Analysis Of Keats's 'Endymion'

In 1818, Keats met Fanny Brawne, his next-door neighbor. Although Brawne was not the first woman in Keats’ life, she was most certainly the one foremost in his mind and the woman he wanted to marry. At first, when one looks at Keats’ first writings about Brawne, it would appear that he was entirely indifferent to her, even going so far as calling her a “minx” and saying that she was “ignorant” and “monstrous in her behavior,” (Roe 287). Yet the more Keats became acquainted with Brawne, the more he became interested in her, reversing what he had thought he felt about her previously. Sensing an attachment that could be harmful for both parties, he endeavored to distance himself from Brawne as he knew he would likely never be married because

Keats even says that beauty will never die saying, “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever… it will never pass into nothingness,” (Keats 1& 2). It seems that thinking about beautiful things helped to distract Keats from the darkness in his own life. Later in “Endymion,” he says, “Some shape of beauty moves away the pall/ From our dark spirits,” (Keats 12 & 13). It is certainly interesting to see how a large portion of Keats’ poetry seems to be autobiographical. Keats does not only write about the brevity of life, nor does he limit his subject matter simply to beauty; no, he also delves into topics that weighed heavily on his mind as he tried to search for what was really important in life. Was it love, fame, nature, ideals? An example of this type of pondering can be found at the end of book one in “Endymion.” Keats says “if earthly love has power to make/ Men’s being mortal, immortal… what merest whim/ Seems all this poor endeavor after fame,” (Keats 843-846). In his poem “On Death,” we see that Keats tries to reconcile himself to the fleetingness of joys in life and the inevitability of death. Certainly, Keats was well acquainted with such instances, as the tragedies of his life were frequent. It is easy to see why he should observe, “…life is but a dream/ And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by,” (Keats 1-2). In the poem “Sleep and Poetry,” while reflecting on the glorious qualities of life in which he found so much joy, Keats wonders, “can I ever bid these joys farewell? / Yes, I must pass them for a nobler life,” (122-23). Perhaps Keats was reflecting on his own death, and all of the wonderful things he was afraid he would never be able to experience again. A similar reflection is seen in his poem “When I have fears that I may cease to be,” where he seems to ponder how terrible it would be to never see his “fair creature” or to “never