bright star 诗评.docx

诗评Analysis of "Bright Star”学 院 外语学院年级专业08级英语一班学生姓名 范茂绒学 号 08096011022010年12月Analysis of "Bright Star”Bright Star, by John Keats (1795-1821) , a British Romanist poet, broke through some limits in sonnet poems, which took an important position in the poetry field in the short writing career of Keats. Keats wrote this love poem for his fiancee Fanny Brawne.I. RhythmThe poem is a Shakespearean Sonnet, a 14 line poem with an ababcdcdefefgg rhyme scheme written in iambic pentameter.IL The Images used in the poemBright Star:The poet opens with an apostrophe to “Bright Star”. Firstly, the bright star symbolizes the everlasting nature of a heavenly body, which hangs in the sky through all eternity. Secondly, it symbolizes the eternal strength of love, and his faith in it. And Keats hopes love would prevail time and matter. Moreover, he wishes himself were as eternal as a star that keeps watch like a sleepless, solitary, and religious hermit over the "moving waters" and the "soft-fallen mask / Of snow”.1. The moving waters and pure ablution:The water acts as a purifier to the earth. Pure ablution represents purity. Keats desires to have this quality in order to earn the advantage of revitalizing himself. Keats knows that he is subsequent to change and needs something to return to his pure state.2. Newly fallen snow:Newly fallen snow also represents purity. Besides, the poet describes snow as a mask that hides the ugliness of the mountains and moors. These in-depth feelings show insecurity about some unattractiveness that he possesses.3. Love's ripening breast:Love's ripening breast represents Keats's fiancee Fanny Brawne.III. RhetoricSymbolism:(1) . The bright star symbolizes the everlasting nature of a heavenly body and the eternal strength of love.(2) . Pure ablution and newly fallen snow symbolize purity.1. Metaphor:He compares the bright star's situation with that of an Eremite.2. Personification：(1) . When Keats describes the star as “watching, with eternal lids apart", he uses the literary device of personification to gives us a clearer image of what eternity might feel like. He imagines the star as a person, with eyelids, who is always watching.(2) . when Keats uses the adjectives “patient" and "sleepless” to describe the star. These also help us get a sense of the vast amount of time that passes during the star's existence.3. Comparison:Line four compares the earth to the bright star. Like the star, the earth is sleepless and, therefore, full of life and lasting forever.4. Alliteration:(1) . Keats uses alliteration to connect the "Star" with the idea of being “stedfast” in line 1.(2) . He uses the same sound to join “still" and "stedfast" in line 9.We can almost think of these alliterations joining the three words together into an unbreakable chain: HStarn-nstedfastn-nstill.n It can be coincidence that these three words are all closely linked to the theme of eternity.(3) . In line 11, we've got alliteration on/in "feel", "for"，and “fall”, as well as on s in “soft”, and “swell”.5. Parallelism:(1) . This involves the repetition of words for effect, as Keats does with the word “still" when he says “yet still stedfast, still unchangeable" in line 9.(2) . In line 11 to line 12, he also uses parallelism to suggest the idea of eternity. Here, what is repeated is the phrase “for ever": "To feel for ever its soft swell and fall, / Awake for ever in a sweet unrest.”Oxymoron:In line 12, Keats emphasizes the intensity of his desire for eternity by using an oxymoron in the phrase "sweet unrest”. Normally, we don't think of not being able to sleep as “sweet”, but Keats's description makes it sound not too shabby.IV. The theme of the poem 1. ThemeThe poem main theme deals with the love and appreciation of things that are unchanging. In other words, the poet mainly expresses the desire to live in an unchanging state.2. How is this theme brought up in the poem?In the first two lines, "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art- Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night"，Keats shows us that he would love to be around forever and full of life. A star implies something that is around forever and unchanging because, in spite of occurrences throughout life, the star will reside in the sky each night. Adding bright to the star shows the importance of life to it. Meanwhile, the second line states the bright star is not alone in its brilliance, but is accompanied by other stars. With this line, Keats expresses the importance of companionship and the fear of being alone. Line three shows that if Keats could be a bright star, he would see his love endlessly without losing desire. Line four compares the earth to the bright star. Like the star, the earth is sleepless and, therefore, full of life and lasting forever. Patient implies the earth9s ability to be unaffected by the events that occur around it.“No-yet still stedfast, still unchangeable, Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast" (line 9-10), Keats now shows us his real intent of the poem by describing his emotional journey to be with his lover eternally and without change. His deep emotions appear in line 10 as he yearns to be as close as possible to his love. He strides for an eternal, unchanging existence only to be with her. "To feel for ever its soft fall and swell, Awake for ever in a sweet unresfline 11-12) , Keats explains that he has yet another desire, in which his lover be alive for eternity. The interpretation of soft fall and swell could only represent the precious breaths taken by his lover everyday of her eternal life. Keats implicitly describes being with her in a wakeful state forever without the troubling effects of mortality.Line 13一14: Keats concludes his poem by displaying a powerful statement that if he cannot hear his lover breathe, he will welcome his own death with no regrets. Keats shows that as long as he can be with his lover, he will live forever. But if they must part, then he welcomes death. This portrays Keats's feelings towards life where death brings no fear and life means nothing without his lover. Moreover, he realizes that Humans cannot be steadfast and immortal and love is an essential part of being human.