Thomas Yee

Mrs. Wheatley
ELA B30
27 November 2013
When I have Fears that I May Cease to be by John Keats
Summary
Keats describes some of the fears he has. He fears that he will die before he
has written a great amount of poetry. He also fears that he wont experience fame
and see a certain woman. He is scared that he will not reach his full creative
potential by the time death arrives.

Analysis
Keats fears that he will have an early death which causes him to have a lot of
turmoil. The presence of this fear causes him to imagine that he wont experience
fame or to see a certain woman that he feels so passionately about. This is shown
when he says, And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, that I shall never look upon
thee more. Keats never did get to feel the feeling of fame. He also passed away
before he could marry Fanny Brawne, the women he felt so dearly about. It wouldnt
be until many years later that he would get his fame as a poet.
This poem is in the form of an Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet. It is a
fourteen line poem written in Iambic Pentameter with three quatrains and a rhyming
couplet at the end. Each quatrain has four lines of poetry with a rhyming scheme

that starts in abab then in succession with cdcd and efef. The concluding rhyming
couplet has a gg rhyming style.
The title of this poem is important because it describes the poem in one
sentence. It shows the reader that the poem will be about the fears he has about
death. It is also significant because it is the first line of the poem. He must have
thought the line was very meaningful to make it the title.
I thought the poem was very well written. He uses great metaphors and
imagery. For example, in line 5, When I behold, upon the nights starrd face, it
gave me the image of a dark night sky lit up with beautiful stars. This poem made
me reflect on my own life because I want to be remembered for something when I
die. The fear of death is normal but we shouldnt let it consume our lives. If you let
this fear run your life, it will cause you unnecessary stress and worry. I am not
fearful of dying because I know that God has a plan for all of us and only God knows
when our time is up. Death is part of our life and its inevitable. We should live enjoy
every day and live each day like it is our last.