The Eve of St.

Agnes
1
The Eve of St. Agnes
This article is about the poem by John Keats. For information on the saint, see Saint Agnes.
Madeleine undressing, painting by John Everett Millais
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is a long poem (42 stanzas) by
John Keats, written in 1819 and published in 1820. It is
widely considered to be amongst his finest poems and
was influential in 19th century literature. The poem is
in Spenserian stanzas.
The title comes from the day (or evening) before the
feast of Saint Agnes (or St. Agnes' Eve). St. Agnes, the
patron saint of virgins, died a martyr in 4th century
Rome. The eve falls on January 20; the feast day on the
21st. The divinations referred to by Keats in this poem
are referred to by John Aubrey in his Miscellanies
(1696) as being associated with St. Agnes' night.
Background
Keats based his poem on the superstition that a girl could see her future husband in a dream if she performed certain
rites on the eve of St. Agnes; that is she would go to bed without any supper, undress herself so that she was
completely naked and lie on her bed with her hands under the pillow and looking up to the heavens and not to look
behind. Then the proposed husband would appear in her dream, kiss her, and feast with her.
A Scottish version of the ritual would involve young women meeting together on St. Agnes's Eve at midnight, they
would go one by one, into a remote field and throw in some grain, after which they repeated the following rhyme in
a prayer to St. Agnes:
Agnes sweet, and Agnes fair, Hither, hither, now repair; Bonny Agnes, let me see The lad who is to marry me.
In the original version of his poem, Keats emphasized the young lovers' sexuality, but his publishers, who feared
public reaction, forced him to tone down the eroticism.
Plot
The flight of Madeline and Porphyro, painting by William Holman
Hunt
On a bitterly chill night, an ancient beadsman performs
his penances while in the castle of Madeline's warlike
family, an alcohol-fueled revelry has begun. Madeline
pines for the love of Porphyro, sworn enemy to her kin.
The old dames have told her she may receive sweet
dreams of love from him if on this night, St. Agnes'
Eve, she retires to bed under the proper ritual of silence
and supine receptiveness.
As we might expect, Porphyro makes his way to the
castle and braves entry, seeking out Angela, an elderly
woman friendly to his family, and importuning her to
lead him to Madeline's room at night where he may but
gaze upon her sleeping form. Angela is persuaded only
with difficulty, saying she fears damnation if Porphyro does not afterward marry the girl.
The Eve of St. Agnes
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Concealed in an ornate carven closet in Madeline's room, Porphyro watches as Madeline makes ready for bed, and
then, beholding her full beauty in the moonlight, creeps forth to prepare for her a feast of rare delicacies. Madeline
wakes and sees before her the same image she has seen in her dream, and thinking Porphyro part of it, receives him
into her bed. Awakening in full and realizing her mistake, she tells Porphyro she cannot hate him for his deception
since her heart is so much in his, but that if he goes now he leaves behind "A dove forlorn and lost / With sick
unpruned wing".
Porphyro declares his love for Madeline and promises her a home with him over the southern moors. They escape
the castle past insensate revelers, and flee into the night. The beadsman, "His thousand Aves told / For aye
unsought-for slept among his ashes cold". Therefore we can see Angela's and the beadsman's death is resultant at the
end of the poem.
External links
'St. Agnes Eve'
[1]
, Text of 'St. Agnes' Eve' by Keats from Bartleby.
'The Eve of St. Agnes'
[2]
at Internet Archive (scanned books color illustrated). Notable editions:
'The Eve of St. Agnes'
[3]
(1900) calligraphy by Ralph Fletcher Seymour, "Introduction" by Edmund Gosse
'The Eve of St. Agnes'
[4]
(1885) illus. by Edmund H. Garrett
The Theme of "The Eve of St. Agnes" in the Pre-Raphaelite Movement
[5]
, An analysis of the poem at
Victorianweb
CUNY Brooklyn page on the Eve of St Agnes
[6]
References
[1] http:/ / www. bartleby.com/ 126/ 39.html
[2] http:/ / www. archive. org/ search. php?query=title%3Aeve%20agnes%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts
[3] http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ eveofstagnespoem00keat
[4] http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ eveofstagnes00keatuoft
[5] http:/ / www. victorianweb. org/ painting/ prb/ ringel12.html
[6] http:/ / academic. brooklyn. cuny. edu/ english/ melani/ cs6/ st_agnes. html
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
The Eve of St. Agnes Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=546498080 Contributors: Airmason, Alpheus, Anaxial, Andycjp, Bookandcoffee, Calton, Can't sleep, clown will eat
me, CanadianLinuxUser, Capitalistroadster, Chamal N, Darth Panda, Deb, Elibrary1, ElinorD, Elliotlowe1, Fothergill Volkensniff IV, Gilliam, Grstain, Hmains, Hugh7, INeverCry, Ihcoyc,
Jauhienij, Justpoppingintosayhi, LovesMacs, Ludraman, MakeRocketGoNow, MangooseGod, Melaen, Miss kat, Nilvs, Noroton, Open2universe, PFHLai, Pablo neurotic, Pamri, Paul Barlow,
Phantomsnake, R. fiend, Riggr Mortis, Rrburke, Tim!, Tomheaton, 84 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:Eve of St Agnes.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eve_of_St_Agnes.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Paul Barlow
Image:Hunt William Holman The flight of Madeline and Porphyro during the Drunkenness attending the Revelry Eve of Saint Agnes.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hunt_William_Holman_The_flight_of_Madeline_and_Porphyro_during_the_Drunkenness_attending_the_Revelry_Eve_of_Saint_Agnes.jpg
License: Public Domain Contributors: Phantomsnake
License
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