"Bright Star" by John Keats

In "Bright Star," Keats immediately introduces us to the speaker in the first line, as the speaker muses, “bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art—,” indicating that they desperately yearn to acquire the same unfaltering and determined nature as a star in the sky, undying and eternal. In the very first line of the poem, Keats gives life to the star, which is depicted through the use of an apostrophe (addressing something nonhuman) so as to illuminate how the speaker’s soul is void of any flawless star-like qualities that are so sought-after. Moreover, the speaker acknowledges the star’s solitude, adding that he/she does not long to be “in lone splendor hung aloft the night,” which simultaneously evokes the star’s magnificence in its eternal existence. Keats’ solemn and somber tone vividly captures the speaker’s profound longing and despondency. The speaker bluntly asserts that in addition to not wanting to exist in isolation, he refuses to be an observer like the star, “with eternal lids apart.” Once more, Keats depicts the star as a living thing, giving it eyes that watch down upon the world endlessly. The speaker in the poem does not wish to possess the star’s ability to gaze at the world interminably, for it may be unbearable. The speaker declares that the star watches, “like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,” which Keats structures using a simile in order to suggest that the speaker does not seek to remain restless and sheltered indefinitely like an “Eremite,” or a hermit. Yet the speaker goes on to vividly illustrate what the bright star observes from the sky, such as the “moving waters at their priestlike task/of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,” which serves to encompass the transience and ephemerality of life as water constantly cleanses the earth’s shores. Keats intentionally describes the waters as capable of “ablution,” or cleansing and ritual washing, in order to reveal the cyclical and never-ending aspect of life in its entirety. In addition to overseeing the sweeping ocean, the speaker believes the star to be “gazing on the new soft fallen mask/of snow upon the mountains and the moors—,” which has underlying implications of purity and virtue in that snow is white and fresh. Likewise, the speaker implies that they do not want to watch the oceans and mountains patiently from above for all eternity, but that they would rather be “pillowed upon [their] fair love’s ripening breast” in a world in which cold, unfeeling purity is absent and instead replaced by a warm and welcoming lover’s chest. Here, Keats creates a striking contrast between the harsh and desolate nature of the frozen “mountains and the moors,” and the pleasant and blooming sphere of passionate love. The speaker remains dedicated to “love’s ripening breast,” longing “to feel forever its soft fall and swell,” which alludes to the permanence of the star’s existence in the sky “forever.” In effect, Keats denotes the speaker’s confliction in defining their heart’s true desire, which seems to be entangled in a profound uncertainty of whether to live in eternal isolation or indulge in a transitory love affair. Overall, Keats encapsulates the shift in the speaker’s thoughts as the speaker resolves to sacrifice the unfeasible ability to live an eternal life such as the bright star, which seemed to be so endearing at first, and instead, invest in a transitory, but meaningful notion of love and a passionate affair. Essentially, Keats exemplifies the impracticality of seeking to attain a state of immortality, such as the bright star that shines eternally in the sky, by exposing the inherent desire of an indecisive man who deeply wishes to possess the benefits of both worlds. However, in a world where eternal existence is impossible, which the speaker must mournfully accept, humans must settle on the next best thing, a seemingly undying love that lives forever, “or else swoon to death.”