Personification Of Eremite

Keats details the anguish of a man who wants to spend eternity with his lover, as constant as the stars. The poem is comprised of two parts, with the first 8 lines all about the star and how 'stedfast' it is. It depicts the eternal presence of the star in the night sky. The line, “with eternal lids apart, / Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite” (Keats 3-4) is imbued with religious symbolism- an “Eremite” is a Christian recluse, which parallels the star's observation of the earth in the act of solitary worship. The alliteration of "star" and "stedfast" accentuates the unchanging nature of the night sky, while also introducing the theme of the speaker's transience. Both ideas are further explored through the personification of the star, described as "patient", and "sleepless", and having "eternal lids". It is also portrayed as "aloft" and out of reach, which again reinforces the speaker's unattainable desires.

The “moving waters at their priestlike task” () are now referenced in the "soft fall and swell" of the woman's breast in line 11. The speaker continues, “Yet still stedfast, still unchangeable / pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast” (). This links the eternity of the star with the short time between lovers. However, this prompts his want to rest upon her breast hearing her breathe “awake forever in a sweet unrest” (). This presents the point of conflict of the speaker wanting far beyond what the star has: steadfastness without solitude. He longs to find the "still unchangeable" nature of the star within the context of human love and companionship. He is "pillowed" on his love's breast, which symbolizes fertility and is described as "ripening". This acts as a representation of organic life which the star can never be. It is far removed, "aloft" and "watching", and unable to