When poets refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References:
- Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (entire poem): While Keats never explicitly mentions Romeo and Juliet, he's clearly working off of Shakespeare's setup, at least with regards to plot: young lovers from warring families carrying out a forbidden romance with the help of the girl's nurse.
- Merlin (171)
- Philomel (206-207)
- Keats, La Belle Dame sans Merci (292): This is a shout-out to the fifteenth-century French ballad (La Belle Dame sans Mercy) written by Alain Chartier. It's also a shout-forward to Keats's own poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci, written later in the same year he wrote "The Eve of St. Agnes," 1819.
Historical References:
- St. Agnes (entire poem): St. Agnes of Rome (yes, there is indeed more than one St. Agnes) was an early fourth-century Christian martyr who was executed after she refused all the guys who were trying to marry her, insisting upon staying chaste. Unsurprisingly, she's the patron saint of virgins.