A Study Of Keats’ Consciousness Of Death

John Keats, one of the representatives of English romanticism, had a very tragiclife experience. Poverty, illness and death followed him closely throughout his shortlife. The many deaths he had seen around him and the realization of his ownapproaching death made him ponder frequently and deeply on this issue, and he haddeveloped his unique views on death. This thesis attempts to explore the death attitudeof Keats as revealed in his poems and letters.The whole thesis consists of six chapters. Apart from the first and the lastchapters which serve as the introduction and the conclusion respectively, the mainbody of the dissertation is divided into four parts.In the second chapter, the author analyzes Keats’ initial reaction to the cruel andoverpowering death which is characterized by fear, anxiety and utter helplessness. Insuch poems as Isabella and The Eve of St. Agnes Keats showed death as an ugly,gloomy, sinister and horrible figure.The third chapter tries to describe Keats’ efforts to cope with death. Sometimes heshows his unyielding spirit to this abominable foe. Sometimes he tries to findtranquility and even beauty in the ugly figure of death and regards death as a way ofescaping the miseries of human world.The fourth chapter presents the final stage of Keats’ understanding of death. Ashe comes to his maturity, Keats’ attitude to death is no longer simply fear and despair.The knowledge of his approaching death intensifies his love and attachment to lifeand he takes death as a shortcut toward eternity.The fifth chapter offers an analysis of the influencing factors for Keats’ deathattitude. The social and cultural influences and the poet’s personal experiences bothcontribute to the formation and evolution of Keats’ view of death.In Keats’ works, the consciousness of death, his fear, anxiety, the finalconfrontation and aspiration for death, are all affected by social background and thecultural background. The analysis of Keats’ awareness of death can make readers better understand his poems and letters, and better understand the poet from deeperlevel, then understand the living time of the poet at a more expansive dimension. Also,it inspires readers to hold a positive attitude to miseries and misfortunes in life asKeats.