Bright Star - Response Paper

Matthew Huber

! I enjoyed this reading much more than most of Keatsʼ other writings. While most

of his other writings and poems carry a certain heaviness and sadness to them, this one

is much lighter and peaceful.

! In this poem, Keats spends his time describing, to great lengths, a star that he is

observing. Throughout the poem, he speaks of the star as if it were a person, ascribing

almost-human attributes to the star, as if a star can do anything intentionally. I really

enjoyed Keatsʼ description of the star being “steadfast” and “like natureʼs patient,

sleepless...” (lines 2 and 4). It is such a great description of the stars in the sky. They

do seem to have a very “priestlike” character to them; consistent, predictable and

ancient.

! His language in this poem put me in a very peaceful and restful mindset. He

uses very tender and soft words as he sets the scene and makes the reader feel like he

or she is right there beside him, lying under the quite night sky.

! While most of the poem is relatively easy to understand, he does use some

language and references that I have a hard time relating to. For instance, when he

spoke of “Eremite”, I had a hard time making the connection between this person and

the description of the star. Furthermore, the end was a little confusing to me as well, as

he introduced the concept of death. It seemed slightly out of place in the poem.

! However, I truly did enjoy the poem, and how he so vividly conveyed the scenery

and its surrounding emotion.

Works Cited

Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. "Ode to a Nightingale." The Norton Anthology of
World Literature. 1800 to 1900. New York: Norton, 2002. 827. Print.