Bright Star: Rhetorical Analysis

Bright Star Rhetorical Analysis At first glance of the title of this poem, I assumed that it would be about something lovely and inspirational, something that brought the author happiness and gave him the strength to go from day to day. And while reading this poem the first time through, without having researched John Keats or this poem, I was struck by the repetition of resolute diction. The continued use of words such as ‘still steadfast’, ‘forever’, and ‘still unchangeable’ made it obvious to me that the woman that had been on Keats’ mind during the composition of this poem was his one true love.
After researching his life, I found that he had met the woman from the poem, Fanny Brawne, while taking care of his brother, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. They were deeply in love with one another, though she was married and had children with another man. Brawne and Keats regularly exchanged love letters one with another, from the time his brother died, through his own diagnosis of tuberculosis, and until his early death two years later. I read the poem again after receiving this insight into the meaning behind the poem and found the symbolism to be even more striking.
In my first read, I was confused when Keats mentioned the star being ‘hung aloft in the sky’; I had assumed that since this ‘Bright star’ was something that brought him happiness, it would be close to him, even with him. But after my research, the symbolism was obvious to me: because of her marriage and his diagnosis and declining health, he couldn’t be with Fanny Brawne, no matter how much they loved one another, they both knew the heart breaking truth, that they could never be together in this life. So Keats, as the star, simply hung at a distance, adoring her beauty, watching over her, and loving her. In lines six through nine, he refers to his lengthy view of her again, communicating the reality of his distance from Brawne’s beauty. Keats affirms, in line twelve, that he will be