When it comes to the world of poetry the name, Keats has been of major significance. The world will forever be in remorse over the loss of Keats at such a young age of 25. Keats started to write at 19, and his journey lasted only six years, but his work forever lives in the hearts of people who enjoy poetry. He was a pioneer of the famous literary movement Romanticism. It is quite tragic that Keats received much respect from the literary critics of his time, but his reputation grew only after his death.
Keats's major works include his infamous Odes and his poem "Sleep and Poetry" and sonnet "on First Looking into Chapman's Homer." But from the outside, it may seem that Keats wrote poetry for a living and succeeded, but the truth is that due to poor financial conditions and his father's death, the entire financial responsibility fell on the shoulders of Keats, and he had no time to write. He had to take up medicine and apothecary and assisted surgeons in their surgeries. While he could've led a stable life living as a doctor, he boldly told his family that he would become a poet and not a surgeon. Below are some of the famous John Keats Quotes.
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard, are sweeter
Some stories are shared, and thus they are known to the world. But some stories forever remain untold; some stories are obscure. And Keats says that those stories which are hidden, deliberately or not, are the sweetest ones. Maybe because these stories are unheard and that kind of tragic.
Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?
Being an erudite and intelligent person is very difficult. Furthermore, having these qualities and still remaining a good soul is far more challenging. But the difficulties are very important to build a foundation for such souls. And without them, a person will lack knowledge and goodness.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Beauty is eternal, and that is precisely what this quote means. A beautiful thing brings joy to the truth time after time. It brings joy on every encounter. This can also be said that a thing that feels beautiful only for moments isn't real beauty.
The poetry of the earth is never dead.
According to Keats, it is not the man who invented poetry, but nature did. The beauty and nature of the earth taught man poetry, but nature never forgets poetry. The beauty of the earth never ceases to exist.
Touch has a memory.
Our mind stores all the memories we have. And our senses aid the mind to do so. Our eyes store our visual memories. Furthermore, there are memories connected to what we hear, what we eat and also what we touch. Fourth of our sense, touch, also plays a big role in our memories. We sometimes never forget the touch of a person, place or thing.
Continue reading some more John Keats Quotes...
Nothing ever becomes real 'til it is experienced.
In our imagination, anything can happen. In our dreams, too, anything possible or impossible takes place. But if something does not happen in real life, it is nothing. Our experiences count in life and not what we dream.
I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of the Imagination.
There are very things in life we can be certain about. And this certainty for each person is subjective. For Keats, this certainty is the belief that hearts affection is genuine and there is truth in a person's imagination. Imagination mirrors our personality.
I have good reason to be content, for thank God I can read and perhaps understand Shakespeare to his depths.
To be content is to be satisfied; to be satisfied is to be happy. And Keats thinks that reading good words is the reason enough one should be content with oneself. And one should be content, especially if he is able to read great writers like Shakespeare.
My love is selfish. I cannot breathe without you.
Keats, in his short life, had a few affairs. One with a girl Brawne. Brawne and Keats used to exchange love letters. He wrote this line in one of those letters, which interprets that Keats's love for Brawne isn't selfless, and he wants her presence; he accepts that he needs her and can't do without it.
The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing -- to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.
The definition of an intellectual is one who can keep his beliefs fluid. An intellectual always questions the rules and the laws of the world. He is not bound by anyone or anything. He questions everything everywhere.
I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top.
A very harmful trait of depressions shows in this quote. A man naturally always kicks up if he is underwater, but Keats says that he is in such a state of mind that he wouldn't mind dying. A clear sign of self-destructiveness shows in this quote . Such thoughts are often felt by a depressed man who has no desire to live furthermore.
Few more John Keats Quotes...
I have so much of you in my heart.
Keats, in his short lifetime, loved a girl dearly named Brawne. To her, he would write several letters. In this line, he says that your love has consumed me, and in my heart, I remember you and have your memories. I contain you in my heart wherever you go.
Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience.
Failures and defeats are part and parcel of life. A man who hasn't failed is a man who hasn't done anything in life. We may feel unworthy and hopeless after failure, but truly failing can be a positive experience if we direct the pain in a good way. Every time we lose at something big, we become more fearless and get one step closer to success.
Poetry should... should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.
While there may have been attempts at defining poetry, defining poetry has never been an easy job, and the definitions according to different people have differed. But Keats says that one factor that makes poetry is that it sensualizes the writer's thoughts and presents it to the reader in a way that the reader too feels that he has felt similar emotions like the writer.
I love you the more in that I believe you had liked me for my own sake and for nothing else.
Health is my expected heaven.
Heaven can be metaphorically meant to say things that give us absolute happiness. And being healthy is deemed to be heavenly by John Keats. Keats was also a doctor and had seen the suffering of many people, and he thus might have wanted to avoid such suffering and thought that being healthy is the highest form of happiness.
Some more John Keats Quotes...
My imagination is Monastery and I am its Monk.
Keats built his entire career on his way of thinking. He would write down his feelings in a poetic form and built a strong image as one of the world's best Romantic poets of all time. To this imagination he owes everything, and he says this imagination is my sanctum sanctorum, this place is my place of worship, and I am a monk at this place.
The Public - a thing I cannot help looking upon as an enemy, and which I cannot address without feelings of hostility.
The biggest fear of every artist is the audience. While the audience can lift a man to the highest level if they like him, the audience can tear a person apart if they do not like his work, and because of this, Keats views his audience as a threat.
Love is my religion I could die for it.
Humans are divided into many religions. On this basis of a different way of praying, people are divided into Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Parsi and Sikh. People often very religiously pray and are dedicated to their gods. But Keats shows this kind of dedication, love, and devotion towards his lover and is ready to sacrifice his life if needed.
Scenery is fine but human nature is finer.
The scenery often contains a number of beautiful natural elements like water bodies, sun, plants, trees and different landscapes. But Keats assures that no matter how beautiful perfect, and fine nature may appear, human nature is finer than that.
