Bright Star- John Keats

"Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art-" PAGE 792

The theme of the poem was to be unchanging like the star. The first line is an apostrophe in which the speaker addresses the star. The speaker wants to be like a star in that it does not change with what goes on. The speaker wants to be able to watch and experience life from afar rather than actively participate in it. Personification is used to give the star human characteristics as it watches from a distance. The speaker however, does recognize the drawbacks of being a star such as lonely. He feels that life as a star would be worth the sacrifice. I think that the speaker realizes that he cannot be like a star but still wishes to be. The fact that in the last lines he says he wants to live like a star, "or else swoon to death," to me solidifies the fact that he truly wants to live like a star. The speaker must be significantly unhappy in his current life and the changes in it or else he would not express such a desire to live alone in the distance.