1. A GROUP PROJECT BY: ANTHONY TANNER YURIY “When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be”

2. “When I have Fear that I May Cease to Be” When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain, Before high-piled books, in charactery, Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain; When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance; And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, That I shall never look upon thee more, Never have relish in the faery power Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

3. Author Notes John Keats was born in Finsbury Pavement near London on October 31 st, 1795 Rough childhood led to living with mother and grandmother Constantly suffered from Tuberculosis. He was fascinated with his own death He sacrificed a wealthy medically ambitious life to write literature

4. Author Notes cont. Had a rough start to his poetry, receiving many negative feedbacks initially After the downfall of his poem “Endymion” he moved in with Charles Brown who rented his house to Mrs. Brawne and her sixteen year old daughter Fanny Because of these girls, his poetry was drowned in romance

5. Background of the Poem It was written in 1818 Originally was a letter to John Hamilton Reynolds It shows his desperate desire for love and success

6. Summary “When I have fears that I may cease to be before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain”  Worried about his death and what will come after. “ Before high piled books, in charactery, hold like rich garners the full ripened grain”  Reflection on nature “ When I behold upon the night’s starr’d face, huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And feel that I may never live to trace. Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance”  Lines of optimistic dreaming and alluding to romance

7. Summary cont. “And when I feel, fair creature of an hour! That shall never look upon thee more, Never have relish in the faery power Of unreflecting love – then on the shore”  Keats doubts his abilities for romance and success “Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.”  Keats gets caught up in the overwhelming task of romance and trivial desires

8. Theme Ambition  His fear of death makes his goal for ambition prevalent  He wonders why spend so much time on small desires, when nature is standing by  “Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.”

9. Elements Romance Foreshadowing Sense of Failure and Death

10. Opinion Poet, John Keats, is constantly worried about his inevitable death and failure and lack of romance.  “When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be”  “And think I may never live to trace” John Keats worries too much for a Tuberculosis patient, he needs to focus more on living and escape his desparately romantic phase.  “Till love and fame to nothingness do sink”