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John KeatsA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In the opening stanzas, the Beadsman acknowledges the carvings of “Knights, ladies, praying in dumb orat'ries” (2.7). There is a clear parallel between the stone figures in the chapel and the living knights and ladies taking part in the party; the statues likely depict real people who once danced, just as the revelers are dancing now, and who are long lost except for their stone likenesses. The Beadsman sees the statues as ancient figures immortalized in stone, both dead and, conversely, something beyond life. In this way, the statues are a metaphor for art: The artist will someday pass away, but the artwork and its message endure forever.
Within the party itself, the Beadsman sees “carved angels, ever eager-eyed” (4.7). They stand sentry over the partygoers, protecting them or perhaps reminding them of their virtues and conventions. Later, this imagery is reflected in Madeline; Porphyro remarks, “She seem’d a splendid angel, newly drest” (25.7). This again alludes to the relationship between the living and the dead, the stagnant and the flourishing. When Madeline wakes to see Porphyro waiting for her, she finds him “pale as smooth-sculptured stone” (33.9)—a stark contrast from the warmth of her dream.
By John Keats
Endymion
Endymion: A Poetic Romance
John Keats
La Belle Dame sans Merci
La Belle Dame sans Merci
John Keats
Meg Merrilies
Meg Merrilies
John Keats
Ode on a Grecian Urn
Ode on a Grecian Urn
John Keats
Ode on Melancholy
Ode on Melancholy
John Keats
Ode to a Nightingale
Ode to a Nightingale
John Keats
Ode to Psyche
Ode to Psyche
John Keats
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
John Keats
On Seeing the Elgin Marbles
On Seeing the Elgin Marbles
John Keats
To Autumn
To Autumn
John Keats
When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be
When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be
John Keats