Page 97 - DENG203_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_IV

Elective English—IV

Notes mother’s death, John Keats’s maternal grandmother chose two London merchants, John Rowland
Sandell and Richard Abbey, as caretakers. Abbey, a well-to-do tea broker, assumed the bulk of
this responsibility, while Sandell played only a trivial role. Abbey withdrew John Keats from
the Clarke School, Enfield, when John was fifteen years of age, to apprentice with an apothecary-
surgeon and study medicine in a London hospital. John Keats became a licensed apothecary in
1816, but he never practiced his profession, he instead decided to write poetry.
The poem written by John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, is amongst the most memorable and
enduring of all the poems of the Romantic Period. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is famous for its deep
meditation and convincing conclusions about the nature of beauty, mainly as beauty is depicted
in artistic media.
In this unit we will study more about John Keats and the poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’.

6.1 About John Keats

Figure 6.1: John Keats

Source: http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/K/John-Keats-
9361568-1-402.jpg
John Keats was a famous English Romantic poet. He was amongst the most important figures of
the second generation of romantic poets along with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, in
spite of the fact that his work only got published for four years before his death.
Even though his poems were not usually well received by critics during Keats life, his reputation
grew after his death. By the end of the 19th century he had become one of the most beloved of all
English poets. He had an influential impact on a diverse range of later poets and writers. Jorge
Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary experience
of his life.

The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes.
Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature.

6.1.1 Early Life

John Keats was born on 31 October 1795 to Thomas and Frances Jennings Keats. John Keats and
his family appeared to have marked his birthday on 29 October; however baptism records give
the birth date as the 31st. He was the first-born of four surviving children; George (1797–1841),
Thomas (1799–1818) and Frances Mary “Fanny” (1803–1889). John Keats was born in central
London though not much evidence is available of the exact location. His father first worked as

92 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY