Analysis of When I have fears that I may cease to be - John Keats
Poem
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
Background of Author
John Keats (1795-1821)
His father was a stable manager. He had one sister and two brothers which he was close with. He received little formal education but he worked as a surgeons apprentice for a few years until he decided to dedicate himself to poetry when he was 21 years old. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. He wrote many sonnets and odes including On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, Ode on a Grecian Urn, Ode to a Nightingale, and To Autumn.
Structure of Poem
- The title is the first line of the poem as well. This could be used to create emphasis on the topic of the poem which is that the poet is afraid of what will happen when he died at a young age.
- The structure of the poem is characteristic of an Elizabethan sonnet that has 14 lines that are divided into 3 quatrains and 1 rhyming couplet. This is also shown in the rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
- Each quatrain discusses a different thing that the poet fears he will miss out on due to his early death.
- The rhyming couplet is used to sum up his feelings towards the matter and concludes the poem.
- Each quatrain starts with the word “when” but the couplet does not. “then” is used in the last line of stanza three to show the start of a new idea. The poet might have started the couplet prematurely because the topic of the third stanza is too painful to continue with.
- Each quatrain makes uses a different sense. In the first one he says “when I have”. In stanza two he says “when i behold” and in stanza 3 he says “when I feel”
Line by Line Analysis
Lines 1 – 4
(1) The title is repeated in the first line which suggests that the poet would like to emphasis that he is afraid of missing out on the things that are mentioned in the poem.
(2) gleamed – to gather from different sources
teeming – full
The poet is afraid that he will not be able to write down all the knowledge and wisdom that his brain is able to produce.
(3) high- piléd – piled is written with an accent because the poet wanted to make the word 2 syllables so that it would fit into the iambic pentameter that the sonnet is written in.
charactery – a set of symbols like a language
(4) garners – a place where food or grain is stored.
In lines 2 – 4, the poet is comparing his thoughts and ideas to grain. He is comparing books to a garner and his brain to the land that is ready to be harvested. He wants to harvest his thoughts and write them down in many books so they can be stored and used later much like grain is stored in granaries.
Lines 5- 8
(5) The poet is looking at the starry sky
(6) cloudy symbols – unclear or not definite symbols
high romance – the beauty of nature and the splendor of the creator
(7-8) The poet is aware that he is going to die at an early age. He knows he cannot see also these beautiful natural scenes. He uses “their shadows” which suggests that these images are so magnificent and large that he can only dwell in its shadow. The “magic hand of chance” could suggest fate or destiny. The poet acknowledges that he may have never seen these sights but that there would be chance to see them if he remained alive for longer.
In lines 5-8, the poet is talking about how he fears he will never see all the beauty that the world has to offer.
Lines 9 – 12
(9) fair creature of an hour – a beautiful girl that is only in his life for a short period of time.
(10) the poet knows that his time with the lady is short and that he will not see more of her after death
(11) faery power – magical and mystical power
(12) unreflecting love – a love that you do not think about or a love that does not cause worry. a love you just feel
In lines 9 to 12, the poet is talking about how he knows he will not spend a lot time with the lady he loves and he will not be able to enjoy the magical aspect of a deep love. The stanza is cut short because in the line 12 he starts with a new topic which is suggested by the word “then”. The poet could have ended the topic early because it was too painful to talk about or the poet could have done with for the iambic pentameter.
Lines 13 and 14
These two lines make up the rhyming couplet where the poet sums up the poem and his feelings. In the last two lines the poet expresses that when he is alone and he thinks about how vast the world, his fears of not being famous or loved becomes pointless and small.
Themes
The following themes are present in this poem:
- Death
- Love
- Acceptance
- Fear
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