In the poem "Bright Star" by John Keats we see a want for the speaker to be steadfast just as the star, which by using context clues we can she that he is talking about the North Star. Although he wants to be steadfast like the star he uses a shift to where he doesn't want to be like it because it can cause loneliness
Looking at the poem you notice that the whole thing is in the narrating voice, which is very likely of Keats writing. first introducing the idea of eternity and consistency in comparison to a star. He wishes to be as "steadfast as thou art," speaking directly to the star. He points out all of the good qualities of the in a way of admiration. The eternity being asked for is not the infinite time a star experiences, but a forever of love and passion on Earth.
About half way through the reading there is a tone shift. Coming from admiring the star, he then dismisses all other qualities of the star, not alone, looking from above onto the world below as sleepless creature, something that no human could ever be. In the poem he asks for the lifetime of a star, yet the he cannot relate to what the star is, in itself. He is asking for something entirely inhuman and impossible. Keats struggles to cope with the rush of time on Earth as human, when stars existing above Earth live forever. In the final line, he says he will go willingly if he can die in love if he cannot exist forever.
After reading the following quote it's possible to understand the actual meaning of the poem as a whole "No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable-- Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast," says lines 9-10. What is truly being asked is for the constant nature the star possesses, the eternity it gets to live. Contrasting with the star is the impermanence of life, the "ripening breast" implying change and movement of humans not seen in the lines preceding it in reference to the star.
