John Keats was born October 31, 1795n in London England.  He was the oldest son of Thomas and Frances Keats. Keats would lose his parents at an early age. Keats was eight years old when his father was trampled by a horse and died. According to the unknown author of the “John Keats“ Biography page for poetry foundation .org states that “His father’s death had a profound effect on the young boys life” (poetryfoundation.org). In a more theoretical sense, it directed Keats's understanding for the human condition, both its suffering and its loss. This tragedy and others helped influence Keats’s later poetry. Keats would shortly pursue a career in medicine, which never truly captured his attention. Even as he studied medicine his devotion to literature and the arts never ceased. Through his friend, Cowden Clarke, whose father was the headmaster At Enfield, Keats met publisher, Leigh Hunt. In addition to affirming Keats’ standing as poet, publisher Hunt also introduced the young Keats to a group of other highly regarded English poets. According to the unknown author of the “John Keats“ Biography page for coloumbia grangers.org states that “Hunt would introduce Keats to such influential poets including Percy Shelley and William Wordsworth” (columbiagrangers.org).

 

In the summer of 1818 Keats took a walking tour in Northern England and Scotland. He returned home later that year to take care of his brother, Tom who’d fallen deeply ill with tuberculosis. At this time Keats fell in love with a woman named Franny Browne. Two months later Keats published “Isabella, “a poem that tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a man beneath her social standing. Instead of the man her family has chosen her to marry. According to the unknown author of the “John Keats“ Biography page for poets.org states that “This is one of Keats poems that he would grow to dislike” (poets.org). Keats’ writing during this time also revolved around a poem he called “Hyperion”. This poem is an ambitious Romantic piece inspired by Greek myth that told the story of the Titans’ loss to the Olympians. But the death of his brother caused a temporary pause in his writing of this poem. Keats finally returned to the work in 1819, rewriting his unfinished poem with a new title “The Fall of Hyperion“. This poem would go unpublished for more than three decades after Keats’ death.

 

 In 1819 Keats contracted tuberculosis and his health deteriorated quickly. Soon after his last volume of poetry was published, he ventured off to Italy with his close friend on the advice of his doctor who had told him he needed to be in warmer climate for the winter. The trip through Europe would also end his romance with Fanny Brawne. His health and his own dreams of becoming successful writer had shifted. Keats thoughts were now focused on the chances of ever getting married. While in Rome Keats doctor placed him on a strict diet and proscribed heavy bleeding. As a result of these barbaric medical treatments, Keats would suffer from lack of blood oxygen as well as starvation. John Keats died in February 1921.