According to legend, a young woman who observes certain rites on 20 January, the Eve of St Agnes, will see in her dreams the man she is going to marry. When John Keats found himself in Chichester on that day in 1819, he was inspired to write his own account.In this episode, Seamus and Mark discuss Keats’s talent for sublime banality, the competing readings of the lover, Porphyro, and the poem's repurposing of Spenserian allegory for a contemporary love story.Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up:Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://lrb.me/applesignupnp⁠Other podcast apps: ⁠https://lrb.me/scsignupnpRead more on Keats in the LRB:John Bayley: https://lrb.me/npep801Barbara Everett: https://lrb.me/npep802Helen Vendler: https://lrb.me/npep803Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices