Skip to main content

John Keats by Chen Fan (ES02169)



John Keats



John Keats was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.


He died at the age of 25 in the year 1821. During his lifetime, he published only fifty-four poems, and his poems were not generally well received. However, His reputation grew after his death.
Most of Keats’s poetry describes the beauty of the natural world, he once said “beauty is truth, truth is beauty”. For example, his famous poems Ode to a Nightingale and To Autumn.

Here I want to share his last poetical work, the “bright star”. This sonnet is said to write for his beloved Fanny Brawne.

          Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art---
          Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night 
          And watching, with eternal lids apart.
          Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite.    
          The moving waters at their priestlike task
          Of pure ablution round earth's human shores.
           Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
          Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
          No-yet still steadfast, still unchangeable.
          Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
          To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
          Awake for ever in a sweet unrest.
          Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
          And so live ever---or else swoon to death

Actually, at first, Keats felt uncomfortable with women and contemptuous of them, he would rather be solitary than get marry. But then he met Fanny Brawne, things changed. As he couldn't afford to have a wife, they kept the engagement a secret from all. His change of the opinion on women reflects that he was not a poet only living in the imagination or showing his loyalty to the highest good and beauty, but a normal person who would fall in love with a female. Therefore, this poem is often considered as one of the romantic poem in the world, and people usually use it to express their love. Besides, here coming a movie, which share the same name Bright Star, it tell us about their love story. I haven't seen it yet, maybe I will.






Anyway, the poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery. This is typical of romantic poets, as they aimed to accentuate extreme emotion through the emphasis of natural imagery. Till Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature.



Here lies one whose name written in water.

by :  Chen Fan (ES02169)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Utopia by Zhou Qing (ES02168)

A  brief analysis about " Utopia" As the 14th century of Italy, the Renaissance began in England with the rediscovery of Greek and Roman classical culture. The university restored the ancient Greek teaching and appeared the large-scale translation activities.Ancient Greek, Roman, modern Italian, French and other academic and literary classics were translated into early modern English by scholars and writers. Philosopher, educator, historian, statesman,religious people have written and expressed humanism in different ways, including Thomas more’s  " Utopia " were written in Latin.    In the book, More used the mouth of an overseas tourist,Raphael Hythloday to talk about his thinking about reality and his vision for the future. In his book, More firstly used "sheep to eat man" to expose the evil of "land enclosure movement"and put forward public ownership, discussed the people oriented, harmonious coexistence, freedom of marriage, respec...
Post a Comment
Read more

English Romantic Literature by Kashini Nair (193298)

What is English Romantic Literature? Romantic is characterised by the expression of love. Romantic also means a word which describes the feeling you have for someone you love. It could be anything in this world no boundaries for love i would say. But what is a romantic period ? Is it a time you were being only romantic? Thats what i thought at first when i was introduced to the headline ROMANTIC LITERATURE. Romantic era is an artistic, literary, musical, cultural and intellectual movement originating in Europe, toward the end of the 18th century. In most areas it was at its peak approximately 1800–1850. Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. English Romantic Literature emphasis on the individual and democracy. Besides it also contemplates nature. Its a celebration of nature and its beauty.As what i understood, contemplate natures means t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Victorian Society by Muhammad Amzar (182839)

Victorian Society Introduction The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from 20th June 1837 until her death on 22nd January 1901.It was a long period of peace, prosperity and refined sensibility. Major Events of the Victorian Era Some of the major events that took place during the Victorian era and influenced the literature of that time include: 1. A huge growth in population. 2. The Victorian era slightly overlaps with British Industrial Revolution. It witnessed big changes to the way people lived, worked and travelled. 3. In addition to the major developments in technology, there were emerging scientific beliefs like Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. 4. And finally, there were poor conditions for working class. The Industrial Revolution led to the distance between the halves and halvenots. Hence, the writers felt obligated to speak out against the societal injustice. Defining Victorian Literature in any satisfactory and...
1 comment
Read more