The Eve of St Agnes

• 'Ah, bitter chill it was!' 


  
  

  • Cold reflects a lack of life & lack of warmth
  • setting up an atmosphere of something bleak & desolate
  • creates sense that everyone is suffering
• 'Her maiden eyes divine, fixed on the floor' 


  
  

  • creates image of Madeline being stuck in her imagination instead of being present in real world
  • establishes how obsessed she is with being in love as it consumers her thoughts
  • displays her vulnerability and naivety - living in a world of fantasy & romanticised ideals instead of being realistic & thinking ab consequences
• 'Across the moors, had come young Porphyro, with heart on fire for Madeline' 


  
  

  • Porphyro v passionate about Madeline & displays feeling of obsessiveness over her due to his strong desire
  • his devotion to someone he has never met shows a sense of delusion & hubris as he expects love despite having no reciprocation of this
• 'Ah, gossip dear, we're safe enough' 


  • Porphyro ignores Angela's warning completely
  • simply believes he can be let in and hubristically assumes he is deserving of her love
  • has no doubt he will be successful
• 'A cruel man and impious thou art' 


  • clear Porphyro's plan is villainous
  • hints at manipulation & suffering he will cause Madeline
• 'Angela gives promise she will do whatever he shall wish' 


  • error of judgement
  • Angela is manipulated by Porphyro, allowing him to carry out his plan
  • Madeline betrayed by a person that should be look out for her & caring for her which marks the start of her suffering
  • Madeline becomes a victim & is vulnerable as there is no one on her side
• 'She knelt, so pure a thing, so free from mortal taint' 


  • Madeline described to be as perfect and innocent as possible - re-establishes her naivety
  • pure & innocent = perfect prey for Porphyro to take advantage of
  • presents her victimhood - too naive and blind to realise she is being manipulated and therefore blindly accepts being in an unhealthy, terrible relationship
• 'While he from forth the closet brought a heap of candied apple, quince and plum, and gourd' 


  • plays into the ritual to manipulate Madeline into believing he is her true soulmate
  • uses expensive and indulgent food as seduction to lure Madeline in & as persuasion to force her to fall in love with him & accept him as her husband
• 'Now wide awake, the vision of her sleep' 


  • Madeline in limbo between sleeping and waking - reflects conflict in poem between real and ideal
  • Madeline not fully conscious or in control of herself, she is not fully aware of the situation she is in or in the right state to make judgements about it
  • she can't have much agency in her downfall as she isn't in control of her own facilities
• 'For if thou diest, my Love, I know not where to go'


  • Madeline herself makes a declaration and chooses to be with Porphyro - makes reader question if she has agency
  • it is her belief in the ritual of the Eve of St Agnes which makes her believe he is the one, therefore her naivety is responsible for her tragic outcome
  • however, there is also the argument that she is not in a state to make a decision as she is not fully in control of herself
• 'They glide, like phantoms' (when running away together)


  • sense of loss of humanity, Porphyro has taken Madeline's innocence & therefore her identity
  • displays Madeline's suffering in relationship - seems P has taken more from her than he has given her
  • terribleness of relationship confirmed as they are slowly wasting away whilst being together - relationship clearly not right
• 'And they are gone - ay, ages long ago/ These lovers fled away into the storm' 


  • ominous ending
  • no clear resolution and Keats leaves us unsure about the couple's fate
  • feeling of emptiness & disillusionment as there is no moment that Madeline realises she has been lied to and we only see her running away with a villainous man, making us feel worry and pity for her outcome