Bright Star

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death. 




I recently read the poem Bright Star written by John Keats.
At first I found it very difficult to understand but as I re-read it, I was
able to see that it is a very beautiful poem that is about the man wishing that
he was as 'eternal' as a star that gazes on the 'moving waters' and the 'soft fallen mask of snow'.
Even though he wants to be in this state, he does not want to be in 'lone splendor' and longs to be
awake for ever and 'pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast.'
This poem is very personal to the speaker and it almost feels as if it is an intrusion to read
the longing thoughts of someone else. Especially when the thoughts revolve around
the eternal patience and love.
It is beautiful because the language is very soft and intimate, and the devotion behind the words is easy to see but very difficult to doubt. It is not just the fact that this poem is dated back to the 19th century that makes the poem beautiful, it is also the fact that you can see how much meaning John Keats puts into his words, as if the poem is written just for him, and not for others eyes.