Books2Movies Club discussion

The movie Bright Star is actually based on John Keats's biography, Keats by Andrew Motion. However, I thought this time it would be nice to read some poetry, the first time after The Raven that was our first quick read ever in the club nine years ago.

Bright Star: is a collection of Keats's Love Letters and Poems dedicated and sent to the love of his short-living life, Fanny Brawne. Their love story is the focus of the movie, that was directed by Jane Campion, who also wrote the introduction to this collection.

You are not required to read exactly this one edition, as I am sure Keats's poetry is widely available in many other copies. Letters can also be found in many versions, like this one on Project Gutenberg. You can read more about Keats and his life here: Poetry Foundation: John Keats (1795–1821).

I hope you'll enjoy this month's selection and the movie. Quote to us your favourite poems, verses and lines. Share with us your thoughts and impressions! Tell us what do you think of the movie. If you managed to read the biography mentioned above, share with us the passages of Keats's life that impressed you the most.

The letters to Fanny Brawne are easy to find, and you got the link above to their e-book version on Gutenberg. The poetry though is probably scattered in various editions, so I'll list here which are included in the copy we have on our bookshelf:
Bright Star
The Eve of St Agnes
A Dream
La Belle Dame sans Merci
Ode to Psyche
Ode on Melancholy
Ode on Indolence
Lamia
The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!
What can I do to drive away
I cry your mercy, pity love - ay love!
To Fanny
The living hand, now warm and capable

Thanks for listing them. My library has many books with his poetry and letters, but it's not clear which books have the ones for Fanny.

I saw this movie years ago and I loved it. It's slow paced so it might bore some, but the cinematography was gorgeous. Jane Campion is brilliant. There are some scenes that I remember vividly, and I remember how they made me feel. Fanny and her brother (I think) raise butterflies in the house. Keats expected to die young, and he sometimes had a sense of urgency to live as much as he could in the time he had left.

I don't read poetry, but I'm learning to appreciate it in small doses. One of my challenges this year is to read a book of poetry. (I feel like there was a gap in my education.) This might be the perfect place to start because I have a context. I can visualize the couple and remember them together and apart.

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks for listing them. My library has many books with his poetry and letters, but it's not clear which books have the ones for Fanny. I saw this movie years ago and I loved it. It's slow paced..."

Thank you, Nancy! Me too, I read poetry rarely. This is nice opportunity for us to change that, isn't it? I didn't watch the movie. It sounds actually like a good idea here to watch the movie first. That might help to interpret better what we are reading. Or not? Interesting dilemma :)

I started reading this a few days ago. It is a bit surreal. The beautiful, lyrical sentences aside, these letters are still private, and I feel I am an intruder here, snooping around papers I have no right to read. The second thing (that contradicts the first) is that we do not have the other side of the correspondence, so it is a bit difficult to discern what is going on, what was she writing to him?

I loved this paragraph, from the very first letter:

Ask yourself my love whether you are not very cruel to have so entrammelled me, so destroyed my freedom. Will you confess this in the Letter you must write immediately, and do all you can to console me in it — make it rich as a draught of poppies to intoxicate me — write the softest words and kiss them that I may at least touch my lips where yours have been. For myself I know not how to express my devotion to so fair a form: I want a brighter word than bright, a fairer word than fair. I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days — three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.

Zeljka wrote: "I started reading this a few days ago. It is a bit surreal. The beautiful, lyrical sentences aside, these letters are still private, and I feel I am an intruder here, snooping around papers I have ..."

I had a very similar reaction. I felt rather creepy at times. And to me the one sided nature of the correspondence intensified that. It was as though I had come across these letters in the back of her old winter sock drawer, and I really shouldn't be sitting here on the floor reading them like this.

Daniel wrote: "I had a very similar reaction. I felt rather creepy at times. And to me the one sided nature of the correspondence intensified that...."

Exactly! I am still reading them, just a letter or two per day, as I am reading some other books at the same time.

I finished the letters fairly quickly, and I am ashamed to say that I abandoned the book when it was time to read poetry. Somehow I couldn't force myself to read it. But I did a few days ago, and read the collection, a poem a day. I liked it. Admittedly I didn't understand it all at once, had to check online sages upon each to see what I missed, which was quite an enlightening experience. For example, I loved The Eve of St Agnes, but I didn't understand the narrative, so it helped to read the explanations online. La Belle Dame sans Merci was amazing. Didn't need the explanation :) Lamia was so sad. Interesting how that Greek spirit (did some homework there too ;) was always depicted negatively (a child-eating monster or devouring seductress, depending on the mythology), while here Keats draws her sympathetically, at least that's how I felt about her. Those three impressed me the most. I am not good in interpreting poetry, so that's it from me :)