John Keats

I found John Keats very interesting. I was amazed by his bibliographic information. I can not believe that he was able to create so many great works in such a short amount of time. It is interesting to think about how much he could have accomplished if he had lived longer. Keats' past information got me thinking about how much I can accomplish in my life, and how I sometimes look back to question if I could have accomplished more, and I often look forward wondering what I will continue to accomplish. As I thought about this, I really related it to Keats' sonnet "When I have Fears". I found this sonnet to be addressing exactly my thoughts.

I think it is natural for people to have fears about the future because there is no telling what could happen, and I think it is also easily related to because the majority of people do look forward and question what could be accomplished. This sonnet could possibly be a reflection of Keats' health, but I think that it may also reflect the recent death of his brother. His brother Tom had just passed. His passing may have caused Keats' to reflect on his life and realize that life does not last forever. This realization could have instilled some fear into Keats about how unsure his own future was.

Keats writes, "When I have fears that I may cease to be/ Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain, / Before high piled books in charact'ry/ Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain;"(lines 1-4). In these lines, there is a discussion about death. He is scared that he may die before he has reached his full potential which the reader can see when he says, "before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain"(2). The majority of people set goals in life and strive to accomplish these goals throughout their lifetime. Many people fear failing, and it is scary to think that your life could end before you reach your goals or before you have reached your potential. In the last line, I think Keats realizes that reaching your potential("the full-ripened grain") is very important and should be held on to as if it were a treasure.

Keats is also afraid that he will never get to experience all living has to offer. He does not want to miss out on exploring the world and seeing what chance could bring him. He does not want to miss out on love and all he could gain through that. He shows this when he writes, "When I behold upon the night's starred face, / Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, / And I think that I may never lie to trace/ Their shadows with the magic hand of chance; / And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, /That I shall never look upon thee more, / Never have relish in the fairy power/ Of unreflecting love"(5-12). So many times we hear of young people dying either from an illness or unexpectedly in some type of accident, and it always makes me think about all the things that the person is missing out on. They never got to experience marriage, having children, having a career and so much more. Like Keats the idea of missing all of these things makes me sad and I do fear it a little. I think that is why it is so important to live life in the present...try everything once and don't procrastinate because you never know what the future holds.

In the last two lines Keats writes, "Of the wide world I stand alone and think,/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink."(13-14). I think that these two lines are stating just what I was discussing. I think that Keats has realized that worrying about all of these things takes the value from them. Time spent worrying is time wasted...it could have spent actually living and experiencing these things. Death is inevitable, so experience everything you can and live life to the fullest.