Lockdown Literature 9.2

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the Madeline/Porphyro paragraphs. They were very good. I’ve included Ilsa’s paragraph at the bottom of this post as it explains the dichotomies, including the Apollonian/Dionysian idea, really well. Give it a read!

A few of you have a little catching up to do in terms of the Mad/Porp paragraph and previous quizzes. I’m going fairly easy on you today, so now is a good time to get caught up. If you didn’t finish the work from last time, you can find it here. I’ll be chasing up outstanding work next week.

So, we’ve reached the end of The Eve of St Agnes. Today, we’ll consider some of the many interpretations that have been offered on this poem in the 200 years since it was published. Here goes:

Here’s today’s work (to be completed by Monday 15^th June):

1) Do this recap quiz on the ending of The Eve of St Agnes.

2) Open and make a copy of this document. It is three pages of interpretations of the poem made by various critics over the years, plus space to add comments. You job is to choose three interpretations you like and add quotes and comments to support it. Feel free to add brief comments about the others too (for example, if you think any of them are nonsense!)

When you’ve finished, share your doc with me.

3) Read about Keats’s idea of ‘The Mansion of Many Apartments.’ Consider how this metaphor connects with The Eve of St Agnes. When you’ve found a connection or come up with a theory, write it in an email to me. We’ll share ideas and come up with some further interpretations next week. 

That’s it for this week. So, I’m expecting three things from you by Monday: 1) a quiz response, 2) a link to your Google doc, 3) an email.

Next week, you’ll be reading an important bit of criticism which explains this poem brilliantly and lucidly. It’s quite long, but it’s especially useful to us because of how well it links the poem to tragic concepts.

Before you go, please have a read of Ilsa’s Madeline/Porphyro paragraph. It explains Keats’s contrasts in this poem very well indeed. Here it is:

In The Eve of St Agnes, Keats seems to depict the characters of Madeline and Porphyro as direct opposites. Keats initially uses colour imagery to create a sense of opposition between the characters. Madeline is described using pale imagery, like ‘silver’ and ‘pallid’, representing her purity and virginity, almost like an angel, ‘save wings’. She is only bathed in a deeper colour, the red from the family coat of arms, when Porphyro is in the room with her, perhaps foreshadowing the impact he will have on her, leading her away from her previously angelic nature. Porphyro is described using bold colours, with even his name representing the rich colour purple. His heart makes ‘purple riot’, and his heart is like a ‘full blown rose’. These images represent his passion and impulsiveness compared to Madeline’s careful nature. Keats also presents the characters as opposites by using the language of predators and prey. Repeatedly, Madeline is referred to as small birds, like the dove and the nightingale, with even her bed being a ‘soft and chilly nest’. This bird imagery presents her as vulnerable, with the dove in particular implying her innocence. Porphyro however is presented as the predator, with his name also referring to a disease, Porphyria, which leaves its victims with symptoms many saw as vampirism. This presents him as a monster, desperate for blood, perhaps foreshadowing his less than honourable intentions, despite what he told Angela. Porphyro seems to stalk Madeline like she is his prey, hiding in the cupboard and ‘gazing on that bed’. Finally, Keats creates an opposition in these characters by using Apollonian and Dionysian characteristics. Madeline seems to have more typically Apollonian characteristics, being thoughtful and careful during the celebrations , making sure she sticks to the rituals perfectly. Porphyro seems to have more Dionysisan qualities, acting impulsively to see Madeline despite their family feud. However, as it is Keats, there is still ambiguity between each set of characteristics. Madeline believes in rituals that Keats is rather scathing about, which doesn’t seem to fit with the Apollonian idea of rationality, and Porphyro is capable of faking his emotions to get Angela to help him, which does not seem emotional and irrational. These contrasts are important, as it allows Keats to present the relationship as doomed from the very beginning. They are too different to ever live happily ever after as husband and wife. This is similar to the contrast in class in Keats’ Isabella; their classes make them direct opposites, foreshadowing the tragedy of Lorenzo’s murder by the brothers before the reader even knows it will happen.

Thanks for sharing, Ilsa. And thanks for reading, folks. 

Let me know if you need any help with today’s work.

Mr M