Keats

John Keats

John Keats is another “young poet” to greatly shape the world of poetry. Keats wasn’t on the scene very long, but his works are known by many. He is most known for his odes, Ode to a Grecian Urn is one, and many of his pieces are quoted and taught in many literature classes. Of the pieces that were in our textbook, I especially liked his Sonnet: When I have Fears.

The theme is of this piece is the resolution of an intense fear of time. Keats expresses his fear of dying young in the first thought. He fears that he will not fulfill himself as a writer:

“When I have fears that I may cease to be/Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain” (line 1-2)

and that he will never experience romance or will lose those he loves dearly.

“That I shall never look upon thee more,/Never have relish in the fairy power/Of unreflecting love” (lines 10-12)

Keats resolves his fears by asserting the unimportance of love and fame in the concluding two and a half lines of this sonnet. This assertation allows him to create a distance that allows him get a grasp on the fear. Unfortunately, we are left with only what he was able to write in his short life time. I can only imagine what other great works he would have produced as his writings would have matured over time.