John Keats: Life and works
John Keats (1795-1821) was one of the most dominant romantic poets of English literature, one of the main figures
of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Byron and Shelley. His
poetry is full of seriousness, love, beauty and imagination, the essence of
romantic poetry. Although his poems were criticized during his life time , his reputation grew
after his death. He had become one of the most important and beloved romantic
poet by the end of 19th century.
He started writing when he was 19. In 1814, he wrote his first poem, “An Imitation of Spenser”. In 1816 he
published Poems, the first volume of Keats's verse, which included "I
stood tiptoe" and "Sleep and Poetry," both strongly influenced
by Hunt. In spite of the bad reviews of Poems, Hunt published the
essay "Three Young Poets"
(Shelley, Keats, and Reynolds) and the sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer," foreseeing great
things to come.
Keats finished his epic
poem comprising four books, Endymion: A Poetic Romance--"A
thing of beauty is a joy for ever"--in 1818, the same year Keats began
his walking tour of Scotland, Ireland and the Lake District. Lamia,
Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems(1820) includes some of his
best-known and oft-quoted works: "Hyperion",
"To Autumn", and "Ode To A Nightingale".
"Nightingale" evokes all the pain and suffering that Keats experienced
during his short life-time. Keats died of tuberculosis on 23 February 1821 in
Rome.
Romantic elements in Keats’ poetry
Keats is the one of the
most dominant romantic poets in English literature. Romantic poetry aims at the
complete expression of the individual as compared to classical poetry, which
aims at the expression of social experience. Other romantic poets have some
political or social comment in their poetry but the poetry of Keats’ poetry is
for its own sake. Keats’ poetry is the purest poetry in the sense that it is
neither political nor expressing any social significance. His poetry is full of sinuousness, imagination,
love and beauty which are essence of romanticism. His poetry attracts the
reader for its various themes. He is inspired by the past and rarely writes
about the present. He is an escapist like other romantics. The ancient Greeks
and the glory of the middle ages attracts Keats’ imagination immensely. The
theme of Endymion, Lamia and Hyperion is classical but style is romantic. La Bella Dame Sans Merci, Isabella and The Eve of St. Agnes are medieval in origin. Keats’ poetry is
highly romantic in the sense that it talks about beauty, love, adventure,
chivalry and pathos. He loves nature and his touch transforms everything into
beauty. For him Beauty is everything. It is the major hallmark of his poetry.
In Ode to Grecian Urn he says, ‘ Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.
Keats’ poetic style is
romantic both in terms of diction and meters. Keats has employed various kinds
of meters and stanza-forms in his poetry. He is one of the great sonneteers in
the English language and his Odes, with their musical flow in long stanzas,
stand as unique specimens of romantic poetry. He never escaped from the
realities of life in pursuit of the beautiful visions of his imagination; in
fact, the visions of his imagination are based on reality. The brief span
of Keats’ life fell within, what is known as the age of Romantic Revival in
English Literature, and Keats fully imbibed the spirit of his age. His poetry
is a fine example of highly romantic poetry; in fact, it touched almost all the
aspects of romantic poetry—love for beauty, love for nature, love for the past,
supernaturalism, glow for emotions, and last but not the least in importance,
the revealing power of imagination.