17 Interesting Facts about John Keats
17 Interesting Facts about John Keats
  • Keats was born in London in 1795, his father Thomas Keats a livery stable keeper.

  •   Keats was a slender and short man being just over 5 feet in height. His hair was a reddish brown colour and curly.

  •   His father died in an accident when John was eight years old, and his mother died when he was 14.

  •   John Keats was appointed a guardian and kept at school for a further year, after which he was apprenticed to an Apothecary Surgeon for five years.

  •   On finishing his apprenticeship and reaching the age of 20 he was entered into Guy's Hospital as a Medical Student.

  •   Then it was that Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene awakened him to the charm and power of poetry.

  •   According to a friend, Richard Woodhouse, Keats was particularly horrible at reading his own poems not giving them justice.

  •   When Keats became a published poet, he considered his earlier works to be awful so much so that he collected every piece of paper containing them and burned them.

  •  Over his short life of 25 years, Keats published fifty-four poems and three novels as well as a few magazines using a wide range of poetic forms including odes and sonnets.

  •   When Keats became a published poet, he considered his earlier works to be awful so much so that he collected every piece of paper containing them and burned them.

  •  Unfortunately this great poet only had five years of his poetic career in which to write some of the poems the world has ever seen.

  •   When John found out that his brother Tom had tuberculosis he went to him in order to nurse him putting his medical skills to use.

  •  Tom died in December 1817 and unknown to John he had caught the disease from his brother.

  •   Soon after his brother’s death, John Keats became engaged to Fanny Brawne and for the next year he produced the greatest of his works.

  •   Keats was engaged to the love of his life, Fanny Brawne however they were never married. This was because Keats wanted to strongly build his role as a poet and earn money before him and Fanny was married. However, Keats became extremely unwell from tuberculosis and the marriage never occurred.

  •   Whilst suffering from tuberculosis, Keats and Brawne could not have any physical contact. They communicated through a glass screen and sent each other love letters.

  • Keats died of tuberculosis in Rome, Italy on February 23rd, 1821. This disease had also killed his uncle, mother and brother. He is buried at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.

~~~~~*~~~~~