Bright Star

[Saturn]

I can't prove it, any more than you can prove that your God exists.

All I'm saying is that all the biographies and writings, criticism I've ever read about Keats clearly state that he was not a practising, or even believing Christian.

[taylor!]

Not that I particuarly want to break into a philosophical debate or anything...



But it seems Keats was spiritual without being religious, which is quite often the case, but as far as I know there were some blatant references to the christain faith in La Belle, I believe (but theres a huge possibility im thinking of a different one) with the allusions to the forbidden fruit.

[Apollo]

The Eremite is possibly Keats even showing his own self as a someone religous and strong in their beliefs, which I believe he might have done as he feared death, therefore he sought for the refuge of eternal life through religion.

No, no and no again - Keats was NOT religious

Even if Keats is not a religious person, he still was brought up in a religious community and understood classical literature including the bible. Along with the fact that a poet does not have to be themselves in there poems, so who is to say that Keats did not feel like experimenting with a different perspective in this particular poem. Or even if Keats foreseeing his own death became scared and turned to God as many people do. There I believe based upon those assumptions, and my own personal interpretation, which I have supported, that this poem is religious in theme.

I happen to agree in full with ibasleep. There is no way to be sure that this dying man may have come to make his peace with religion but I do believe it is quite within the realm of possibility. With that said, I would like to bring up "This Living Hand". I believe that this poem is so oddly written because Keats was doing something similar to what Shakespeare did in "The Tempest". That is to say that Shakespeare wrote "The Tempest" just to show people that he could. I think that Keats may have had the same mind set when writing "Bright Star" also. He may have not been a religious person but he may have been trying to prove that he could write a religious poem like so many other poets.