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Keats, whose mother and brother had died of TB, was also diagnosed with the disease.
In this sonnet, which is a presentiment of his early death, the poet reflects sadly on all the joys and
opportunities of life he will miss out on -- like writing and romance. However, in the couplet he accepts
this loss.
ABOUT THE POET
John Keats was born in London in 1795, the son of a hostler. Both his parents died while he was still
young -- his mother of tuberculosis. He was thereafter brought up by his grandmother who quickly made
him an apprentice physician.
He was still only in his late teens when he discovered that he too had caught TB and his younger brother,
who was in his care, soon died of it. In order to escape the disease, Keats moved to the sunnier and drier
climate of Italy.
There was no escape for him, however, and the poet died in 1821. He was then just 25 years of age. He
nevertheless bequeathed us a gargantuan amount of poetry written with an amazing maturity for one so
young.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
"When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain."
- Identify and explain the figure of speech in the first line of this poem. (3)
[Need help?]
The words "cease to be" are EUPHEMISTIC as they refer to death. A euphemism is a softer way
of saying something unpleasant.
The words express the finality of death and encapsulate his fear of everything he will miss out on
experiencing.
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- List the poet's fears. How does he overcome them? (5)
[Need help?]
There are a number of things that the poet fears: that he will not be able to record his many thoughts and
ideas in a multitude of books; that he will not be able to describe the beauty of the night sky; and that he
will no longer be able to gaze upon his loved one.
He stands alone, looking upon the world to gain perspective. He then realises that fame and romantic
love are not important.
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- Identify and explain the METAPHOR in "Before my pen has gleaned my teeming
brain". (5)
[Need help?]
The poet's pen is compared with a gleaner -- someone who walks behind the harvesters and picks up
the bits of grain left behind.
"To glean" means to utilise everything. Nothing is wasted.
By using this comparison, Keats emphasises the intense sadness he feels about missing out on things
he loves. The metaphor conveys his desire to write down each and every thought and creative idea in
his brain. He does not want to leave any thought unexplored and unrecorded.
This comparison is later extended in line 4: "Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain".
"Garners" are granaries (grain stores).
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- How does the word "teeming" reflect the poet's state of mind? Where is the concept of
"teeming" perpetuated in the poem? (5)
[Need help?]
The word "teeming" implies abundance, fullness, swarming with, flowing copiously, to be crowded
with.
It serves to convey the poet's anguish: he has so many creative thoughts in his mind that he still wants
to write down, so many things that he still wants to accomplish.
The abundance implied by the word contrasts with the brevity of his life. He is acutely aware that his TB
will cut short his life and diminish his potential.
The concept of "teeming" is continued with the words "high-piléd" (line 3); "rich"
(line 4); "full-ripened" (line 4). These words all imply plenty and fullness.
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"Before high-piléd books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain."
- Explain the effectiveness of the SIMILE. (5)
[Need help?]
This simile extends the metaphor introduced by "gleaned" in line 2.
The many books are compared to full granaries. The words ("charactery") in the books are
compared with the grain in the full granaries.
Keats uses the simile to convey the copious number of ideas which he wants to convert into words to be
contained in books.
If one considers how much grain can be stored in a granary, one gets a sense of how much Keats feels
he has to offer: he hopes to write many books piled on top of each other. Such a prolific number of books
will ensure that he becomes famous.
The word "rich" helps to emphasise the idea of abundance and copiousness.
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"When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance."
- What does the archaic (old-fashioned) word "behold" mean? Identify and explain the figure of
speech in the first line above. (3)
[Need help?]
"Behold" means: to see; to view; to look upon; to observe.
The reference to the "face" of the night introduces personification. The night sky is like a starry
face looking down on the earth.
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- What do the "cloudy symbols" and "high romance" refer to? (3)
[Need help?]
The "cloudy symbols" refer to the Milky Way, a luminous band of stars in the night sky, while
"high romance" refers to romantic love. Romantic love is perfectly-imagined, idealistic love.
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"And think that I will never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance."
- Explain exactly what it is that Keats fears. (3)
[Need help?]
The poet is concerned that he will never be able to describe and write down in words ("trace") the
beauty and nuances of the beautiful night sky.
Being able to capture this beauty with words will be totally by "chance" (the hand of fate). It is
something that will just happen impulsively and naturally. It is not something he will be able to force and
reason through.
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"And when I feel, fair creature of an hour."
- Seen in the context of the sonnet, do these words imply a short-term relationship? Explain your
answer. (2)
[Need help?]
This is no short-term relationship. Thoughts of her make him realise that romantic love and fame are not
important in the big scheme of life: they fade to "nothingness".
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Does this sonnet deal with Keats's fear of death? Does he fear ageing? What is the main theme of this
sonnet? (4)
[Need help?]
The sonnet does not deal with the poet's fear of death or ageing. He is reconciled to the idea of dying and
he never refers to growing old.
The theme of the sonnet is unfulfilled desires. He fears not being able to accomplish his dreams, desires
and aspirations.
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