Essay On John Keats

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John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who lived from 1795 to 1821. Despite his short life the brevity and intensity of his career are unrivaled in English poetry (Holt, 1996, pg 556). Even today people continue to estimate his potential if he had reached artistic maturity, since he achieved so greatly at a young age. The purpose of this paper is to explore the themes, meaning, and inspirations behind one of his most famous poems “The Eve of St. Agnes”.
This paper will have one section that focuses on how the current events going on in his life, and his strengths as a writer shaped his poetry. It will explore his affinity for the supernatural, romance, and nature (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/k/keats-poems/summary-and-analysis/the-eve-of-st-agnes, 2013). These are demonstrated in the themes and writing of many of his poems specifically “The Eve of St. Agnes”.
John Keats was born in London, England on October 31, 1795 to Thomas and Frances Marie Jennings Keats. He was the oldest of four children, which he felt gave him a special responsibility to take care of them (Holt, 1996, pg 556). His father died when he was eight years old, and his mother died when he was fourteen of tuberculosis, which was what he himself, would eventually succumb to. When his brother George fell into financial trouble after moving to America in 1818 he felt an obligation to earn money to send to him in order to help him thought his difficult time. As well during this time he was taking care of his brother Tom who was sick with tuberculosis as well which is possibly when he himself contracted it.

Poetry and Themes
“The Eve of St. Agnes”
“The Eve of St. Agnes” was Keats first significantly successful poem. According to Holt (1996)...

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...ne. The poem is meant to paint a picture by drawing the reader into the scene. This is specifically where Keats’ power as a poet came from, and this is why he is virtually unrivaled in his ability to describe a scene (Holt, 1996, pg 557). He could have gained this detail-oriented nature through his training as an apothecary and surgeon during his educational years. Although the poem appeals to all five senses many of the descriptions are mainly visual for example, "he follow'd through a lowly arched way, / Brushing the cobwebs with his lofty plume” (line …). This is also why he spends two stanzas describing the stained glass window in Madeline’s bedroom, which was put there specifically to add to descriptions of her beauty. Although Keats employed the use of description usually for its own sake all of the description still contributes this tribute to romantic love.

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