Max Bartges 11/6/07 LHUM-318 Dr. Michael Heyman Paper #1: Bright Star!

Analysis In examining Keats Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art! one can find much in the way of metrical and sonic devices combined subtly to achieve an overall temper beyond the raw words alone that acts both as support and guide in the understanding of the poem; the form is very straightforward, and this lends itself well to smaller deviations. The ambition of this poem is a simple beauty, often going unnoticed in a conventional framework. There are no jarring line breaks nor is there any profane language, so the interest becomes the gem stuck here and there amongst the ordinary rocks. The meter in the first half of the piece begins with an exclamation. It is not strident, but rather has the effect of invoking the image of an incantation or prayer, and the break at the end of the first line outlines the premise of the entirety. The slowness of hung aloft the night is reminiscent of clouds drifting in texture, and really draws out the softness and gentleness of the image perhaps not possible if otherwise phrased. When preceded by lone the tender night sky has being infused with loneliness, leading to a quiet melancholy precisely fitting the description. And then, the quickness of And watching tows the reader forward into eternal; for an instance we the meter brings the possibility of hope, but with patient, sleepless following and then a pause the reader has time to reflect on the entirety of the illustration. These first four lines, then, comprise a

single thought doled out little by little: the building of tension and then release through rhythm is a very powerful backdrop over which to impose the inimitable loveliness of pure language. Looking once more at the first line, we see would I were, which is very open sounding followed by steadfast as which is staccato, followed by the open thou and the abbreviating art and a pause. Resulting from this is a pulsation, the steadfast heartbeat of the star, and furthermore steadfast is doubly accented to create a sonic and rhythmic icon of the words meaning in context. Most of the second line is open in tone, complementing the airy feel of the meter, until night And watching which builds tension in its quickness and playing across the bar-line of the form. Glancing at the second half on the piece, one finds, metrically, a plethora of pauses, which emphasize and isolate the two key words of the line: steadfast again, and unchangeable. Thus, in a very simple and delicate fashion, Keats has refreshed his imagery and separated the grain from the chaff of his archetype. Further, all through the second line: Pillowed upon my fair loves ripening breast, the reader finds a swell, or acceleration that directly corresponds to the image at hand, creating a purpose for the language, and without which would render the it useless. Skipping to the last line, very cleverly Keats has placed after a pause or else swoon to death. The double o requires space, and consequently isolates death, as the only image after it. This landing on death is not heavy, however, and therein lies the effectiveness. Juxtaposing the meter in an elegant approach, the sound contains

numerous little allusions to Keats compositional prowess: even in the first line the open No robs time for the following important accents. In the third line: To feel for ever its soft fall and swell, the reader unconsciously recognizes the undulation of the meaning, the rhythm and the sound all at oncea masterful achievement indeed! Soft fall requires space, and as it drags prepares the upward swing of swell. Also, in the last line, swoon as a long open sound creates momentum for the quiet death, a very light and subtle accent making a tremendous difference in tone and interpretation. Perhaps most fortunate for the reader is the ability to compare the original version of this poem with the final one I have been discussing above. It is always illuminating to uncover what has been revisedfor what reason, and has the original ambition of the artists composition remained steadfast. The most obvious alteration the reader will notice is the layout. In the original the form was very tight and compact, line under line neatly squared away. In the final version the layout reflects a flowing and wandering that is not disparate with the intentions of the poetic icon. There also appears a break between the two theme variations, (between lines eight and nine), which better serves to create tension for the ninth line not released until the end of the line. Continuing, and small but significant change occurs in the second line: the substitution of aloft for amid. This may not seem consequential, but the open sound pursues the floating, hazy quality, whereas the brevity of amid kills the effect. The result is a line at least twenty times more powerful and truer to the macrocosm of the poem.

There is, naturally, much more one could dissect in the analysis of this masterwork, but the fundamental tenets of poetic, (or generally artistic) composition remain ever constant. Wonderful words lie languid and limp without the interplay of the introspective and sometimes intuitive forces of meter and sound. In the words of the esteemed C.S. Lewis, A stone may determine the course of a riveri, and so too may the veiled and inconspicuous subtleties transform beautiful language into a beautiful poem.

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