From Medical Apprentice to Immortal Poet: Biography of John Keats

The luminous star of the British Romantic Poetry, John Keats lived and incandescent life from 1795 to 1821, achieving recognition and immortality through his famous Odes and Sonnets. 

The story of John Keats’ is one of a young orphaned boy who trained as an apothecary to become a poet who mesmerised the world with his famous works including Odes such as Ode to Psyche, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to a Frecian Urn, Ode on Melancholy and much more. Dive into the blog to know the story of this Immortal Romantic Poet.

John Keats Early Life: Birth and Enfield School Days 

John Keats was born in London on October 31, 1795, to Thomas Keats and Frances Jennings (née Jennings). Thomas Keats worked as a manager at the stable of the Swan and Hoop Inn, owned by his father-in-law John Jennings.

In the summer of 1803, when he was eight, Keats attended John Clarke’s school in Enfield. But life was not planned smoothly for the young poet. On April 16, 1804, John Keats’ father died from a skull fracture after falling from his horse on City Road in London, upon returning from a visit to him and his younger brother at the Enfield School. 

Soon after his father’s death, John Keats’ mother Frances Jennings married William Rawlings, a bank clerk, leaving John and his two younger brothers George Keats and Tom Keats, and sister Fanny Keats with their grandmother Alice Jennings. When Keats was 14, his mother died of tuberculosis (then called consumption), and Keats saw death from close quarters at a very young age.

At John Clarke’s school, Keats made friends with Charles Cowden Clarke, who introduced him to poets like Spenser and Homer. Even after John Keats was orphaned, Clarke provided him with great support. Clarke’s encouragement helped Keats shape pain into passion and evoke his early interest in poetry. 

From Medical Apprentice to Poetry Passion: John Keats’ Guys College Days

At around the summer of 1810, Keats took medical apprenticeship under an apothecary-surgeon, Thomas Hammond, in Edmonton. During this time, Keats was also actively pursuing poetry along with medical training. In 1814, inspired by his mentor and close friend Charles Cowden Clarke’s reading of Spenser, he completed his first poem “Imitation of Spenser.” 

In 1815, Keats joined the Guy’s Hospital and Young’s College in London. At Young’s College, Keats learned to perform wound dressings, leeching, bloodletting, tooth extractions and assisted operations without anaesthesia and also visited Charles Cowden Clarke weekly and composed sonnets. On July 25, 1816, Keats qualified the Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries (LSA), which allowed him to practice as an apothecary. 

Instead of practicing as an apothecary, Keats chose to pursue poetry full-time and went to Margaret seaside resort along with his brother Tom. There, he immersed himself completely into writings and composed some of his initial works including To My Brother George, To Charles Cowden Clarke, Calidore, To Hope, and others. He also studied Wordsworth and refined influences of Spenser and Homer. 

Also read: https://sanews.in/biography-of-william-wordsworth/

Mentors and Influences: Leigh Hunt’s Role in Keats’ Rise

Upon his return from Margaret by late September, Keats shared with Charles Cowden Clarke, On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, who then introduced it to Leigh Hunt Leigh Hunt was the cofounder and editor of the radical weekly journal The Examiner. 

Following this, Hunt welcomes Keats into his Hampstead house and introduces him to the literary circle. It was here that Keats met other poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, painter Benjamin Haydon and John Hamilton Reynolds. John Keats faced initial criticism with his work Endymion, which was published in 1818. 

Walking Tour and Family Loss

In June 1818, John Keats took a walking tour with Charles Armitage Brown through Scotland and the Lake District. This was the phase which caught him early tuberculosis symptoms from fatigue and cold. 

Meanwhile his brother, George moved to America with his wife in late June, leaving Tom (who suffered consumption) alone. To nurse his younger brother, John returned to London. But Tom died on December 1, 1818, devastating Keats.

Romantic Inspiration and Masterpieces

Following brother Tom’s death, Keats moved to Wentworth Palace with Brown. At Wentworth Palace, he met his neighbour’s daughter Fanny Brown and fell in love with her. 

It was during this time that he did his major iconic works including The Eve of St. Agnes, The Eve of St. Mark, La Belle Dame sans Mercy and his Great Odes including Ode to Psyche, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to a Frecian Urn, Ode on Melancholy, To Autumn and the sketches of Otho the Great and The Fall of Hyperion. 

John Keats Final Months and Decline  

John Keats brother George’s pennliess return from America, only led him to give all his inheritance to his younger brother. On February 3, 1820 his first lung hemorrhage broke, confining him indoors.

During this time, Keats only revised poems, his 1820 volume Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and other Poems—featuring the Great Odes—finally won praise, validating his genius. In June, a second hemorrhage worsened Keats’ health, leaving him to the reliance of his friends like Leigh Hunt.

Advised that England’s damp weather would only add to his suffering, John Keats along with artist Joseph Severn sailed for Rome. They reached Naples on November 15, then Rome. Keats famously wanted his grave to read “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” Severn nursed Keats until his last time. Keats died on February 23, 1821, at the age of 25 due to tuberculosis. He is buried in Rome’s Protestant Cemetery. 

Top 10 Famous John Keats Poems Every Lover Should Know

Here is a list of John Keats’ Famous Poem worth reading. 

1. Bright Star, would I were stedfast as thou art (1819)

2. To Autumn (1819)

3. Ode to a Nightingale (1819)

4. Ode on a Grecian Urn (1819) 

5. La Belle Dame sans Merci (1819)

6. Ode on Melancholy (1819)

7. Ode to Psyche (1819)

8. On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer (1816)

9. To Sleep (1816)

10. When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be (1818)

Supreme God can end the Suffering of His Children

John Keats was a famous romantic poet, who besides his short life, gave masterpieces that continue to inspire generations. He was among the best Romantic poets. John Keats’ life was full of grief, sorrows and difficulties. He died at a young age of 25. 

Holy Rigveda Mandala 10, Sukta 161, Mantra 2 states that Supreme God can extend the age of His true devotee to 100 years while also granting health and freedom from diseases. 

The Supreme God is Kabir Saheb ji. There have been innumerable examples of the devotees, who are living a happy and disease free life after receiving initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj. For more information, readers are requested to visit Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj YouTube Channel or download Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj Application from Playstore.