In his poem “The Eve of Saint Agnes”, John Keats writes the tragic and romantic story of “two star-crossed lovers” sharing many similarities with William . “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare. The poem follows a young man named Porphyro who loves Madeline, the king's daughter from a rival family. On the evening of Saint Agnes: the day when virginity is celebrated, Porphyro sneaks into Madeline's room with help and takes advantage of her while she is in a dreamlike trance. Porphyro then convinces Madeline to run away with him into the winter storm brewing outside and they are never seen again. Keats presents his poem in a unique way that allows the audience to have multiple ways of interpreting the characters' actions and intentions. For example, they may debate whether Porphyro was entirely responsible for the actions and consequences of what happened that night. Although Porphyro lost control of himself and his actions were the main agents of the events of that night, he is not entirely responsible because the decisions made by Madeline and Angela have some importance regarding the consequences. Madeline is under surveillance for following superstitious rituals and for her inability to differentiate between dream and reality in the process. Angela can be criticized for being easily manipulated by Porphyro's expression and his ability to convince. Additionally, the visualization and descriptive details that Keats puts into his poem are helpful in understanding Porphyro's true intentions and help indicate to the audience whether he is influenced by love or lust. To help readers discover and debate Porphyro's intentions, Keats uses descriptive imagery. in his poem to set the underlying emotions and tone of the story and characters. For example... middle of paper ... starting a new life with Porphyro, she chooses to run away with him and possibly damns herself in the process. Although Porphyro may have loved Madeline, his lust ultimately took over. on him when he saw his "lover" exposed and vulnerable as she fell asleep. His actions were facilitated by the decisions made by Angela and Madeline and led to this unfortunate circumstance. Keats also helps present the meaning of Porphyro's actions through his use of setting, imagery, and use of the supernatural. Although Porphyro may have had the best intentions, his actions, compared to the poor decision-making of the other characters in the poem, led to dire circumstances that no one was willing to pay for. Works Cited John, Keats. “The Eve of Saint Agnes.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. 8th ed. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2006. 1830-840