The Poetry of John Keats

by John Keats

John Keats (1795-1821) lived a short but productive life. His entire poetic career spanned little more than a decade, but in it he produced an exceptional array of poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

224 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2018

About the author

Rich melodic works in classical imagery of English poet John Keats include " The Eve of Saint Agnes ," " Ode on a Grecian Urn ," and " To Autumn ," all in 1819.

Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley include "Adonais," an elegy of 1821 to John Keats.

Work of the principal of the Romantic movement of England received constant critical attacks from the periodicals of the day during his short life. He nevertheless posthumously immensely influenced poets, such as Alfred Tennyson. Elaborate word choice and sensual imagery characterize poetry, including a series of odes, masterpieces of Keats among the most popular poems in English literature. Most celebrated letters of Keats expound on his aesthetic theory of "negative capability."

Wikipedia page of the author

Reviews

[Jason Koivu]

I listened to this via audiobook, so I could hear it spoken. I know that I need more "poetry" in my prose, so I wanted to feel the meter, cadence, assonance, alliteration, etc without concentrating too much on what was being said. Yes, I know that may seem callous or utilitarian of me, but here's the thing. Poetry was my thing, now it's not my thing. So, I would stop reading this review right now, if I were you, because there's little to no value in my opinion on the matter. If you do continue, take it with a bucket of salt.

The Romantics, eh. It's hard for me to take much of this stuff seriously. I went through a Blake phase and I suppose Poe fits this category as well. Stuff like Keats never appealed to me even then. Too much of it sounds like fluff. Listening to this (btw, the audio engineer should have been fired for the wild discrepancies in volume between speaker too speaker and poem to poem), on the occasions when I couldn't help but notice the words, my mind wasn't terribly altered. There's some silly stuff here. HOWEVER, I did enjoy a little more of it this time than ever before. So there's a ringing endorsement for you!

Words aside, this was just what I was looking for! Keats' manipulation of the music of language is impressive. It goes far beyond sing-song rhyme. He wrote in a way that forced you to keep reading. It's like getting into a canoe in the middle of a swift river. Paddling is unnecessary. The current will sweep you away!

[Cory K]

On he flared

[Rana (This City That Book)]

I remember covering Keats in high school and I remember liking his works, but now, as an adult, I didn’t really enjoy reading most of it. I think it must have been the class discussions and our teacher’s interpretations that I enjoyed and not the poetry itself, though I did understand more of it now.

John Keats, whose entire body of work was written over the course of 6 years only, was inspired by two of my favorite poets, Shakespeare and Wordsworth, but also sympathized with the libertarian beliefs of his mentor John Clarke and wrote about political struggles advocating for freedom of speech, political autonomy and other similar rights.

My favorite piece from all of his works is The Eve of St. Agnes, a narrative poem that is on the longer side and that tells the story of Saint Agnes. There are clear influences of Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet and the whole poem reads like a dramatic play confusing dreams and reality.

I’ll share below just a few of my favorite lines from different poems – lines that are taken out of context of course, but lines I found beautiful, soothing to the ear or just full of meaning…

To see the laurel wreath, on high suspended,
That is to crown our name when life is ended.
Sometimes it gives a glory to the voice,
And from the heart up-springs, rejoice, rejoice!
- From Sleep and Poetry, John Keats

These lines; and howsoever they be done,
I leave them as a father leaves his son.
- From Sleep and Poetry, John Keats

There’s a blush for won’t, and a blush for shan’t,
And a blush for having done it;
There’s a blush for thought, and a blush for nought,
And a blush for just begun it.
- From O Blush Not So! O Blush Not So!, John Keats

‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
- From Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats

O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers, wrung
By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,
And pardon that thy secrets should be sung
Even into thine own soft-conched ear:
- From Ode to Psyche, John Keats

[Lara]

I definitely preferred his later poems.

My fav were: The Human Seasons; Isabella, or the Pot of Basil; Ode to a Nightingale; Ode on Melancholy; Ode on Indolence; To Autumn; To Sleep.

Literally too many fav quotes to write out but maybe my fav of all was:
‘ Her loveliness invisible, yet free
To wander as she loves, in liberty ‘ - Lamia

[Brian]

I didn’t have high expectations for this because I’ve never been much impressed by the more famous of Keats’s poems, which are mostly shorter. I absolutely loved all the longer poems, though! Who am I? When did this happen? Keats was a great storyteller.

[Irma-The Book&Coffee Addict]

Im not going to lie, sometimes I felt like crying as I read his poems. 😭

[Dash]

I love the poetry of Keats so much!

[Settare]

Keats, you menace, you dog, how dare you have died only at twenty-five?

[Sarah F]

Romantic poetry is my absolute favorite. Beautiful!

[Shelby]

I’ll admit, I didn’t understand half of what this bitch was saying. 😆 This was a vibe though.

[Renee M. P. T. Kray]

Such an incredible poet.

[Kerri Beckman]

I simply don't get tired of John Keats's poetry. I've read many of his poems and I was thrilled when I picked this little book up (and for a bargain, too!). You can never go wrong with Keats.

[Julie Brochmann]

føler keats var en seksuelt frustreret jomfru, der var "born in the wrong generation 🤘😔" (ikke 90'erne, men antikkens grækenland)

[Hanna Konnebäck]

Bok 15 på min fysiska TBR. 3,75 stars. "What is more gentle than a wind in summer?". Jag valde helt rätt årstid för att läsa Keats. Både den romantiska stilen och det svepande naturbeskrivningarna klädde sig fint i sommardräkt. Jag är som sagt ingen diktperson men tyckte mycket om flera av Keats dikter framför allt dem som var längre. Jag läste också på lite om Keats vilket jag tyckte tillförde mycket i min läsning av dikterna speciellt de han skrivna innan sin död. Det dikter jag tyckte bäst om var när han själv reflekterade över dikten och diktkonsten. Av dessa var med favorit "Sleep and Poetry". En långdikt med essälikande karaktär där Keats reflekterar på dikten och tillståndet mellan medvetande och sömn. Mellan dröm och verklighet samt hur dikten strävar efter att undersöka dessa tillstånd.

[Latham]

I got a collection of these books as a secret santa gift and bc of that I’ve been forced to finally give poetry a go. My experience with poetry is firmly confined to Lana Del Rey and Halsey: and well John Keats is not a 2010s pop star. I can’t really review this as I’m so out of my depth. I generally preferred some of the shorter poems here, some gorgeous descriptions of nature (and this man really really loves nature). There’s a couple longer poems: my favourites being the narrative based Lamia, and Isabella. Lamia especially I thought was stunning. Hyperion and St. Agnes, girl it was like reading hieroglyphics. I read their respective Wikipedia summaries afterwards and I actually just didn’t get any of that. All together enjoyable but definitely felt like a child entering a university level poetry course lmao.

[Lexi Christ]

As much as I am an uncultivated poetry reader, I really did enjoy his work. It was approachable, accessible, and enjoyable (which is all you can ask for with early 19th century poetry). I really loved the way he describes with such romance and flow. I didn’t care for his more inaccessible works such as those touching upon Greek mythology and more niche works of literature. It was harder to relate and comprehend than those with original concepts. The themes, like Rilke, were overlapping and repetitive however I really didn’t mind it. Overall a good read.

[Rose Rosetree]

John Keats wrote his memoir in verse.

He showed his heart and soul to us poetry lovers.

How could we not reciprocate by reading some of his greats again and again.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" may be familiar to you, too, for instance, Goodreaders who aren't embarrassed to be caught reading -- and loving -- poems by John Keats. Like "To Autumn," written not only to that so-nuanced season but to us.

[Adam Roll]

Reading this after reading Dan Simmons Hyperion cycle of space opera put Keats in a different light. The names for the books and imagery from within made for an interesting read. It is a beautiful edition and very well laid out. A must read for all aspiring poets and fans of the Hyperion books by Simmons.

[Hedvig Wilhelmina]

I finished it in one evening! There were a few poems I enjoyed, and I recognise that he was very skilled. Unfortunately, seen to personal enjoyment this is more 3-stars. During the longer poems especially I wasn’t quite captured, and found myself multiple times thinking “I could be reading Ovid right now”. So I’m not a Keats fan, but that’s alright, I get why he’s considered a classic.

[Jacob Cronin]

I think poetry collections just aren’t made for me. I wasn’t able to understand many of the poems, especially the longer ones. I just wanted a quick book to get through. I'm sure the book is great if you enjoy the genre; it just wasn’t for me.

[Andrea]

I enjoy Keats, but probably more so in small snippets. The Romanic poetry style gets overwhelming quickly, with all of its emotional highs and lows, the allegory, and allusions to make sense of. The drama of it all exhausts the beauty of the language for me after a while.

[Emily Brown]

I’ve never read John Keats, so this book was my first introduction to his works! I absolutely loved his view of nature and the simplicity and beauty in it. There were poems that I absolutely loved, and there were poems that didn’t super resonate with me (which I mean fair his poems are quite old).

[Jessie B.]

A decent collection

[Ali]

Took a six month hiatus, but finally got around to finishing this collection. I'm a Keats fan through and through, and not just because family lore says we're related somehow to Keats.

[Chelsea Roles]

‘Should Disappointment, parent of Despair,
Strive for her son to seize my careless heart;
When, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
Preparing on his spell-bound prey to dart.’

[Anne]

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

I adore Keats' poetry, and this was a beautiful collection of some of his most famous work.

[William Harrington]

Archaic and difficult to understand.

[Nathan Nicolau]

He liked posies a lot.

[Alya]

Idk what to say the writing is old some of the poems were interesting but it wasn’t that good

[Marie S]

This is my first poetry book. I was glad to listen to this audiobook by Keats.