Extra Credit: British Literature

A Party Of Lovers             By John Keats

 Pensive they sit, and roll their languid eyes,

Nibble their toast, and cool their tea with sighs,

Or else forget the purpose of the night,

Forget their tea -- forget their appetite.

See with cross'd arms they sit -- ah! happy crew,

The fire is going out and no one rings

For coals, and therefore no coals Betty brings.

A fly is in the milk-pot -- must he die

By a humane society?

No, no; there Mr. Werter takes his spoon,

Inserts it, dips the handle, and lo! soon

The little straggler, sav'd from perils dark,

Across the teaboard draws a long wet mark.

Arise! take snuffers by the handle,

There's a large cauliflower in each candle.

A winding-sheet, ah me! I must away

To No. 7, just beyond the circus gay.

'Alas, my friend! your coat sits very well;

Where may your tailor live?' 'I may not tell.

O pardon me -- I'm absent now and then.

Where might my tailor live? I say again

I cannot tell, let me no more be teaz'd --

He lives in Wapping, might live where he pleas'd.'

 

This poem, A Party of Lovers, by John Keats seems to be an iambic pentameter.  The rhyme scheme seems to be AABB CDDA.  The plot of the story seems to be two people sitting by the fire having some tea.  They seem to be so bored that the most excitement is a fly in the milk.  The two have been sitting there for so long that the fire is going out and the candles are burning down.  The two try to think of something to talk about and the closest thing is how one’s coat looks and so who their tailor may be. 

Within the first part it sets the tone of the night.  Their languid eyes suggest that they have been there for a long while.  Within British culture it is normal to have tea and a snack of some type, but only at certain parts of the day.  So these two are performing the proper social expectations to have tea and toast before bedtime along with what is supposed to be a fruitful conversation.  It seems that one of the individuals feel it is necessary to wait for an engaging conversation before they are allowed to go to bed when it states, “or else forget the purpose of the night.” My guess is that it is a married British couple where the wife refuses to go to bed until they have their full length conversation.  Both of them are trying to think of something to talk about, but nothing is coming to them as they sit with their arms crossed at the table.  Expectedly, it would be the man’s body language to be “closed off” in the conversation when he folds his arms across his chest. 

I think that Keats is being sarcastic when he writes, “Ah! Happy crew,” as they seem to not enjoy or appreciate either’s company.  If the couple were having a riveting conversation between one another and desired to continue throughout the rest of the night they would not allow the fire to go out.  The fire that Keats mentions could also be the fire between the man and woman.  While being together for so long and doing the same habitual thing every day the spark between them has evidently gone out.  If the couple did not want the fire between them or the actual fire in the fireplace to go out then they would figure out a way to keep it going.  The fire between them could be relit with some interesting activities that they both enjoy doing.  Otherwise, if the two wanted to keep the actual fire lit so they could continue their conversation on to the morning they would have “Betty” bring more coals to stoke the fire. 

The fire, whether figurative or actual, is going out because there is not much of a party between them.  The most excitement of the night is when a fly lands in the milk-pot.  The tension within the room must be so thick that even a simple fly can feel it and would rather suffer the long, slow death of drowning in the milk-pot rather than flying within the suffocating air of the “humane society”.  Finally after spending so many hours looking for something to talk about, with no prevail, it seems that the two will be calling it a night.  Throughout the evening all the candles have been melted down to a cauliflower sized growth and as they snuff the flames out the person with Mr. Werter takes an interest in his coat.  What may seem to be an innocent conversation may turn out to be more than what Mr. Werter had planned. 

Overall, the poem seems to describe the daily life of two people in love.  Even though the evening may seem trivial to most, it is a great example of what true life is all about and it is enjoying the little things while always looking for something new in a relationship.