More handpicked essays just for you.
Works and achievements of john keats
John Keats biography essay 300 words
Works and achievements of john keats
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
What goes through the minds of those who know they will perish is a phenomenon to the minds of those who have not experienced the dance with death. For some, the moment that they know they will die is mere seconds before their own tragic ending, and others know long before it will happen. It is in these stretches of time that will test our intellect of our mind, body, and world when the time comes to know if we have truly lived. One definition of “living” is stated, “full of life of vigor”, which John Keats exhibited to the extreme. (Merriam-Webster) John Keats, world-renowned poet, knew his end was coming and he aspired to transcribe his thoughts into words on a page; it is with these words in which we, those who lack the experience of knowing …show more content…
For example, in the first line is him contemplating his fear that he may never live to share all of his knowledge. It is a strange fact that we, as humans, believe that we will not die; we think this until there is that one point in life that we first see death. For many, a sense of mortality does not hit until a loved one’s light suddenly goes out and all that is left is a stream of hazy memories of that person. Keats knew his flame was flickering, so he wrote down his feelings and thoughts with vigor. When people of his time read what he put down on paper, they were not ready to accept the inevitable because they only saw a man belligerent about his life. Is has been said that, “the generally conservative reviewers of the day attacked his work, with malicious zeal, as mawkish and bad-mannered, as the work of an upstart." (The Poetry Foundation) After his death at such a young age, people began to see why he was contemplating such a dark concept. Basically, Keats gives the example that although the words of today can sometimes be ignored, there may be a time in the future when those words mean the world to …show more content…
It is an unfortunate truth that some see their lives a nothing and decided to take away their own lives with the slip of their own hands. It seems viable to say that if Keats were to know of how many lives are wasted by voluntary suicide, he would be angered to see human beings giving up when he himself fought through his life until his last breath. When Keats learned of his eminent demise, he did not shy away from his life, instead he embraced the hand that life dealt for him and tried to make the worst of a situation into the best of his work. The Academy of American Poets writes, “He felt that death was already upon him, referring to the present as his “posthumous existence.” (The Academy of American Poets) In other words, there is a message to all readers that there is much to live for rather than intentionally snuffing out your life for reasons that are
We do not think about death and how it is going to affect other people in our life. When we do find out that we are dying, then we do not mourn our life, but the life we want. We want to be close to God, but we do not know how to be close to him. We try everything to get close.
John Keats’s illness caused him to write about his unfulfillment as a writer. In an analysis of Keats’s works, Cody Brotter states that Keats’s poems are “conscious of itself as the poem[s] of a poet.” The poems are written in the context of Keats tragically short and painful life. In his ...
and fame within his self-predicted short lifespan. The majority of Keats’s odes, letters, and poems focus on the theme of death and Keats’s concern of dying before fulfilling his promise, however, “When I Have Fears” paints a more complex, personal, direct and introspective portrait of Keats’ anxiety (Brotter) . The reader should be aware that Keats suffered tragedy after tragedy as he watched his family disappear, some from battling tuberculosis and others for varied causes. On January, 31st of 1818, having already lost his mother and uncle to tuberculosis, caring for his dying brother Tom, and developing symptoms of the disease himself, John Keats writes a letter to his friend J.H Reynolds that includes his sonnet ,“When I Have Fears”. Keats mentions that the letter was meant to be a “serious poetical letter”, however, apologizes to Reynolds and carries on with incessant panic about his condition. Faced with realization of his own mortality, he also includes in his letter a fifty-line toast to golden sunshine, to friendship, and to getting poetically drunk on "the glory and grace of Apollo" (King). Evidently, Keats gets the chilling feeling that his that life, like his mother‘s, father‘s, uncle’s and brother’s, would end soon. In fact, he requested the words, “Here lies one whose name was writ in water” to be in scripted on his tombstone and an engraved broken lyre to symbolize his unfulfilled aspirations (Stillinger 211). With two fears, the fear of his life being cut short and the fear of never receiving love, Keats, boosted with motivation, devo...
middle of paper ... ... He forgets about the impossible, and being immortal and being alone, but rather embraces the temporary and exhilarating. Keats presents his feelings on how he no longer wishes for impossible goals, and how it is much more preferable to enjoy life as much as possible. It is of no use longing for things we cannot have, and so we must learn to live with the myriad of things we already have, of which one in particular appeals to Keats: the warmth of human companionship and the passion of love.
Death is a reality that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people fear the possibility of no longer living and others welcome the opportunity for a new life in the afterlife. Many poets have been inspired by death, be it by the approaching death of loved ones or a battle for immortality. Just as each poet is inspired differently, each poem casts a different hue of light on the topic of death giving readers a unique way to look at death.
Keats’ poetry explores many issues and themes, accompanied by language and technique that clearly demonstrates the romantic era. His poems ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ and ‘Bright Star’ examine themes such as mortality and idealism of love. Mortality were common themes that were presented in these poems as Keats’ has used his imagination in order to touch each of the five senses. He also explores the idea that the nightingale’s song allows Keats to travel in a world of beauty. Keats draws from mythology and christianity to further develop these ideas. Keats’ wrote ‘Ode To A Nightingale’ as an immortal bird’s song that enabled him to escape reality and live only to admire the beauty of nature around him. ‘Bright Star’ also discusses the immortal as Keats shows a sense of yearning to be like a star in it’s steadfast abilities. The visual representation reveal these ideas as each image reflects Keats’ obsession with nature and how through this mindset he was able
Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings
John Keats’ life was short, but through its brevity it forced Keats to ponder certain questions and ideas he may not have had (had he lived a full life). Keats faced imminent death since he knew he had tuberculosis. His self-diagnosis was not wrong, and he died just a year or two after learning about his condition. Though Keats devoted the remaining short time in his life to writing poetry, he suffered hardships with his ability to pursue his passion due to his nearing death. He wanted more time to write more, to experience more, and to live more. But his inability to have these things called him to question why he was in such a predicament that his life be shortened, that he must suffer such hardships and endure the pain
Keats was born into a working-class family in London, England in 1795. His narrative poem Endymion (1818) received poor reviews, but he was totally committed to his work. Keats' career in medicine never truly took off. In 1819, Keats wrote this poem “Bright Star”. This poem expresses poet’s desire to be like a star. He begins with the use of apostrophe, by addressing the star. “Bright star! Would I be steadfast as thou art”? this means that his desire is to be the impossible, unchanging like a star. Although he understands that a star is “sleepless”, he acknowledges this as a positive trait being “patient”. He also recognizes that the star is alone, giving the impression of the bittersweet existence of the star. Moreover, the author is also talking about his love, being reborn or purified. He related his poem that his love is not changeable; he does not want to leave her not even sleep. He wants to spend all eternity with his head lying on his girlfriend's breast. And if he can't spend all eternity like that, he'd rather die. He ends the poem by saying that he would like to live as a star “or else swoon to death”. It is apparent that Keats understands the sacrifices of living as a star, but acknowledges its benefits as
Keats fears that he will not be able to accomplish all that he wants to do but he also recognizes how big and grand the world has become and does not want to leave it just yet. Through this recognition he realizes that his goals are meaningless compared to the grand scheme of life. Keats is grateful for the love and passion that he has already experienced and his regret is that he will no longer be able to experience it. Longfellow is regretful of his inaction in his past that is haunted by sorrows and death and thinks that he does not have a future. His overall tone of death is fearful and grim while Keats’s is more appreciative. Similarities in the poems lie in their beginnings, both of which have resentfulness towards the short-lived nature of life. Keats’s fear of ceasing to be parallels Longfellow saying, “half of [his] life is gone”. Keats uses the repetition of the word “before” as an anaphora to emphasize his concern of passing away before he can obtain his literary goals or utilize his opportunity to “ripen the full grain” (College Board). Similarly, Longfellow too expresses his failure to “fulfill the aspiration of [his] youth, to build, Some tower of song with lofty parapet.” The overall tones and emotions of each poem are similar but each underscores different situations and
Poems reveal many inside thoughts of the speaker that can be interpreted by the reader. Death is expressed quite often in poetic work because of the simplicity to be able to express feelings. Suicide, for an example, is a form of death that may be used in poetry and is usually portrayed in a negative fashion. Surprisingly, some poems that involve death have a positive outcome. There are views found in poetry relating to suicide as a form of death that are both positive and negative. Suicide as a negative perspective is a common form of death displayed in poetry. A very good example of death brought upon by suicide is “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson. In the passage, “And he was rich-yes, richer than a king,” Robinson describes the wealth and riches in which he lived. Richard seemed to be a person without problems. Later at the end of the poem in line fifteen the speaker says, “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” In one’s opinion, it may appear that money, wealth, and power is not everything. Perhaps Richard Cory was miserable because of the way people gazed at him which describes his suicide. Theoretically, the reader has to try to interpret the poem because of the lack of evidence explaining the reason of Cory’s suicide. This poem is an example of death in a negative perspective. Another poem that explains suicide as a form of death, but in a somewhat positive fashion, is “Résumé” by Dorothy Parker.
...epresents the ideal world, he saw life in the world. Now that he came in contact with Immortality, he cannot see any life in the world around him. He is lifeless ("palely loitering"), the forest is lifeless ("the sedge is withered"), and there is no music in the woods ("and no birds sing"). (Keats lines 46-48)
Arguably one of John Keats’ most famous poems, “Ode to a nightingale” in and of itself is an allegory on the frail, conflicting aspects of life while also standing as a commentary on the want to escape life’s problems and the unavoidability of death. Keats’ poem utilizes a heavy amount of symbolism, simile and allusion to idealize nature as a perfect, almost mystical, world that holds no problems while using imagery taken from nature, combined with alliteration and assonance, to idealize the dream of escape from the problems life often presents; more specifically, aging and our inevitable deaths by allowing the reader to feel as if they are experiencing the speaker’s experience listening to the nightingale.
Beginning with Keats concernment about time, he feels anxious that he may not meet his love before his time runs out. First, lines 1 and 2 immediately reflect and exhibit his dismay because of what fear has
Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.