Sonnet Sunday: more Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

It's been a while since I've done Sonnet Sunday, too long. I watched Bright Star again last week and I fell in love with the poetry of Keats all over again.

Keats' Death Day

If my math is correct, John Keats, author of one of my favorite sonnets ("Ode to a Nightingale") and considered by many to be the foremost romantic poet, died today 189 years ago at the tender age of twenty one.
A new film called Bright Star chronicles the last few years of his life mingling poetry with the dialogue and artistry with the scenic elements. It's a beautiful love story with stellar performances. I wrote a review of it for the college paper, but I'm not sure if I can reproduce it here. I was reading some information about "self plagiarism" the other day, so I am trying to proceed with care.
Nonetheless, I've been thinking about the young poet today and wondering what poetic peaks he might have scaled had he lived a little longer.

Sonnet Sunday: Keats

I just thought that Sonnet Sunday sounded very nice; Saturdays aren't as disposed to sonnetry and I do so love a little alliteration. This Sunday I'm starting out with Keats in honor of the copy of Bright Star I have on pre-order that should be here next week. I'll be doing a review of it in the paper of the institution of higher education I am currently taking some classes at (purposely ambiguous), that I will also print here.

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

What can I say? I am a sucker for a good sonnet.

Crazy Week

I am way behind on my NaNoWriMo word count. I knew that this would be a tough month to attempt this because of all I have going on. However, my theatrical obligations will over soon and I can (hopefully) get myself back on track.
I have not seen the conclusion to Place of Execution yet, it is waiting patiently on my DVR. This Sunday Collision premieres of Masterpiece. I am actually very excited, Place of Execution has my hopes up now. This Saturday will also see a major revelation on BBC's Robin Hood in a long flashback that somewhat contradicts some earlier parts of the show... but we'll pretend it doesn't.
Also, I have just heard of a new film about Keats! It's called Bright Star and is about the young poet's romance that inspired a poem by the same name. Not living in a major city, I must patiently wait until the little arthouse theatre in the next town gets it. This could be a while, but in the meantime I have watched the trailer and looked everyone up on IMDB. Playing Keats is the same actor that appeared as Sebastian Flyte in the recent adaptation of Bridehead Revisited- not my favorite film, it lacked many things, but the cast was quite good. I hope Bright Star doesn't dissapoint; I am uncharacteristically optomistic about it!