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Literary Analysis Of 'Eve Of St. Agnes'

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“Eve of St. Agnes” had an overwhelming amount of information to take in, and I mean a lot. The setting where the poem had taken place is what had drawn me in from the get-go. What's more thrilling than an enchanting gothic castle, twisting hallways, the concept forbidden love being tossed around, medieval feasts, bloodlust dating back all the way to ancient times? I felt as if I was traveling through time each page I had turned.

The initial part of the poem had major Romeo and Juliet characteristics with Keats giving Porphyro and Madeline’s families a rivalry, but never actually telling his readers how they got it. Personally, I felt like we really weren’t able to grasp how these two kids even got together either or what their relationship is really like. Instead, Keats relied heavily on the “star-crossed lovers kept apart by the family feud” motif to get his readers to vividly fill in the blanks.

Nevertheless, Porphyro is a jerk. He turned out to not be the romantic hero I initially had perceived him to be. My dumb, naive, and sappy heart thought it was adorable that he strategized this plan to run away with his girlfriend, the alleged love of his life, who had also happened to be part of the bloodline that is in rivalry with his. I had already taken on this abstract picture in my mind of some cute prince whisking this princess off her feet, running off into the sunset on a horse, and with her in his arms.

But that picture got annihilated when he had cynically tricked

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