Shelby L. Rayburn
Dr. Zani
ENGL 4392.01
24 April, 2014
The Virgin and the Whore: An Analysis of Keats’s Madeline in “The Eve of Saint Agnes”
Readers of Keats’ poetry have long spoken of the enchanting power of his language, and in one of his most famous works, “The Eve of St. Agnes”; the reader is positively enchanted by the protagonist, Madeline. She’s pure, virginal, positively otherworldly, and “seem’d a splendid angel, newly drest” (Keats 77). Madeline also displays trappings of religious symbols throughout the work. She is called a “Mission’d spirit and a “seraph fair” (Keats 72-3). The reader could scarcely read the poem without immediately associating Madeline with the most divine cherubs in Heaven. Her virginity is repeatedly mentioned and referenced; even her room, or the maiden’s chamber, is “silken, hush’d, and chaste” (Keats 76). Young Porphyro with “heart on fire” for Madeline simply couldn’t resist this angel (Keats 71). One might connect that, similarly, young John Keats could not resist his own angel, Fanny Brawne. At the time of the composition of “The Eve of St. Agnes” Keats was heavy in the thralls of his engagement to Fanny. In her book, John Keats: The Making of a Poet, Aileen Ward proclaims “The Eve of St. Agnes” to be "the first confident flush of [Keats's] love for Fanny Brawne" (Ward 310). However, if Madeline is meant to be a manifestation of Fanny Brawne, Keats must not think of his fiancé as merely an angel, but something more.
Superficially, Madeline is only an angelic figure, but what is overlooked in a purely angelic reading of Madeline is the split image of one character with two distinct aspects, one virginal and pure, the other seductive and powerful. Madeline is not only a heavenly, ...
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... the tortured, awkward artist. That is not to suggest that Madeline is some sort of bubbly hipster, she is portrayed as a sweet angel. She isn’t delightfully flawed like the MPDG oftentimes is, struggling with adorable “clumsiness”, which is supposed to make the audience relate to the bubbly girl. Madeline is perfect and chaste, while also a fearsome mermaid who seduces Porphyro. This is arguably though another false expression of what female characters and actual females are, only in 19th century, Romantic version. For centuries male filmmakers, writers, painters, artists of all kinds have often cited women as the inspiration for their brilliant masterpieces. Keats himself refers to his own Fanny Brawne, “My sweet creature. I wander at the Beauty which has kept up the spell so fervently” (Keats 1). Invoking Fanny as his muse is
The speaker begins the poem an ethereal tone masking the violent nature of her subject matter. The poem is set in the Elysian Fields, a paradise where the souls of the heroic and virtuous were sent (cite). Through her use of the words “dreamed”, “sweet women”, “blossoms” and
what the reader once thought of Dorothea, a woman of dignity, into a naive child.
Womanhood in The Eve of St. Agnes and La Belle Dame Sans Merci and Mariana by Keats
youth, is determined to gain the love of Madeline, who is also searching for love by mystical
Both La Belle and Catherine have an illusional, captivating appearance that charms Heathcliff and the Knight, yet reality strikes when their true personalities are shown through their wild, dangerous nature that’s personified by gothic surroundings. La Belle is described as, “Full beautiful—a fairy’s child, her hair was long, her foot was light, and her eyes were wild.” (14, 15, 16)
Adèle Ratignolle uses art to beautify her home. Madame Ratignolle represents the ideal mother-woman (Bloom 119). Her chief concerns and interests are for her husband and children. She was society’s model of a woman’s role. Madame Ratignolle’s purpose for playing the pia...
“In spite of their economic status, Morisot and Cassatt had many obstacles to overcome in establishing themselves as artists, and they experienced more discouragement than anyone would be likely to guess from looking at their works. Not surprisingly, they concentrated on familiar, domestic, themes. ” (Francis E. Hyslop) Interestingly enough, at a quick glance their paintings can look the same, but their representation of women and the message they try to convey is remarkably contrasting. Mary Cassatt focused on the “real” definition of woman. She wanted her audience to view women as strong and independent human beings who are completely capable of pursuing anything they set their mind too. Mary Cassatt made her audience think, she wanted to make a quiet scandal, she wanted to speak through her figures. In Mary Cassatt’s The loge (1882), she illustrates two elegantly dressed women enjoying a night at the theatre. Usually, men are the ones that would go out without their wives and enjoy a casual or elegant social scene while women socialize in their houses drinking tea and watching their kids play. “Cassatt’s new images include representations of women as independent public people; women pursuing interests which are not directed toward the needs of others; and women who enjoy the company of other women.” (Yeh) This painting illustrates how women are more than capable to socialize in a public
"John Keats." British Literature 1780-1830. Comp. Anne K. Mellor and Richard E. Matlak. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1996. 1254-56. Print.
Keats, John. "39. The Eve of St. Agnes ." John Keats (1795–1821). The Poetical Works of John Keats. 1884.. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2010. .
Details about the modest apartment of the Loisels on the Street of Martyrs indicate Mathilde’s peevish lack of adjustment to life. Though everything is serviceable, she is unhappy with the “drab” walls, “threadbare” furniture, and “ugly” curtains (5). She has domestic help, but she wants more servants than the simple country girl who does the household chores in the apartment. Her embarrassment and dissatisfaction are shown by details of her irregularly cleaned tablecloth and the plain and inelegant beef stew that her husband adores. Even her best theater dress, which is appropriate for apartment life but which is inappropriate for more wealthy surroundings, makes her unhappy. All these details of the apartment establish that Mathilde’s major trait at the story’s beginning is maladjustment. She therefore seems unpleasant and unsympathetic.
The social identity that Lily projects represents one of her selves, the jeune fille à marrier. When discussing how Lily develops her attributes in...
John Clare’s “An Invite to Eternity” is a poem that at first glance seems happy and inviting but once examined, is actually quite depressing and aloof. Although it appears to be a direct address to an anonymous “maiden,” in reality the poem is much more complex. Clare offers his “sweet maid” a less than appealing future life, presenting her with an “eternity” filled with harsh landscapes and loneliness. Most readers’ first impression when they think of eternity is almost dream-like or heavenly. However, Clare’s vision of eternity is dark and mysterious and uninviting. These different versions of expectations, as well as the use of antique word forms such as “thou” and “wilt”, seems to suggest a conscious misuse of traditional and old-fashioned love poetry and portrays the “maiden” as being nothing more than a figment in Clare’s imagination. Further, this is not the first time Clare has written about such a hellish place. His poem “I am” resembles the “eternity” he is speaking of in “An Invite to Eternity.” “I am” was a reflection of a period in his life where he was isolated in a mental institution. In this context, the strange and ominous world that Clare presents as “eternity” takes on a new meaning as a representation of his social death while in the asylum. Supporting this idea, “An Invite to Eternity”
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Time is an ever constant moving aspect of life. It can build one up and tear one down
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