I slept, but my heart was awake. Hark! my beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” – Song of Solomon 5:2
Why does beauty exist in created things? For one thing, beauty exists in things which humans make because our Lord has given us the power to share in His creative ability. As we are made in the image and likeness of God, we have thus been endowed with the ability to create, just as God created the whole universe and saw that it was good (Gen 1:31). Ultimately, however, we are able to create beautiful things because they are intended to draw us back to the One Who is the Source of all Beauty. Beauty stirs our hearts, even in passing moments, to remind us of the eternal Beauty of the God Who made all things beautiful, and Who continues to create Beauty in the world. Today, two pieces will be examined, one which was inspired by the other; the poem The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats (1820) and the painting The Eve of St. Agnes by Arthur Hughes (1856).
The poem The Eve of St. Agnes by Keats was composed in 1819, but published in 1820, and details a Romeo and Juliet style romance between two lovers, Madeline and Porphyro, on the night before St. Agnes’ feast day, hence the title. It draws upon a common folk belief that if a young woman was to follow a strict set of practices on St. Agnes’ Eve while lying in bed, such as only looking forward and never to the sides, then she would dream of her future husband and eat with him. In the poem, Madeline and Porphyro are lovers, but their families dislike each other. So, in the night while Madeline prepares for bed, Porphyro sneaks into the estate in order to visit Madeline, and escape with her, so they can live in peace away from familial strife.
The poem is richly detailed and drips with beautiful imagery, and so I encourage all readers to read this in full to understand the fullness of the work. For example, before Porphyro can speak with Madeline, he waits in an ornate wardrobe for her to fall asleep in bed:
Full on this casement shone the wintry moon, And threw warm gules on Madeline's fair breast, As down she knelt for heaven's grace and boon; Rose-bloom fell on her hands, together prest, And on her silver cross soft amethyst, And on her hair a glory, like a saint: She seem'd a splendid angel, newly drest, Save wings, for heaven:—Porphyro grew faint: She knelt, so pure a thing, so free from mortal taint.
After Madeline has fallen asleep Porphyro sets up a table with foods and gently wakes Madeline from her rest:
"And now, my love, my seraph fair, awake!
Thou art my heaven, and I thine eremite: Open thine eyes, for meek St. Agnes' sake,
Or I shall drowse beside thee, so my soul doth ache."
Porphyro then convinces Madeline to leave her family so they can escape and leave in a faraway place, undisturbed:
They glide, like phantoms, into the wide hall;
Like phantoms, to the iron porch, they glide;
Where lay the Porter, in uneasy sprawl,…
The chains lie silent on the footworn stones;—
The key turns, and the door upon its hinges groans.
And they are gone: ay, ages long ago These lovers fled away into the storm.
The painting by Arthur Hughes (1856) depicts the wonderful moment as Porphyro wakes Madeline in her bed. The painting, like the poem, is also intricately detailed with many small beauties, such as the stained-glass window, the patterned bed sheets and other fabrics, and the image of Our Lady in the corner. It demonstrates how various kinds of artists and artworks can influence one another, as they attempt to take the beauty present in one work and translate it into another medium or piece. Beauty is therefore not merely something static or merely to be appreciated by an audience, but is a living Being, One which sheds His light within our hearts and stirs them to contemplate higher matters, and to carry on the creative work began at the creation of the universe.
Holy Spirit, Source of Beauty, enlighten us with Your Heavenly inspirations. St. Agnes, pray for us.
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