Keats
by Andrew Motion
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew MotionEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-26
ISBN: 0571172288
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: Faber Faber Inc
Book Reviews of Keats
Book Review: 550+ Pages on Keats? Why Not!
Summary: 4 Stars
I make a full confession of ignorance when it comes to the actual output of the German/English romantic poets of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
However, English romantic poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelly and Byron have a huge influence on how contemporary intellectuals- artists and writers both, see the role of the artist of in society.
I think it's fair to say that even those contemporary artists who are utterly ignorant of English poetry in the 19th century share most, if not all, of the attitudes of those artists when it comes to how they see themselves. They hate the business world, they don't like capitalism, they despise or ignore their critics, they are less concerned with making a living then making a statement. The romantic poets of 19th century England are kind of the ur-romantic intellectual/artistic figures, so I felt like I should check out this 500 page plus biography of John Keats- one of the more flamboyant figures in a posse characterized by flamboyance.
John Keats was called a "cockney" poet during his brief, unsuccessful life. In Motion's lengthy, lengthy book- one of literally dozens of biographies of this subject- Keats emerges like an 18th century analogue of the 20th century pop musicians who comes up "from the streets." For example, many 50s rock and rollers couldn't read music. Keats, who drew almost exclusively on Greek myths for his reference points, couldn't read Greek. Unlike many of the other romantic poets- Keats did not come from a privileged, wealthy background. The untimely death of both of his parents left him enough money so that he didn't have to actually work for a living, but he was hardly gallivanting around the globe Byron style. His one trip abroad- to Italy- resulted in his death (at the age of 25.)
One of the benefits of writing about Keats is that he wrote during a time when people wrote tons of letters and his work was discussed by contemporary critics. The superabundance of materials makes it easier to talk Keats in a contemporary context. One interesting aspect of Keats that emerges in Motion's biography is the relationship between Keats, his critics and his friends. When Keats was writing poetry, poetry was reviewed in much the same way albums and films are reviewed today. Critics had sharp opinions about the merit of specific poets and their output. Keats, as a member of the middle classes espousing an anti-government line, came in for harsh, harsh criticism. He read that criticism, and it totally bummed him out. At the same time, Keats also had a circle of friends who loved his work and when he met his untimely death they came out and crushed the haters.
Today, the contemporary critics of Keats sound like morons and his poetry is read by many an American undergraduate. You wonder if it would have been the same story if he had lived to 85. Again, Keats is an archetype of the "live fast die young famous forever" artist that has so much influence on the mind of artists working today.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that Keats life is wholly irrelevant to the work of artists and critics today, because he seems sorta ridiculous to me. However, it's impossible to ignore the fact that many of the tropes from this biography continue to repeat themselves down to the present day, and this makes Keats a pretty important dude, whether the artists and critics who unwittingly re-enact the episodes of his life in their own contemporary sparring know about him or not.
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