Keats
A Brief Life in Nine Poems and One Epitaph
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- USD 12.99
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- USD 12.99
Descripción editorial
'Outstanding... The best short introduction I have come across' Sunday Times
When he died at the age of just twenty-five, few imagined John Keats would one day be considered among the greatest poets of all time.
Taking nine of Keats's best-known poems, Lucasta Miller excavates their backstories and, in doing so, resurrects the real Keats: an outsider from a damaged family whose visceral love of language allowed him to change the face of English literature for ever.
Combining close-up readings with the story of his brief existence, Miller shows us how Keats crafted his groundbreaking poetry and explains why it continues to speak to us across the centuries.
'One never wants Keats's life to end so soon; I didn't want this book to end, either' TLS Books of the Year
'Irresistible... [Miller]digs into the backstories of her subject's most famous poems to uncover aspects of his life and work that challenge well-worn romantic myths' Wall Street Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Critic Miller (The Brontë Myth) considers the life of English poet John Keats (1795–1821) via nine of his poems in this detailed and original study. Melding biography, close reading, and personal essay, Miller creates an intimate account of Keats's endeavor "to use the abstract medium of language to bring body and soul together." Miller examines each poem and the circumstances of its composition, alongside key events in Keats's life. Her reading of "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" tells of the deaths of several of his family members during his childhood; "Endymion" sheds light on Keats's decision as a young man to leave his apothecary apprenticeship and pursue poetry; and the epitaph, titled "Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water," offers insight into his death in Rome at the age of 25, which he viewed as his "only comfort." Miller conveys a strong personal connection with the poet (having "lived in Keats's stomping ground"), and shares anecdotes about her research, her visit to one of Keats's residences, and her attempt to find a bench he once supposedly sat on. These personal sections bring in some levity to balance her taut analysis. This penetrating and charming study will enchant Keats's fans.
