On February 23, 1821, British poet John Keats died in Rome, Italy. Keats had a tragically short life; yet even though he died so young the beauty that shines through his work is remarkable by any standards. He was born on the October 31, 1795, in Moorgate, London, England. His father was the principal servant at the Swan and Hoop stables, who married the daughter of his master. His mother appears to have been a tall, bright young woman fond of the pleasures of this life. There were four children, John being the oldest, born prematurely at seven months. By the age of twelve, John Keats had lost both of his parents. There was some money left for the four children and John was sent to a school at Enfield. There he showed a keen interest in Greek mythology, and this can be seen in some of his later work.
At the age of fourteen his guardian apprenticed him to a
surgeon, a Mr. Thomas Hammond, in Edmonton, near Enfield. He didn't much care
for this, for it did not interest him as poetry did. Still, he had little
choice in the matter. He came to London to enter St. Thomas' Hospital as a
student, and had the good fortune to meet Leigh Hunt. There was a small coterie
of young writers, and with their encouragement, he began to concentrate on his
literary aspirations. These began to engross him and he soon gave up his
medical work. At the age of twenty-two he issued his first volume of poetry. It
appears to have pleased none but his friends. Written within a period of but a
few years, the earlier work naturally showed some immaturity, and indeed
attracted somewhat harsh criticism from those who were his inferiors; but his
work then developed into exquisite jewels of the English language that
confounded his critics.
His longest work, Endymion,
was prefaced by an apology for what he perceived were its inadequacies. It was
published in 1818, when he was at Teignmouth, Devon. He had then only a few
years to live. The simple opening lines have passed into the English language
as a precious sequence of words, often quoted:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; .....".
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; .....".
The lovely contradictory phrase "Heard melodies
are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter," appears in his Ode to a Grecian Urn. "Season of
mists and mellow fruitfulness" opens his Ode to Autumn, written while on a brief visit to Winchester. These
and many others are part of the happy legacy of this young man. Few poets could
have produced so many oft quoted phrases. Everywhere, those who speak English
have a rich treasury of words and expressions that can be recalled with great
pleasure. In his early years his outlook with regard to women was disdainful,
almost hostile; but then he became attracted to a Miss Cox, a cousin of his
friend J.H. Reynolds. This did not lead to anything. Nevertheless, his outlook
was still one of some scorn with regard to love of women. He wrote that he
found such to be "a
cloying treacle to the wings of independence".
However, as with most young men, this attitude was to
change completely. He fell deeply in love with a lady called Fanny Brawne,
(later to marry and become Mrs. Lindon) and some thirty-seven letters he wrote
her have survived. He was consumed with love for her, and at the same time
beginning to suffer the strain of the consumption that was to kill him. It has
been suggested that his passion for Fanny aggravated his illness, the double
strain of his romantic desires and his disease leading to an earlier death than
might otherwise have occurred. However that might be, Keats was aware of his
condition, and the threat to his life. Consumption was not an uncommon illness
in those days, and when it developed there was little hope. It was a scourge
among all classes of society, and the doctors were impotent. For most sufferers
a diagnosis of tuberculosis was a notice of death.
It is reported that in February 1820, noting the blood he
had coughed up, after a cold trip on the coach, he called for a candle that he
might distinguish the color. Examining the stain, he said that it was arterial
blood, and stated calmly that it was his death warrant. He knew, as did people
generally, that consumption was a killer, and there was no cure. He set out on a voyage to the warmer climate of Rome, Italy,
and suffered a very rough passage in the Bay of Biscay. His friend Severn
tended him devotedly during his last days, travelling with him, nursing him,
and watching over him with great affection till death claimed him on February 23,
1821. Some ten days earlier the poet had asked that on his grave should be
placed the words "Here lies one whose name was writ in water".
He was buried in the Protestant Cemetery at Rome. Only twenty-six years old
when he died, yet Keats left us odes, sonnets, stanzas, and longer works that
have become immortal. English literature is a rich field for warm enjoyment,
and John Keats has an honored place in it.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain's Literary Legends. The book can be ordered from Amazon through the following links:
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