Poet · 1795 – 1821
John Keats
Key Takeaways
- Keats was a leading poet of the second generation of English Romantics.
- His great odes are among the most admired poems in English.
- He died of tuberculosis at just 25, with most of his fame coming after his death.
- His phrase 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty' is among the most quoted in poetry.
John Keats had only a handful of years to write, and he was harshly reviewed and little known when tuberculosis killed him at 25. Yet in that brief span he produced poetry so beautiful that he now ranks among the greatest poets in Britain’s history.
The great odes
In a single astonishing year, 1819, Keats wrote the odes that made his name immortal: “Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” — which ends with the famous line “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” — and “To Autumn”, perhaps the most perfect short poem in the language. Their richness of image and feeling defined the Romantic ode.
Fame after death
Keats died in Rome believing himself a failure, asking that his gravestone read “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” His friend Percy Bysshe Shelley mourned him in Adonais, and within a generation this poet of the modern era, alongside Lord Byron and William Wordsworth, was recognized as one of the supreme voices of English verse.
Influence
Keats showed how much beauty and depth could be compressed into a few perfect poems, influencing poets from the Victorians to the modern age.
Legacy
Largely unrecognized in his lifetime, he rose after his death to be ranked among the greatest of all English poets.
Major Works
- Ode to a Nightingale
- Ode on a Grecian Urn
- To Autumn
Connections
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was John Keats?
John Keats (1795–1821) was an English Romantic poet who, despite dying at 25, wrote some of the most beloved poetry in English, including his great odes.
What are Keats's odes?
They are a series of poems from 1819 — including 'Ode to a Nightingale' and 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' — widely regarded as among the finest lyric poems in the English language.
Citations & Sources
People Like John
Percy Bysshe Shelley
79Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English Romantic poet, among the greatest lyric poets in the language, whose visionary and politically radical verse — including Ozymandias and Prometheus Unbound — influenced generations of poets and reformers.
Why A fellow Romantic poet who mourned Keats in his elegy Adonais.
Lord Byron
80Lord Byron was an English Romantic poet, one of the most famous and scandalous figures of his age, whose works such as Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage created the brooding "Byronic hero" and made him a celebrity across Europe.
Why A leading poet of the same second-generation English Romantic circle.
William Wordsworth
80William Wordsworth was an English poet who, with the Lyrical Ballads, helped launch the Romantic movement in English literature, celebrating nature, memory and ordinary life in language closer to common speech.
Why An older Romantic poet whose work helped shape Keats's own.
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Why Also a poet & writer · Active in the same era
Rudyard Kipling
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Lewis Carroll
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