John Keats’s Poetry: The Fear of Death and Its Inescapability Nancy Canevari College

John Keats’ poems “Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art” and “When I have fears that I may cease to be” both revolve around the topics of death and the fragility of life. He writes of his desire to stay in his present state, afraid of dying and losing the things he finds important, such as his personal relationships and his work. However, his poems details him finding little respite from these fears: rather than accept the inevitability of his eventual death, he seeks temporary distraction, meaning that his poetry comes to no resolutions. This lack of resolution occurs because of his youth and how far away and unfair death seems. His poems reveal the reality of death for a young person with so much to lose, in that they cannot peacefully accept this eventuality, and can instead only distract themselves from the future. Keats’s poems speak of a fear of death and of watching his dreams go unrealized, but beyond that, they show a lack of resolution with this fear, the only possible view of death for the young. This youthful agony over the fear of death and inability to make peace with it make Keats’ poetry decidedly Keatsian.

Keats fears death because he fears running out of time and not accomplishing everything he wants...