When I have fears
When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high-pilèd books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
Biographical Note:
John Keats was born October 31st, 1795 in central London. In 1804, at the age of 9 his
father died. At the age of 14, his mother died from Tuberculosis. He studied medicine and
although he never practiced medicine, he nursed both his mother and brother through TB,
from which they both died. He later learnt through his interactions with his brother, that
he too contracted the illness. Not surprising that mortality is one of his common themes in
his poetry. He became unofficially engaged to Fanny Brawne, who nursed him before he
left England for Italy in an attempt to regain his health. He died in Italy in 1821, at the age
of 26.
Romantic Movement
Keats, together with other contemporaries such as Wordsworth and others, are regarded
as Romantic Poets. Keats formed part of the second generation. The Romantic era ranged
from the 18th century to the mid-19th century. The poetry focussed on the creative
expression, the use of imagination, the expression of the poet’s feelings and opinions and
most importantly focused on striving to reach oneness with nature.
Glossar
y
Line 2 gleaned – gathered the last bits of the grain after harvest
Teeming – full, overcrowded with, bursting with
Line 3 charactery – the physical act of writing, marks on paper,
handwriting
Line 4 garners – barns to hold grain
Line 6 romance – imagination, an idealized, surreal mood
Line 7 trace – write or draw
Line 11 faery – fairy, magic
Line 12 Unreflecting – unrequited
Form and
Elizabethan / Shakespearean
Sonnet
Structure
Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet: abab cdcd efef gg
- Each quatrain discusses one of Keats’ overwhelming fears. These
three concerns are separated using semi-colons at the end of each
line. The rhyming couplet contains his “answer” that qualifies all
the “when” statements.
- The poem is actually one long sentence. Each quatrain begins with
an adverbial clause of time (“When I have fears”, “When I behold”,
“And when I feel”) and the main clause containing the explanation
(“then… I stand alone, and think”), is at the end. This clever
structure creates tension and suspense.
The first desire, discussed in first quatrain , is being able to write down
all the poetry with which his brain is teeming.
Euphemism: dying
When I have fears that I may cease to be
Start of sustained metaphor:
“gleaned” means picking up the
last bits of grain.
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
His poetry will fill
many books
Full, overcrowded
Before high-pilèd books, in charactery,
Pun: (1) handwriting (2) poet reveals
parts of character through his poetry
Sustained metaphor: He wonders
Grain stores, barns to store grains, granary
whether his pen will have chance to
simile
reap the rich harvest of poetry with
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain; which his brain is teeming.
He compares the ideas in his brain with a field of grain, which he hopes will have time to ripen
and be harvested, and he compares his books in which he will write down his poetry with a
granary. (simile)
The second desire, is based on the observation of nature and appreciation thereof.
Here Keats identifies himself with the Romantic Movement.
Personification: Compares the stars in
the night sky to a beautiful face
When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,
Billowing clouds suggestive of imagination: nature endless source of creative inspiration.
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
Identifies himself with Romantic
Movement; also implying
appreciation of nature’s beauty
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
He is reminded of death
when he realises he may not
be able write down ‘trace’
all he sees in nature.
The hand that writes the poem, he regards the
creative gift as magical, given randomly, wherever
God or nature decides to place it.
The third of the desires: to be able to look upon and admire the beauty of a womanto love her and engage in her beauty
Beautiful woman – he loves a beautiful woman and
wants to savour in her beauty even for a brief hour
(reminds one of the final hour : mortality)c
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
Not having the chance to look at her beauty
That I shall never look upon thee more,
indulge
‘magical’ power. Possibly the power of love or
referring to the power a woman has
Never have relish in the faery power
Unrequited love – not returned. Keats is content with loving her and admiring
her beauty even if she does not feel the same or may not even know
Of unreflecting love—then on the shore
Dash – introduces the climax of
the poem
Start of main clause. Also, break for couplet
happens mid-line 12
SIDE NOTE:
Shelly have been recorded saying
that Keats had a highly
developed aesthetic sense and
was always moved by beauty. He
was happy to be able to respond
to beauty by only observing it.
When he thinks about not living long enough to be famous or to experience a great
love, he realises one great truth: when he contemplates mortality, one stands
Sea Imagery: “shore” “sink” – in which life is compared with
entirely alone.
the land, dying with the shore, and death with the sea,
under which everything sinks to nothingness
Of unreflecting love—then on the shore
Alliteration: the long w-sounds emphasises the vastness of eternity and
contrasts with the short of time Keats senses he has to live life.
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
Then all one’s desires for fame and love sink to nothingness
beneath the sea of that one fact – that one has to die, and die
alone.
Long vowel sounds slows down
the pace of the poem and helps to
create a mood loneliness and
emptiness. (Assonance)
Themes:
- Mortality
- Artistic creativity
- Preoccupation with time
Tone in last two lines
- Melancholic/regretful/ despairing since he is completely alone in
death and knows he will lose all the opportunities and
experiences he had hoped to have.
- OR
- Hopeful, triumphant because he realises that his spiritual gift has
lasting value and that the earthly values of love and fame are far
less important as they are meaningless.
Note: Listen to an analysis of When I have Fears