more often than not. Even though Keats died when he was only 25, having stopped writing

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1 Tuoy 1 Mikki Tuoy nglis 303: Britis and American Romanticism \ r. Brault Febraary 26, 2008 Word Count: 2668 Scansion and xplanations of Poems by Jon Keats Wen tinking of te Romantic Movement in literature, te name of Jon Keats comes up more often tan not. ven toug Keats died wen e was only 25, aving stopped writing around is 24 t birtday, e managed to embody te Romantic Movement in te works tat e was able to produce. Many of is famous works are is sonnets, wic range from structured forms like Italian and nglis sonnets, wic are demonstrated in "Wen I Have Fears" and "On ^ ^ / ^ x k / A te Grassopper and Cricket," to more organic sonnet forms, like "Incipit altera Sonneta." Keats is a very Romantic writer because e mixes togeter te structured sonnet form wit Romantic ideals, suc as nature as "wild" and te experimentation wit classical forms. nglis Sonnet: "Wen I Have Fears" Te sonnet "Wen I Have Fears" by Jon Keats is an nglis sonnet tat sticks to te classical form wile also experimenting wit te inclusion of different types of feet and te arranging of te quatrains and couplets. According to Te Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, a Sakespearean sonnet consists of "tree quatrains wit te ryme sceme abab cdcd e/e/ followed by a couplet ryming gg" (MurfinJ444). Te tree quatrains are supposed to be about te same general idea, wic leads to a couplet tat wraps te poem up. Tis poem is generally about Keats's imminent deat from tuberculosis, wic is moter and broter also died of.

2 Tuoy2 "Wen I Have Fears," by Jon Keats Wen I / ave fears / tat I / may cease / to be Before / my pen / as glean'd / my tee / ming brain A B a Before / ig pil / ed books, in / caract'ry Hold like / ric gar / ners te / full-ripe / ned grain; B Wen I/beold,/upon/te nigt's/starr'd face, C 5 Huge clo / udy sym / bols of / a ig / romance, / - I - I - I - I And tink / tat I / may ne / ver live / to trace Teir sa / dows, wit / te ma / gic and / of cance; And wen /1 feel, / fair crea / ture of/ an our! C Tat I / sall ne / ver look / upon / tee more, F 10 Never / ave re / lis in / te fae / ry power Of un / re flee / ting love!-/- ten on / te sore Of te / wide world /1 stand / alone, / and tink Till Love / and Fame / to no / tingness / do sink. F G G ac quatrain in "Wen I Have Fears" as an idea related to te early deat tat Keats knew was imminent. Te overall idea of te poem focuses on Keats' fear of not writing all e as to write before e dies an early deat. He is also afraid of leaving beind an unnamed lover. Te first quatrain focuses on Keats' specific fear of not being able to write to is full ^"Tpotential before e, according to line one, "cease(s) to be." Te books before im old "fullripened grain'^vic e will not be able to add to. Te second quatrain focuses on te Romantic idea of re as "wild" and Keats' remorse at not being able to see te wonders of nature after e dies. He focuses on te wild aspects wen e says "te nigt's starr'd face," "uge cloudy natu

3 "magic and of cance" (lnst^p-8). Keats r s*.fy. (t? regrets tat e will never be able to "trace [te clouds] sadows" (In. 8). wen e dies Te last quatrain focuses on te unknown lover te Keats will leave beind 5 " a n d t e s a d o w s o f t e c l o u d s w i t t e a young deat. He is remorseful tat e will never "look upon tee more" (In. 10). Te quatrain also, unlike most nglis sonnets, leads directly into te couplet at te end. Te second alf of te twelft line is te beginning of te couplet, wic ties te two togeter. Te couplet ends te sonnet by sowing te speaker tinking until "Love and Fame to notingness do sink" (In. 14). "^ Tis sonnet follows te nglis form very well. Te few variations it takes sow te? (Romantic idea of experimentation. Te ryme sceme is abab cdcd efefgg, wic is typical for! f an nglis sonnet. Te poem is all pentameter except for line tree, wic as only four feet. Te sonnet is also mostly iambic, wit a few variations. Curiously, line tree contains four feet, all of wic as a separate type of foot. ven toug tere are many variations on te type of foot used, te poem still seems to flow seamlessly, like consistent iambic pentameter. Te variations sow te uncertainty of life, wic Keats knows full well because of is impending deat, wile te flow sows ow tings keep moving on. ven toug Keats knows tat is doom is coming, tere is noting e can do about it, wic e seems to accept. Te oter intriguing aspect of tis sonnet is te fact tat te couplet starts alf a line early, in te end of te tird quatrain. In a classical nglis sonnet, te quatrains and couplets would be completely separate, linked only by te subject. In tis sonnet, te twelft line as a ypen in te middle, after wic te couplet beginnings. Tis could sow bot Keats' Romantic ideas and te fact tat life continues to flow on.

4 Italian Sonnet: "On te Grassopper and Cricket" Te sonnet "On te Grassopper and Cricket" by Jon Keats takes Tuoy 4 many creative measures wit te Italian sonnet form troug te rytm and te subject and creation of tis poem. An Italian sonnet, according to Te Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, consists of "two parts: te octave, eigt lines wit te ryme sceme abbaabba, and te sestet, ^ f t * l ) six lines usually following te ryme sceme cdecde" (Murfuv228). Te octave usually sets up some kind of question, wic is ten resolved in te sestet. Tere is usually a drastic sift between te octave and sestet tat causes te resolution. Tis poem was "te result of a competition wit Hunt to write a sonnet on tis subject in 15 minutes" (Wolfson and Manning,, footnote 3 on 926). "On te Grassopper and Cricket" by Jon Keats Te po / etry / of eart / is ne / ver dead: Wen all / te birds / are faint / wit te / ot sun, And ide / in coo / ling trees, / a voice / will run From edge / to edge / about / te new- / mown mead; Tat is / te Grass / opper's-/-e takes / te lead - ' - ' -C\l - I - I In sum / mer lux / ury^-4ie / as ne / ver done Wit is / deligts; / for-wenytired out / wit fun He rests / at ease / beneat / some plea / sant weed. Te po / etry / of eart / is ceas / ing never; On a / lone win / ter eve / ning wen / te frost Has wrougt / a sil / ence, from / te stove / tere srills

5 Te Cricket's / song, in / warmt in / creasing / ever, C And seems to / one in / drowsiness / alf lost; Te Grass / opper's / among / some gra / ssy ills. Te octave in tis sonnet deals wit te grassopper and te music e makes tat runs "from edge to edge about te new-mown mead" (In. 4). Te grassopper angs around in te sade during te summer, entertaining everyting wit is music. Te sestet, on te oter and, deals wit te cricket wo sings a similar song, but in te warmt of a ouse during winter. Keats inadvertently mixed an Italian ryme and rytm sceme, wit te subject progression of an nglis sonnet. Te last two lines seem to be a couplet, linking te octave about te grassopper to te sestet about te cricket. Tis poem is unconventional because it was created in a competition in only 15 minutes. ^ It is also unconventional because it as noting to do wit love. Traditionally, te sonnet form was reserved for te topic of love. "On te Grassopper and Cricket" as noting to do wit love, only wit te connection and differences between te two types of insects. Te oter unconventional part of tis poem is te rytm. ven toug "nglis poets wo ave used tis form ave tended to take greater liberties wit te ryme sceme" (Murfin, 228), tis poem follows te ryme sceme, abbaabba cdecde, to a tee. Te rytm, owever, is not consistent. It is mostly pentameter, but lines five and tirteen bot ave only four feet. Wile te feet are mostly iambic, tere are many variations, including troce^, pyrrus, > dactyl^ and ampibrac. Tese imperfections) in te rytm could be because of te sort amount of time in wic tis poem was constructed, or it could be on purpose, as anoter form of experimentation wit te Italian sonnet form.

6 Organic Sonnet: "Incipit altera Sonneta" Te sonnet "Incipit altera Sonneta" by Jon Keats is an organic sonnet. According to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, te organic form "sapes, as it develops itself from witin, and te fullness of its development is one and te same wit te perfection of its outward form" (642). Tis means tat te organic sonnet uses te standard form of fourteen lines, but is flexible about everyting else, including te ryme and rytm. Te organic form lets te autor continue to use a classical form, but wit more freedom witin it. "Incipit altera Sonneta" by Jon Keats _ / / / _ / _ / _ / Hf1>y / dull rymes / our ng / lis must / be cained A / _ / _ / _ / _ And, like / Andro / meda, / te Son / net sweet B / / / _ / / Fetterd / in spite / of pai / ned Love / liness... C / /, / _ / Let us / find out, / if we / must be / constrain'd, A / _ / _ / _ / Sandals / more in / terwo / ven and / complete B 5 / _ / / / To fit / te na / ked foot / of Po / esy. _ / _ / _ / / / Let us / inspect / te Lyre, / and weig / te stress C _ / _ / _ / _ / _ / Of ev / ery cord / and see / wat may / be gain'd A _ / _ / / _ / By ear / indus / trious / and atten / tion meet. B / / _ / _ / Misers / of sound / and syl / lable, / no less C 10 / _ l^/ _ / / _ / Tan Mi / das of/ is coin / age, let / us be / / / / / / Jealous / of dead / leaves in / te bay / wreat crown; / / / / _ / So if / we may / not let / te Muse / be free, _ ' _ ' _ ' _ '

7 Se will / be bound / wit gar / lands of/ er own. Tis poem is organic from all viewpoints. Te subject of tis poem is about ow te organic sonnet form is ideal. In te first line, it puts down a consistent ryme sceme by saying tat wen tere is one, te nglis "must be cained down" (In. 1). Many poets make te words fit into specific feet, suc as perfect iambs, but in lines 5 and 6, Keats is saying tat it sould be te oter way around by saying tat poets sould make te "sandals more interwoven and complete/ to fit te naked foot of Poesy" (Ins. 5-6). Keats argues tat ideas and creativity sould not be sacrificed to fit into a poetry form. Te ryme sceme of tis sonnet, wic is abcabdcabcdede, is very different from te traditional sonnet forms. Tere is no pattern to te ryme, tere are just five rymes arranged werever tey best fit. Wile a lotsonnets tend to be mostly iambic, tis sonnet as no set foot. No one line even as a prevailing type of foot. Te only ting tat is traditional in tis sonnet is tat it is written in pentameter. Tis migt be because te rest of te sonnet's structure is non-traditional. Keeping one element traditional ensures tat te sonnet form is still somewat represented even after te drastic canges tat ave occurred in te poetic feet and ryme sceme. Keats is a Romantic poet wo, along wit te Romantic ideas like experimentation wit classical forms and nature as wild and sublirrie, was still a master of te classical sonnet forms, bot Italian and nglis. ven toug is writing career only spanned about ten years, Keats still proved imself as a master of poetry and became an idol for poets to come.

8 Works Cited Keats, Jon. "Incipit altera Sonneta." Te Longman Antology of Britis Literature. d. Susan Wolfson and Peter Manning. New York: Pearson Longman, Q Keats, Jon.J*On te Grassopper and Cricket." Te Longman Antology of Britis-izterature. JTlSusan Wolfson and Peter Manning. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.( Keats-Joa^Wen I Have Fears." Te Longman Antology of Britisjgrfterattge. d. Susan ifson and Peter Manning. New York: Pearson Longman, /^Murfin, Ross, and Supryia M. Ray. Te Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, Wolfson, Susan, and Peter Manning. Te Longman Antology of Britis Literature. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.

Poetry Analysis. one approach to John Keats When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be (1818)

Poetry Analysis. one approach to John Keats When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be (1818) Poetry Analysis one approach to John Keats When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be (1818) first reading: experience (pre-analytical) When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has gleaned