John Keats A Literary Life [Hardcover]

At the heart of this 'Literary Life' are fresh interpretations of Keats's most loved poems, alongside other neglected but rich poems. The readings are placed in the context of his letters to family and friends, his medical training, radical politics of the time, his love for Fanny Brawne, his coterie of literary figures and his tragic early death.Acknowledgements List of abbreviations 'He could not quiet be' 'Aesculapius' 'Was there a poet born?' 'Fraternal souls' and Poems (1817) 'That which is creative must create itself: 1817 and Endymion '- Things real - things semireal - and no things -': 1818: January to June Walking north and the death of Tom: 1818: July to December 'A Gordian complication of feelings': love, women and romance 'Tease us out of thought': May 1819: Odes Playwright Autumn in Winchester 'A frog in a frost': the final journey Poems (1820)? Bibliography Index

A great strength of this impressive biography is the way it accompanies Keats's life narrative with critical and interpretative passages on the poetry - there is much in these pages that will provoke thought for students and more experienced Keatsians. Keats's childhood, school years and medical career are exceptionally well done, and among many highlights the account of Keats's plays, letters, and Endymion are especially rewarding. Professor Nicholas Roe, University of St. Andrews, UK

...makes significant contributions at the most advanced level of research and, at the other end of the scale, would be an excellent introduction for college undergraduates and general readers... a fine piece of research and writing... Jack Stillinger, New Books Online

...White's John Keats: A Literary Life allows us to see Keats as an active/creative agent, forging an identity between the competing demands of the actual and the imagined. This places Keats firmly within his own time, but it also brings his life into fascinating dialogue with the present. The book, l³4