Art and Experience

The qualities that Keats attributes to the star in this poem are the qualities of the artist - it is said to be "watching, with eternal lids apart," while remaining uninvolved in the events that it is witness to. In this particular case, the observations are made of nature, which is described as being holy, "priest-like" acts, while the star that observes them is also described with the religious term "Eremite." There is a difference in their religious qualities, though, as the observer keeps aloof, removed from the situation. It all adds up to the reverent stance that Keats took toward his artistry and the things that he wrote about, particularly when the subject matter was nature, which he held in the kind of esteem that many people reserve for God. To Keats, it was the artist's goal to be able to observe and fully understand...