When the society of 18th century had accepted modernization, reason, rational thought and evolved in the “Age of Enlightenment”, the poets, as a form of rebellion, praised the simplicity of pastoral life and brought the Romanticism to life. These romantic poets include: William Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Shelly, and many more. Among them we find “the pure poet” John Keats.
Keats is called the pure poet because he did poetry for the sake of poetry. He didn’t dwell on social and political aspects of the time but rather focused on escapism from the harsh reality. His poetry provides comfort to the sensitive minds.
His life
The life of the young poet was plagued by a series of misfortune. By the age of 15, he had lost his father in a ridding accident, mother in tuberculosis and two younger brothers. In 1818, his surviving brother moved to America in pursuit of fortune.
Keats also faced problems in his career. He had taken debt in order to study for a medical profession. However, mid-way he found his calling in the artistic path and decided to become a poet instead. This was not easy as he earned negative reviews from the critics. John Wilson Croker said his poetry was “diffuse,” “tiresome,” and “absurd”.
Aside from all these, Keats also had a daunting fear looming on him. He was afraid that he might die at an early age, unable to make a name for himself in the literary world. This was not simply a dread of dying, but an artist’s dread of dying without achieving his creative destiny.
“When I have fears that I may cease to be,
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain” :- Keats
Being a suffering poet and struggling to ends meet, it’s no surprise that Keats was unlucky in love as well. He is said to have fallen in love with his neighbor Fanny Braun, but they could not marry due to his financial situation.
However, this misery of Keats life helped him in creating his literary legacy that survives him today.
His work
Keats was first aquatinted with artistic inspiration when he read Edmund Spencer’s “Faerie Queene.” He was enthralled by the writing and even produced a work inspired from it: Imitation of Spencer (1813). He was captivated by poetry and said:
“I find i cannot exist without poetry - without eternal poetry - half the day will not do - the whole of it.” :- Keats
He then published his poetry collections, “Poems” in 1817. In 1818 he published Endymion, which was retelling of Greek legend. In here Keats wrote his famous lines on beauty:
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing”. :- Keats
Keats experimented and imitated with his poetry. He wrote Isabella (1818) which is inspired from Boccaccio and reminds readers of chaucerian style. He wrote Hyperion (1818 - 1819)which was Miltonic in style and reminded of paradise lost. In 1819, inspired from Dryden’s “Fables” he wrote Lamia (1819).
It is largely accepted that the greatest of Keats works are produced between 1817 - 1820.
Some of his widely praised poems are:
- Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art
- To Autumn
- Ode to a Nightingale
- Ode on Melancholy
- La Belle Dame Sans Merci
- Sleep and poetry
His Death
Perhaps the most tragic blow on English literature was when Keats was captured by tuberculosis and died at the age of 26. It was indeed a great loss, for had he lived 10 more years, he would’ve gifted the world with many priceless masterpieces.
When he died, due to his young age and negative remarks from critics, he was convinced that he had failed to prove himself as a poet. He requested his gravestone to say: “Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water,” because he believed that his name and work would be washed away.
His speculations, however, were incorrect as even after 200 years, he is still remembered fondly by his readers.
Legacy
Just outside the centre of Rome, in a leafy cemetery’s quite corner, hidden from the bustle of the city, lies the young English poet, John Keats. His grave itself became a destination for literary pilgrims. One of the most famous of these was Oscar Wilde, who on a visit in 1877 prostrated himself upon Keats’s grave and proclaimed it “the holiest place in Rome.”
“Thy name was writ in water—it shall stand, and tears like mine will keep thy memory green.” :- Oscar Wilde
