compromising position. It
seems as if providence, or God's care and protection, is on his
c Plot Analysis side, however, as his plan works and he whisks his future bride
away to his home across the moors.

Many readers have noted echoes of Shakespeare's Romeo

The Effect of the Spenserian and Juliet in this story line, and to be sure there are many
parallels. There is something fated about the two young lovers'
Stanza coming together, despite the feud between their families. And
while this poem does not end with the death of the lovers, as
The poem is written in the form of a Spenserian sonnet. Each does Romeo and Juliet, the final images are of the death that
stanza of the lengthy poem contains nine lines. The first eight awaits lovers and aged servants alike.
use iambic pentameter, with five sets of unstressed and
stressed syllables, or metrical "feet." The ninth line uses iambic
hexameter, which has six metrical feet. The rhyme scheme of a Space and Movement
Spenserian stanza is ABABBCBCC.
Following the movement of the poem as it progresses can
This form has relatively long lines and a regular rhythm, lending
shed light on its themes and characters. The opening images
itself to a steady pace that creates a mesmerizing or
are of the harsh, cold outdoors. While the Beadsman is
enchanting effect as the reader progresses through the poem.
technically in a shelter (the chapel), it might as well be the cold
The additional iamb in the last line of each sonnet ensures that
wilderness. From this cold outdoor space, the poem moves into
the poem does not speed up as it moves along. By the time
the brightly lit castle, where attractive partygoers enjoy
Madeline enters her dreamlike state, the reader, too, has been
themselves as they dance and drink the night away. Porphyro,
lulled into a dreamy state of mind, a technique Keats employs
too, comes into the warmer space from the cold moors
to prepare the reader for an otherworldly vision. The use of a
outside, but he ventures in even farther. The poem now moves
form from an earlier era also evokes the medieval setting of
inward, from the public spaces of the castle to the private
the poem.
ones. Then readers reach the most intimate spaces: Madeline's
chamber, the curtains of her bed, and then (presumably) the
"shrine" of her body. From this private space, the poem moves
The Love Story back outward into the public spaces and finally outside into the
night.
The poem is at heart a narrative with characters, a well-
developed setting, and a plot. The bulk of the narrative This movement has various interpretations. It might serve to
concerns two young characters, Madeline and Porphyro. underscore Porphyro's role as an invader as he steals into the
Madeline, young and virginal, ties the poem to its title. castle, violates Madeline's chastity, and then steals her away.
According to legend, on St. Agnes's Eve, virgins can perform Alternatively, he might be seen as a pilgrim, entering a
rituals before sleep that allow them to see their future cathedral to worship in a small shrine and then going back into
husbands in dreams or visions during the night. Madeline's the world, sanctified. He might simply be a young lover longing
romantic anticipation of this vision brings a sense of suspense for a night of passion and finding it with his Madeline. Finally,

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Analysis 12

his actions might seem like a rescue operation, with the captive She is later changed into a nightingale. No matter how
Madeline longing for romance and willingly going with him at romantic the story of these two young lovers may be on the
the end. All of these interpretations can be found in the poem surface, there is a dark undercurrent of predator-prey and
and add to its richness. rape imagery around their relationship.

Whether or not sexual relations happen is open to

The Question of Consent interpretation, though most readers will sense that enough
sexual activity has taken place to warrant Madeline running
away with Porphyro at the end of the poem. Their time
One difficulty with a modern reading of this poem is the
together in bed certainly seems to be a turning point in her life.
question of consent. St. Agnes is associated with chastity,
However, the poem describes their encounter with imagery
young women, and rape survivors, as the patron saint of all
and symbolism, not explicit description. The poem notes he
three. These associations give Porphyro's actions a darker
"melted" into her dream, and at this point the weather becomes
tinge. It might be tempting to dismiss these uncomfortable
harsh—"frost-wind blows" and there is "sharp sleet / Against
feelings as simply a modern reading and chalk them up to
the window-panes." This evokes the breaking of a hymen,
modern-day sensibilities about consent in sex. However, it is
which has been traditionally viewed as the end of a woman's
clear from the poem that Keats means for readers to see
virginity. It is dark: "St. Agnes' moon hath set." In English
Porphyro's presence as an invasion of sorts, with all his hiding
tradition the moon is associated with the feminine, and the
and schemes, and his behavior toward Madeline as disturbing.
setting of the moon indicates something has ended. St. Agnes
Reading the poem as a commentary on the darker side of what
is the patron saint of the chaste and of rape survivors, and it is
appears to be beautiful is not out of place. The poem asks
specifically her moon that has set. The next stanza begins with
readers to accept that people and actions can occupy morally
Porphyro calling Madeline his bride.
ambiguous ground and that every beautiful story has hidden
darkness. While the language of Porphyro and Madeline's encounter is
sensual, darker images of cold stone, dying, wintry weather,
To examine the question of whether Porphyro is a romantic
and fading away are quite numerous in this section. Madeline's
young hero or an invader who acts in a sexually inappropriate
beautiful dream of Porphyro is replaced with her deep sense of
way toward Madeline, readers must begin with Madeline. She
loss as she wakes into the real world: "No dream, alas! alas!
is devout and innocent, like St. Agnes, and she hopes to dream
and woe is mine! / Porphyro will leave me here to fade and
of her future husband. Perhaps she hopes to see Porphyro as
pine." Further, the poem closes with the lonely deaths of the
her future husband; the poem is unclear about what Madeline
two elderly characters, Angela and Beadsman. The poem
expects, though she definitely sees him in her dream later in
invites us to look at old, romantic tales full of castles and
the night. She certainly does not expect the real Porphyro in
secret lovers and to consider their darker side.
her bed.

Yet Porphyro doesn't just come to her in a dream. He comes to

her as a man passionate for a woman. He enlists a servant Dreams, Love, and a Clue from
(Angela) to help him. She leads him through the shadowed
passages of the castle to Madeline's bedroom. Madeline is Keats
completely unaware she is being watched as she lets down her
hair, removes her jewels, and drops her clothing to the floor. In "The Eve of St. Agnes," John Keats refers to another of his
The reader sees through Porphyro's eyes as he spies on her, poems, "La Belle Dame sans Merci" (1819). "La Belle Dame
an unsettling perspective. What he is doing is intrusive. The sans Merci" was published in 1819, and "The Eve of St. Agnes"
poem's imagery as he begins to execute his plan is similarly was published in 1820. Readers may want to consider why
unsettling. In Stanza 22, Madeline is likened to a "ring-dove Keats references himself. Reading the two poems in tandem
fray'd and fled," as if she is prey fleeing before a predator. In reveals a few similarities, specifically in references to dreams
the next stanza, the speaker alludes to Philomel, a mythical and the danger of love.
Athenian princess who was raped and had her tongue cut out
and hands cut off out to prevent her from identifying her rapist. The premise of "The Eve of St. Agnes" is that a maiden can

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Plot Analysis 13

learn of her future husband if she completes certain ritual acts.

Madeline knows "upon St. Agnes' Eve, / Young virgins might
have visions of delight, / And soft adorings from their loves
receive ... If ceremonies due they did aright." In this poem,
dreaming enables Madeline to foresee the future.

In contrast, in "La Belle Dame sans Merci," dreaming provides a

glimpse into the past. In this poem a knight is found "ailing," and
when asked how he came to be in this situation, he reveals he
met a beautiful lady. He went with her and made love to her,
and she lulled him to sleep. Then he realized his dark fate by
aid of a dream in which her past lovers warn the speaker that
the beautiful lady has placed him under an enchantment.

Both poems reveal a less than positive view of love. In each,

the dreamer is entrapped by someone who offers words of
love. The love Porphyro professes in "The Eve of St. Agnes"
leads him to enter Madeline's chamber, compromise her virtue,
and ultimately get her to leave the safety of her home. Their
fate is unknown, but it might not be a happy ending, as
Porphyro's love for Madeline takes her from home and hearth
into a storm. Similarly, in "La Belle Dame sans Merci," the knight
is cold and alone. The men who were previously loved by the
beautiful woman, according to his dream, had "starved lips"
open in "horrid warning." They were also all pale, like the knight.

With parallel imagery tying together dreams, love, and doom,

there is ample reason to look at the poems in conjunction to
better understand "The Eve of St. Agnes."

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Quotes 14

him a glimpse of the woman he's interested in wooing. Unlike

g Quotes Madeline, he is seeking not a dream, but an actual encounter
with her.

"Upon St. Agnes' Eve, / Young

virgins might have visions of "Hie thee from this place; / They
delight, / And soft adorings from are all here to-night, the whole
their loves receive." blood-thirsty race!"

— Narrator — Angela

This is an explanation of the tradition associated with St. The old woman, Angela, warns Porphyro that the castle is
Agnes's Eve. On this night, young women were thought to be dangerous for him. She tells him to leave, as many men there
able to gain a glimpse of their future spouses by performing a wish to do him harm. While the nature of the opposition to
series of rituals and saying prayers. Porphyro is not clarified, it can be assumed he should avoid the
"blood-thirsty" men.

"In vain / Came many a tiptoe,

"Thou must needs the lady wed, /
amorous cavalier, / ... But she saw
Or may I never leave my grave
not: her heart was otherwhere."
among the dead."
— Narrator
— Angela

Many men tried to gain Madeline's attention, but they were all
rebuffed. The speaker notes this is not because of arrogance, Angela acknowledges that Madeline is in danger or at least
but because her thoughts were elsewhere. Since it is St. that her virtue is in danger. She warns Porphyro she will face
Agnes's Eve, she expects to go to bed and see the face of her damnation (never leave her grave, or see the resurrection of
future husband in a vision or dream. One possibility is that she the dead promised to Christians) for her part in his plan if he is
is hoping to see the face of Porphyro, a young man who is in untrustworthy. Angela seems convinced that the two lovers
love with her though that love is forbidden by their feuding belong together and should be married, and she is willing to
families. Another is that she is simply swept up in romantic help that cause. But she gives him a reminder here to preserve
notions of seeing her future lover's face in the night. Madeline's reputation. This interaction shows the great value
all involved place upon Madeline's chastity; her purity is crucial
to Porphyro's feelings about her. Yet strangely her virtue is not
valuable enough to keep Porphyro away from her. The poem
"Buttress'd from moonlight, stands
seems to present an instance of situational irony, when the
he, and implores / All saints to give result of a situation is different from readers' expectations.
Madeline's virginity is prized even as Porphyro intends to take
him sight of Madeline."
it from her.

— Narrator

"Through many a dusky gallery,

Porphyro is praying to all saints—not just St. Agnes—to give

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Quotes 15

they gain / The maiden's chamber, the charm is fled."

silken, hush'd, and chaste; / Where
— Narrator
Porphyro took covert, pleas'd
amain." The ritual dictates that Madeline cannot look behind her, which
aids Porphyro. Madeline is not observant of her surroundings,
— Narrator and as a result she is thoroughly unaware she is being watched
in this private moment in her bedchamber. The ritual, designed
to show her future husband, allows the young man to come to
Despite the risk to Madeline, Angela leads Porphyro through
her in reality.
shadowed rooms to Madeline's personal room. He's pleased to
be there and hides himself to watch her disrobe, pray, sleep,
and dream. His actions are invasive, and Angela seems to be a
willing participant in this rather frightening scenario. Even
"Stol'n to this paradise, and so
though the overall story line feels quite romantic, with young entranced, / Porphyro gaz'd upon
lovers running off to be together, more sinister images such as
this one pervade the poem as well. The tonal contrast gives a
her empty dress, / And listen'd to
moral ambiguity to the characters and the situation and her breathing."
reminds readers that the beautiful dream (romantic love) can
give way to cold reality (invasive stalker).
— Narrator

"Rose-bloom fell on her hands, Porphyro is in a "paradise" he has entered without permission.
He looks at the dress she left behind when she disrobed and
together prest, / And on her silver listens to her breathing as she begins to sleep. These lines
show how Keats implies sensuality through images without
cross soft amethyst, / And on her
using explicit language. Here Keats lets the reader imagine
hair a glory, like a saint." Madeline's naked body through Porphyro's eyes as he looks at
the empty dress. Later, Keats will discuss how Porphyro
— Narrator "melts" into her dream of him, implying but not stating a
physical coming together. These lines also raise the tension
the reader may experience at the thought of Madeline's fate,
Madeline prays as jewel-toned light illuminates her. The light
since he is certainly taking some liberties with her by spying on
comes from the moon, shining through a stained glass window.
her while she sleeps.
It falls on her cross and her hair in such a way that her hair
appears to be a halo. The speaker describes her as if she is a
painting of a saint, an icon to be worshipped rather than a
woman with a will of her own. This image is both beautiful and
"And now, my love, my seraph fair,
unsettling, as it expresses Porphyro's passionate feeling for awake! / Thou art my heaven."
her but also objectifies her.

— Porphyro

"She dreams awake, and sees, / In

Porphyro here calls Madeline his angel ("seraph"). This is just
fancy, fair St. Agnes in her bed, / one of many religious images he associates with her. His first
glimpse of Madeline is described as if she is a saint at prayer,
But dares not look behind, or all and multiple times he refers to her as an angel. He approaches

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Quotes 16

her not just as a man approaching a woman, but as a — Porphyro

supplicant or worshipper approaching the object of devotion.
Throughout the poem he describes his devotion and longing
When Madeline wakes and is dismayed, Porphyro tells her she
for her in spiritual terms, even though he clearly wants her
is awake. More to the point, he refers to her as his bride. By
physically as well. The experiences of religious longing and
being alone with her in her bedroom, he has compromised her
romantic longing are intertwined.
virtue and assured she will wed him. Porphyro calling Madeline
his bride also alludes to the possibility the two lovers have had
sex.
"He play'd an ancient ditty, long
since mute, / In Provence call'd,
"Awake! arise! my love, and
"La belle dame sans mercy.""
fearless be, / For o'er the southern
— Narrator moors I have a home for thee."

The song Porphyro plays for Madeline on the lute has the — Porphyro
same title as a poem John Keats published in 1819, "La Belle
Dame sans Merci." The poem is about a knight who suffers a
Porphyro encourages Madeline to be brave and tells her he
tragic fate after being seduced by a fairy woman. The fairy
has a home for her. She must run away with him across the
woman brings the knight into a dream world, in which he sees
moors (wilderness areas) in the dark of the night. This is a
all the woman's previous lovers, now dead. When he awakes
reminder that while what the lovers do might be romantic and
from the nightmare, he is on a cold hillside. This is not the most
exciting, there is an element of risk. She is leaving her home in
romantic choice for a lover's song, but it does echo some of
the dead of night and fleeing over the cold moors against the
the images in the "The Eve of St Agnes," such as the presence
wishes of her family. Madeline's situation as a young woman is
of dreams, the cold outdoors, and a potentially cold and tragic
entirely dependent on the men around her.
end.

"And they are gone: ay, ages long

"How chang'd thou art! How pallid,
ago / These lovers fled away into
chill, and drear!"
the storm."
— Madeline
— Narrator

For Madeline, waking from her dream of Porphyro to the real

man is a transition from the beautiful dream to a cold reality While the characters are referred to as "lovers," their future is
that is closer to death than life. He is described as one might left unstated. Their story ends with the couple crossing a
describe a ghost or corpse: pallid, chill. The poem suggests boggy landscape on a dark and stormy night in winter. This
that the dream is more alive than living beings; mortality is uncertain ending might suggest that the lovers meet an
never far from those in the flesh, while the imagination lives on. unhappy end. It might alternatively suggest that, like the two
elderly characters who die at the end of the poem, the lovers
will eventually be dead and gone, the fate of all mortals.
"This is no dream, my bride, my
Madeline!"

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Symbols 17

associated here with the virginal St. Agnes, the patron of

l Symbols chastity, young girls, and rape survivors, the setting of the
moon may indicate the end of Madeline's virginity.

Weather
m Themes
The cold and stormy weather is a symbol used repeatedly
throughout "The Eve of St. Agnes." It is often used as a kind of
pathetic fallacy, in which the external weather reflects the Religion and Romantic Longing
emotions or moods of the characters. The weather-related
imagery also adds tension and atmosphere to the poem, as it is
consistently bleak and foreboding. The first line establishes it This poem is based on the concept that on this one night, an
is "bitter chill." This image returns when Madeline wakes from unmarried woman can perform certain rituals to see her future
her dream: "the frost-wind blows" and "sharp sleet" hits the husband. The tradition of St. Agnes's Eve combines spirituality
windowpanes. When Porphyro "melts" into Madeline's dream in or religious practice with the longing of a young woman to
this stanza, the image of the wind battering the window glimpse her future husband. In the poem Madeline is so
strengthens the interpretation that he is engaging in sexual preoccupied with the potential of the rituals to reveal the
relations with her. The next stanza begins with Porphyro identity of her future husband, she doesn't even notice when
referring to her as his bride, further indicating sexual relations other men—perhaps potential suitors—approach her at the
are taking place. The harsh weather imagery continues in the party. Although the poem doesn't explicitly state there was any
following line, "iced gusts still rave and beat," and it reappears previous contact between Porphyro and Madeline, the fact that
at the conclusion: "These lovers fled away into the storm." This he has a friend and advocate in Angela, who is not entirely
signals to the reader that the relationship might not be a opposed to allowing him into Madeline's chambers, suggests
peaceful one. the two are in a forbidden romance. Many readers have noted
that the party, the family feud, and the two young lovers
sneaking away contain echoes of Romeo and Juliet. One
reading of the poem may be that Madeline is eager to perform
The Moon the rituals of St. Agnes's Eve because she longs to confirm the
spiritual rightness of her relationship with Porphyro. She may
be hoping to glimpse him during the night, in her enchanted
The moon, an image commonly found in Gothic literature, is dream, just as he hopes to glimpse her. Her romantic longing is
referenced in this poem multiple times. Porphyro is "buttress'd intertwined with her spiritual and religious understanding of the
from moonlight" when he first appears, and he is left in a world.
"moonlight room." A buttress, in actuality, is a kind of support
Porphyro also experiences romantic longing, and again, it is
beam used in masonry, or architecture. Porphyro being
connected to his sense of the spiritual. He prays to the saints
"buttress'd" here suggests an image of moonlight surrounding
to help him see Madeline, and he is greeted and assisted by a
him in such a way as to seem to hold him up. Perhaps the moon
woman named Angela—a name that suggests she is in the role
is shining from behind him. Angela laughs "in the languid moon"
of an angelic helper. He manages to sneak into the castle
when he tells her his plan. The "wintry moon" shining through
unseen except by Angela and then out again, with Madeline
the stained glass of Madeline's window illuminates her while
now his bride. This suggests that the fulfillment of his spiritual
she prays, casting jewel tones upon her through the stained
longing was providential, or occurring at just the right moment
glass window. The moonlight fades as Porphyro sets a table
and aided by the divine.
with delicacies. After he reveals himself and "melts" into her
dream, the moon sets. The setting of the moon represents an
ending, and the moon is a traditionally feminine object. As it is

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Themes 18

Man as Pilgrim, Woman His Dream versus Reality

Shrine
This is a poem of contrasts, and one of the most potent
contrasts is between the dream and reality. In the beginning of
Closely tied to the theme that religious and romantic longings the poem, the cold, dark, stone-hard reality of the Beadsman is
are intertwined is the idea that men can gain heavenly favor contrasted with the dreamlike guests at the party, who are
through their love for a pure and beautiful woman. The woman compared to "shadows haunting" that can be wished away by
is seen as a pathway to God's favor. In this poem Porphyro the speaker of the poem (Stanza 5). In these opening images,
speaks about seeking out Madeline as if she were someone to the more solid reality is associated with death, an ominous
be worshipped. His desire in coming to the party is to "gaze message about the nature of reality in general. Later, Madeline
and worship ... Perchance speak, kneel, touch, kiss" the is deep in a dream about Porphyro when she wakes to find the
beautiful Madeline. In Stanza 25, he watches her as she says real man next to her. She is startled and not happy at the
her bedtime prayers and sees her as a saint and angel, and the change from dream to waking: "There was a painful change,
description is not unlike a painting of a saint at prayer. Light that nigh expell'd / The blisses of her dream so pure and deep
from the moon falls upon Madeline as she kneels in prayer, her / At which fair Madeline began to weep" (Stanza 34). She
hands pressed together and the light reflecting on her silver prefers her dream, in which Porphyro is warm and brimming
cross and hair, which glows as a glory, or halo, "like a saint: / with life, to the reality. She puts this feeling into words: "Thy
She seem'd a splendid angel, newly drest, / Save wings, for voice was at sweet tremble in mine ear ... And those sad eyes
heaven." Porphyro feels faint just looking at her and thinking were spiritual and clear: / How chang'd thou art! How pallid,
about her purity. chill, and drear!" (Stanza 35). Evidently, the real man not only is
a disappointment compared to the dream version, but seems
Madeline's purity is an essential component of her appeal and as though he is near death. He is pale and cold—not unlike the
is emphasized by the setting of the poem on the eve of St. statues in the chapel in the opening stanzas, which are also a
Agnes's day. The virgin martyr St. Agnes was murdered reminder of death and mortality. These contrasts suggest that
because of her refusal to wed and to denounce God. In one of the world of the dream—the world of imagination—is full of life,
the legends about her, she remained untouched and virginal warmth, and promise while reality is harsh, cold, and dominated
despite being sent to a brothel. The only man who attempted by mortality.
to rape her was blinded. Porphyro isn't planning merely to look
at Madeline. He would prefer she not remain a virgin as St. In light of the contrast between dream and reality, and the
Agnes did. This tension is inherent in the poem, which makes associations of life and death each holds, the ending of the
much of Madeline's virginity but then involves Porphyro and poem serves as an ominous reality check. The young lovers,
Madeline lying in bed together and then running away with who have most likely secretly consummated their forbidden
each other. relationship, have escaped to freedom. But the final stanzas
are full of cold imagery and reminders of death. The two
In his own mind, Porphyro's own salvation is dependent on escape into the wintry night and seek their freedom on the
Madeline. In Stanza 31 Porpyro again calls her an angel cold moors. The Beadsman and Angela are said to have died
(seraph), and in Stanza 38 he likens himself to a Christian the very night Porphyro leaves with Madeline. While the
pilgrim seeking salvation and calls her a shrine: "Ah, silver warmth of the dream may be wonderful, it eventually gives way
shrine, here will I take my test / After so many hours of toil and to the stark reality of suffering and death.
quest, / A famish'd pilgrim,—sav'd by miracle." It is not clear
whether Madeline shares his sense that their coming together
is akin to a religious experience; she requires some
persuading. But certainly from Porphyro's point of view, his
expectations of their encounter go beyond simple lust.

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The Eve of St. Agnes Study Guide Narrative Voice 19

Keats doesn't sort these contradictions out for the reader, nor
Sinners and Saints does he suggest that one reading of them is correct. Images of
life and death, cold and warmth, heaven and hell, and sinners
and saints all coexist in the poem, raising questions without
The poem questions the traditional distinctions between what providing answers.
is heavenly and what is not. Each character has aspects of
both sinner and saint.

The text begins with a description of the Beadsman at work b Narrative Voice
praying for the sinners of the world in a cold chapel even as he
himself nears death. He is called a holy man and certainly
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is told by an omniscient speaker. This
seems to be a self-giving and saintly person. Yet he is
narrative includes personal statements from both of the main
surrounded by reminders of mortality in the form of cold stone
characters, Porphyro and Madeline, and establishes setting
statues of the deceased. And he sits in ashes, which are
and atmosphere.
symbolic of both grief and repentance. Readers wonder
whether he is holy or a harbinger of death. By the end of the poem, the speaker reveals that the story's
primary actions occurred in the past. However, aside from the
An old woman who helps Porphyro gain access to Madeline is
concluding stanza, the events in the poem seem to be
named Angela, and like an angel she does seem to come as
happening in the present. This narrative choice helps Keats to
answer to the young man's prayer that he catch a glimpse of
keep the reader's interest, as the immediacy of the danger
Madeline that night. Yet she sneaks Porphyro through the
increases the tension.
castle to Madeline's bedchamber, putting Madeline at risk of
dishonor. In fact, she tells Porphyro he must marry Madeline or When the speaker switches to the past tense, the poem loses
else Angela may not go to heaven herself. She knows she is some of this immediacy that comes from the characters being
responsible for what might happen between the two. She can in peril. At the same time, the poem's tone becomes bleaker.
be seen as both a deceiver and an angel sent to help young The speaker does not tell the fate of the two main characters.
love along. Instead, the narrative reveals that two secondary
characters—Angela and the Beadsman—both died. Further,
Porphyro hides in the closet of Madeline's room and spies on
Madeline's father and the assembled warriors all had
her as she disrobes and prays. But the poem rewards this
nightmares of death: "Of witch, and demon, and large coffin-
unsavory behavior by giving the young man his heart's
worm." By switching tenses and moving the focus to the other
desire—described in sensual, or sexually pleasurable, romantic
characters, Keats adds mystery to the lovers' story.
images. He can be seen as a lustful young man who takes a
young woman unawares despite her family's objection to his
presence or as an ardent, or passionate, young lover whose
desire for Madeline borders on religious devotion.

Madeline is described as pure and angelic, and the speaker's

descriptions of her reveal her moral saintliness. Yet she seems
to willingly leave her father's home in the middle of the night
with Porphyro. She is both a pure young maiden who is taken
advantage of by Porphyro and a rebellious daughter who runs
off with her lover.

Even the partygoers are described in ambiguous terms. At the

beginning, they seem joyful and carefree, but later their
drunken noisemaking is an intrusion into the silent chamber
where Porphyro stays with Madeline.

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