John Keats's poem "The Eve of St. Agnes," written in the early months of 1819, marks the beginning of a creative burst that would define the poet's legacy. Despite deteriorating health and emotional upheaval, Keats produced a series of masterpieces, including "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," "Lamia," and several celebrated odes. These works are renowned for their lush depictions of physical beauty and their intricate exploration of the human experience, reflecting Keats's deep-seated concerns with the tensions between the sensual and the intellectual realms.

The Romantic Shift

The Romantics, including Keats, diverged significantly from the poetic theories of the eighteenth century, a period characterized by formalism, didacticism, and objectivity. Poems from that era aimed to reflect humanity back to itself, using wit and logical structures as their primary tools. However, the revolutionary changes following the American and French Revolutions altered these perceptions. The old belief in order and moderation, once integral to both social and literary norms, was upended, making way for a new emphasis on individual imagination and emotional authenticity.

The Role of Imagination

In this new era, imagination became the guiding principle of poetry, allowing poets to break free from traditional structures and explore the raw emotions of the moment. Although Romantic poets, including Keats, often claimed their work was inspired by spontaneous emotion, they labored meticulously to achieve a balance between the freshness of spontaneity and the precision of observation. This approach allowed them to delve into uncharted territories of human experience, painting vivid pictures of joy, despair, guilt, redemption, and other extreme states of being.

Exploration of Human Consciousness

Romantic literature often described epiphanic moments where human consciousness harmonized with nature, envisioning a world renewed and animated by divinity. This perspective was thought to revisit a primal awareness, akin to the consciousness of early childhood, a theme famously explored by Wordsworth. In "The Eve of St. Agnes," Keats endeavors to sustain this elevated consciousness throughout the narrative, setting his tale in a medieval landscape enriched by the charm of fairytale elements and archaic language.

The Craft of "The Eve of St. Agnes"

Keats's narrative unfolds through the complex and elegant Spenserian stanza, a form that avoids monotony and reflects the irregularity of natural speech. The poem opens with a stark contrast between the Beadsman, engaged in cold prayer, and the vibrant revelry of the great hall. This imagery of cold versus warmth, purity versus sensuality, persists throughout the poem, underscoring the tension between piety and passion.

The title of the poem, which references a virgin martyr yet centers on an elopement, highlights the fundamental duality of human drives. Piety and passion, while seemingly oppositional, are shown to be intertwined, each needing the other for context. Porphyro and Madeline's union exemplifies this complex relationship, where his fainting at her celestial beauty and her seduction by sensory delights epitomize the merging of meditative and emotional faculties.

The Interplay of Joy and Misery

Beyond the themes of love and duality, Keats also explores the intrusion of mundane suffering on the poetic spirit, a motif dear to the Romantics. As someone deeply affected by illness and personal loss, Keats infuses "The Eve of St. Agnes" with both beauty and an awareness of life's harsh realities. The lovers, ethereal in their escape to a dreamlike sanctuary, contrast starkly with the grim fate of Angela and the cold demise of the Beadsman. These elements serve to remind the reader of the bittersweet reality that joy is often shadowed by wretchedness.

Thus, "The Eve of St. Agnes" encapsulates the Romantic ideal of exploring the depths of human emotion and consciousness. Through its vivid imagery, complex narrative structure, and thematic dualities, the poem remains a testament to Keats's mastery and continues to resonate with readers today.