In 1959 Douglas Bush described 'The Eve of St Agnes' as "no more than a romantic tapestry of colour". Do you agree

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In 1959 Douglas Bush described ‘The Eve of St Agnes’ as “no more than a romantic tapestry of colour”. Do you agree?

St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins, die a martyr in fourth century Rome. She was condemned to be executed after being raped all night in a brothel; however a miraculous storm saved her from rape – the 21 January, St. Agnes Day.

Keats told in his poem of the superstition that a girl could see her future husband in a dream if she performed certain rituals on the eve of St. Agnes; if she went to bed without looking behind her and lay on her back with her hands under her head, he would appear in her dream, kiss her, and then feast with her. The original version of Keats poem tells more of the sexuality between the lovers, but the publishers felt that the public would not receive it well and so told Keats to tone down the eroticism. Eve of St. Agnes is seen to be one of the most popular poems by Keats and appears in most anthologies as the result.

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Keats’ style is kept within this poem throughout. His wonderful use of splendid language, sharply etched setting and vibrant mood, continue to make the poem one of the most popular romantic tales of today, yet still keeping Keats’ trademark of imagination, dreaming and vision, and life as a mixture of opposites. This all adds to the idea that this poem is just ‘a romantic tapestry of colour’ or a ‘series of pretty pictures’ [Jack Sillenger].

However, analysis of the poem proves that this is not simply a colourful tapestry. The lovers are portrayed as being almost in a ...

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