Comparing the Stars of Bright Star and Choose Something Like a Star Ess

Comparing the Stars of Bright Star and Choose Something Like a Star Keats "Bright Star" and Frost's "Choose Something Like a Star" although similar in their address to a star differ in form, tone and theme. The latter contains an illusion to the former that brings Keats' themes into the poem. In order to compare these poems it is necessary to look carefully at their themes and constructions. "Bright Star" is a sonnet in traditional iambic pentameter. Its tone is elegiac as it celebrates the woman's beauty and his love for her in his plea for steadfastness. The poem opens with an apostrophe to the star which calls our attention to his plea. The verbs "would" and "were" indicate his wish to be like the star whom he addresses as "thou." The star is "hung" in the night, a pleasant image, and he uses a simile to compare it with Eremite, a hermit, who presumably sat apart from the world watching. The eyelids of this star (the star is given anthropomorphic qualities) are eternally apart -- always watching, "patiently" and "sleeplessly." Keats then enumerate s what this star watches. It watches water -- which is also steadfast as indicated by the comparison "priest-like." The waters that surround the land Keats says are performing ablutions or cleansings and blessings on the land. The star also gazes upon the snow. He uses the metaphor of snow as a "mask" (more personification) as it hides the mountains and moors. The "m" alliteration emphasizes the falling of the snow. The repetition of "of" underlines the parallel structure and idea of the two scenes the star regards. The rhythm of this 2nd quatrain is slow and peaceful like the scene. Then Keats puts a "No -- " w... ...t not only continues the "poetic tradition" but adds all the depth of meaning of Keats' poem to his own. The star doesn't want much of us -- only to stay above us. He says that "when the mob is swayed" or when social, political, or moral upheaval takes place and the norm is to be radical, the star likes being above it all, condescendingly regarding the earth. When this happens, we should "choose something like a star" and concentrate on it. In the final line the similarity between "stay" and "staid" emphasizes that we must emulate the star in being constant and moderate while society may revolve around us in social or political turmoil. This "staidness" is our key to survival like the stars'. Therefore, one can see that these poems although similar in their title and central image of the star differ in their themes, form and treatment of the author's ideas.