The Eve of St. Agnes: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is a narrative poem that explores themes of love, desire, and the clash of social classes through its major characters. At the center of the story is Madeline, a young virgin who participates in the St. Agnes Eve ritual, hoping to dream of her future husband. She becomes enchanted by Porphyro, a gallant knight from a rival family, who sneaks into her family's castle to be with her. Porphyro's daring entrance, aided by Angela, Madeline's sympathetic nurse, sets the stage for their escape from the oppressive atmosphere of the castle. Angela's role is pivotal as she supports the lovers, believing in their honorable intentions. Meanwhile, the Beadsman, an elderly figure in the narrative, symbolizes the passage of time and forgotten lives, ultimately finding peace in death. The characters embody contrasting ideals of love and duty, making the poem a rich exploration of romantic longing against a backdrop of feudal conflict. This complex interplay invites readers to consider the broader social implications of love and fidelity.
The Eve of St. Agnes: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: John Keats
First published: 1820
Genre: Poetry
Locale: A castle
Plot: Romance
Time: The Middle Ages
Madeline (mahd-LEHN), a young virgin, first shown preoccupied at a ball given in the castle of her noble father. Eager to carry out the ritual of St. Agnes' Eve and thereby see her future husband in a dream, she leaves the revelry and retires to her room where, falling asleep, she dreams of Porphyro, the son of an enemy house. Waking to find him beside her bed, she is at first frightened. After he tells her, “This is no dream, my bride,” she steals with him out of the castle, past the sleeping, drunken wassailers, and away into the stormy night.
Porphyro (POHR-fih-roh), her gallant young knight, who comes from his home across the moors, slips into the castle full of his enemies, and with the aid of Angela, an understanding old nurse, goes to Madeline's chamber before she prepares for bed. After she is asleep, he emerges from the closet where he has hidden himself, sets a table loaded with exotic foods, and wakes his beloved with a song, “La belle dame sans mercy,” to the accompaniment of Madeline's lute. He persuades his beloved to leave her home of hate and flee with him.
Angela, an old woman, Madeline's nurse and Porphyro's friend. Convinced, after Porphyro has revealed his plan, that the young lover's intentions are honorable, she hides him in Madeline's bedchamber and provides the dainties for a feast. She dies “palsy-twitched.”
The Beadsman, an aged supplicant who at the beginning of the poem is telling his rosary with cold-numbed fingers in the castle chapel. He closes the story by sleeping, forever un-sought, “among his ashes cold.”