Today marks the 218th anniversary of the birth of poet John Keats. He was
born on October 31, 1795 in
London, England and was was one of the main figures of the second generation of
Romantic poets. Although his poems were not generally well received by critics
during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the
19th century he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He was
the first child of Thomas and Frances Keats. They were affectionate and loving
toward their children. John especially shared a close relationship with his
mother. His father died in an accident in 1804. His mother, after a second
marriage and divorce, died from a lung disease in 1810. In 1811 Keats became an
apprentice to a druggist in Edmonton, England. There Keats first tried his hand
at writing and produced four short poems entitled "Imitation of
Spenser." On October 2, 1815, Keats started medical studies at Guy's
Hospital, but poetry gained an increasing hold on his imagination. His first
volume of poems was published in March 1817. His next work, Endymion: A Poetic Romance, was
published in May 1818. In September
1820, although his health had been declining for some time, Keats traveled to Italy
on an invitation from his friend and fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. He died
in Rome on February 23, 1821, from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five and
was buried at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. When Keats died he had been
writing poetry seriously for only about six years, and publishing for only
four. In his lifetime, sales of Keats's three volumes of poetry probably
amounted to only 200 copies.
Michael Thomas
Barry is the author of Literary Legends
of the British Isles. The book can be purchased from Amazon through the
following links:
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