John Keats Biography and latest books by John Keats

John Keats was born on October 31, 1795 in Central London, England. He is considered to be one of the most romantic poets along with Percy Bysshe Shelly and Lord Byron. His poems were not received very well by the critics during his lifetime; however, his work influenced many later poets like Wilfred Owen and Alfred Tennyson. His work is considered to be the most analyzed and popular English literature in present time.

John Keats was born to Thomas and Frances Jennings Keats. As an infant Keats was sent to the local dame school. In the year 1803 he had to move to Clarke school from Eton or Harrow because it was too expensive for him to go there. It was in this school that he met his mentor John Clarke, the headmaster of the school. In 1804 his father died of a fractured skull. Two months later his mother remarried but later on left her new husband and went on to live with Alice Jennings, the children’s grandmother. John Keats mother died in the year 1810 when he was just 14 years old. He was removed from Clarke’s school to work as an apprentice for Thomas Hammond who was a surgeon and an apothecary. He lived with Thomas Hammond and slept above the surgery room in the attic.

In the year 1814, when he was about nineteen years old, his first poem came out which was titled as An Imitation of Spenser. By the year 1815 he had registered for medical student in Guy’s hospital. From time to time he suffered from deep depression because of the deep family financial crisis.

In the year 1816, John’s sonnet O Solitude was published by Leigh Hunt in his magazine The Examiner, a leading liberal magazine at that time. Leigh Hunt, who was a close friend of Percy and Byron, published John’s Poems after five months. These poems were the first volume of Keats’s work. It turned out to be a critical failure but it did not deter Hunt from introducing Keats to many of his other influential friend which turned out to be the turning point of his life.

When Endymion was published it was slammed by the critics. However this lukewarm response did not discourage Keats. His greatest works were written during the 1810s which included Lamia and The Eve of St.Agnes. In the year 1820, Keats’s second volume of poems was released. This became an instant success and got many critical acclaims too. However during this time he was suffering from tuberculosis. The conditioned worsened so he sailed from England to Italy to escape the cold climate of England. He stayed in a residential room in Rome which overlooked the Pizza di Spagna. He died in Rome on February 23, 1821. He was just about twenty five years old. He was buried at the protestant cemetery.

Despite the fact that his works were not very well received while he was still alive, his popularity grew after his death. His letters were later published in the year 1858 and 1878.

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