Many of Keats' poems reflect his spirituality, his sense of the connection between the environment and the link between pagan and Christian images that exist in daily life. The Eve of St. Agnes, for example, is a poem that defines many of these links and demonstrates the premises of Keats' focus on romanticism, spirituality and imagery based in nature. Other poems, including Ode to a Grecian Urn and Ode to a Nightingale, contain these elements Keats' lushly evocative imagery. Keats celebrates a decidedly spiritual, rather than religious, awareness of all that is around him in nature and other people. Keats' utilization of the images and language of both the Christian and pagan traditions reflects the social and cultural elements that have defined western society's transition from a pagan identity to a Christian identity. For example, the mysticism represented in The Eve of St. Agnes, as well as the spiritual references in his other poems, underscore the role that paganism and Christianity play within the lives of modern people. Farnell emphasizes that while Keat's treatment of paganism is usually positive, he te

Despite his drugged sense of despair, the speaker is able to acknowledge the "light-winged Dryad" (7). The dryad is a tree nymph, the female soul or human incarnation of the oak tree. While mere mortals may die, a dryad will not die until her tree does. As Keats expounds upon the joy and taste of earth, he acknowledges the beauty of that which he apparently seeks to escape. It will not do for the speaker of this poem to imagine that joy is only available to him in Christian communion with its single god, or through a socially prescribed life of goodness while on earth.

In Ode to a Grecian Urn (one of his most easily recognizable works), Keats uses the urn as a representation of the culture and life of ancient Greece. Keats' notions regarding the woman in the picture on the urn demonstrate the unifying themes in many of his works: transcendence, awareness of beauty, spirituality and eternity. He reminds the reader that the woman will always be fair and that she will always invoke feelings of love and admiration in all who see her (19-20). However, the ironic twist in her perfection arises from her inaccessibility. The peculiar twist in his poetry regarding the beauty around him is also about inaccessibility. If what he experiences at any given moment can be so perfect, beautiful and filled with life, it must be spiritual. Even when he examines the process of transformation as it occurs as a human ages in Ode to a Nightingale, he glories in the experience of it. This provides a clear link with The Eve of St. Agnes, demonstrating the progression of elements that have transformed religious rituals and have marked people's own transformation.

To cease upon the midnight with no pain,

Stillinger, Jack. "The Hoodwinking of Madeline: Skepticism in The Eve of St. Agnes. New Yor

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