John Keats and Modern Day Audiences

...

hair to metaphor, the light chaff surrounding a heavy seed. Therefore, the theme in ‘To Autumn’ is change. ‘To Autumn’ can relate to anyone who doesn’t want to let go of the good things that came to an end. In one way, this can be interpreted as the changing phases of a relationship that has outgrown with time.

One of the last poems that Keats wrote was the poem entitled ‘Bright star’. By this time, Keats knew that he was dying from tuberculosis, the same disease which had already consumed his mother and brother. This poem is focused on a star. Keats uses the star as a metaphor, wishing he was the star in the first line of the poem, "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art". The discourse in this poem is reflected through the star as Keats knows he is going to die. He describes the star as “eternal” as a positive trait as the star is always present, as in line three, "And watching, with eternal lids apart," He glorifies the star as he himself, knows that he cannot live to be with his true love, Fanny Brawne. One of the themes in this poem is time. The star is always up in the sky and does not change. Keats wants to feel the immortal state of the star on Earth, and to stay with his true love.

This is regularly emphasised by the use of repetition and personification in the poem. Repetition is evident in line nine, “No—yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,”. In this case, the word “still” refers to the star always being constant and motionless. The technique of personification in line four is apparent through the adjectives “patient” and “sleepless” when describing the star. These two words help the reader get an idea of how much time passes as the star exists. Therefore, the devices of repetition and personification illustrate that human beings do not have this immense amount of time. The theme of time in relation of illness is relevant today. Many people are dying from various types of diseases whether they are self-inflicted or not. Time becomes more precious to these people as they learn to appreciate the things that they take for granted.

Keats is an example of something ending too soon. He died in February 1821 in Rome, two years after writing this poem.

Keats was an influential poet whose work was filled with inspirations and feelings from what he was feeling at the time. In all, audiences can appreciate the sheer brilliance of a poet that reflects the romantic era. His themes are still relevant today as modern day audiences can learn from past experiences and incorporate it in their daily lives.