Interpreting the Rhetoric of Narrative in John Keats’s “The Eve of St. Agnes”

Abstract

Abstract: John Keats’s “The Eve of St. Agnes”is not only an outstanding narrative poem, but also a poem that can be explored, on several aspects, in connection to his writing and thinking. A probe into the long poem, by starting with a look at its rhetoric of narrative and applying the schema theory, may reveal, from a new perspective, its extraordinary narrative power and strong influence. In the context of a traditional frame and schema, the poem tells a story that is completely different from what the relevant frame and schema would supposedly predict. In the process of “schema deviation” and “violation of expectation”, it lays out a new and totally different meaning and shows the poet’s unique narrative ability. To correspond to its chosen frame and schema, the content of the poem undergoes a fundamental reversal, too, from looking up to heaven and pursuing heavenly happiness to standing firm on earth and seeking happiness in reality, thereby demonstrating the trend of the times.

Key words: John Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes", narrative rhetoric, frame, schema

Tan Junqiang. Interpreting the Rhetoric of Narrative in John Keats’s “The Eve of St. Agnes”[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2021, 43(2): 70-79.

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