John Keats

Written by John Keats

Narrated by Frederick Davidson

One of the most distinctive periods in English poetry was the age of Romanticism, a movement which rebelled against the neoclassical forms and celebrated the imagination as a spiritual force. John Keats was a prominent shaper of this new movement, and as such, he was not without his critics. “I think I shall be among the English poets after my death,” he soberly prophesied. Indeed, in 1821 Keats suffered an early tragic death from tuberculosis at the age of 25, but today is recognized as the archetypal Romantic genius who explored the limits of the imagination and celebrated the pleasures of the senses.

Unlike Shelley, Keats was not a political poet; his prime passion was for art. His muse was the goddess of beauty and truth, and his worship of her found its finest expression in his immortal odes, which stand unique in literature, unexcelled in perfection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Apr 9, 2009
• ISBN: 9780786103676

John Keats

Born in London in 1795, John Keats is one of the most popular of the Romantic poets of the 19th century. During his short life his work failed to achieve literary acclaim, but after his death in 1821 his literary reputation steadily gained pace, inspiring many subsequent poets and students alike.

Reviews for John Keats

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This selection includes some of his famous poems, like "Bright Star" and "Ode to a Nightingale." Keats beautiful words still resonate two centuries later. I could swim in a phrase like, "And still she slept an azure-lidded sleep, In blanched linen, smooth, and lavender’d." from The Eve of St. Agnes. His musings on death are all the more poignant because he died when he was only 25. I can't help wondering what he would have written if he'd lived longer.