When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be, Summary of the Poem

The central metaphor in the first quatrain is the comparison between writing poetry and harvesting grain. The speaker compares the pen with an implement of harvest(â€Å"glean’d my teeming brain†) and books with the buildings(â€Å"garners†) where grain is stored. The metaphor expresses the first of the speaker’s three main concerns: that death will cut short his poetic career. Just as a person’s natural life spans youth, adulthood, and old age, so the growing of grain follows the natural progression of the seasons. For the poet to die young, however, precludes his chance of â€Å"harvesting† the fruits of his mind, which become â€Å"ripen’d† only as the poet ages. These fruits, which are poetic works, grant the poet fame, represented by the â€Å"high-piled†¦show more content†¦In this state, there is only a hint of solace. While love and fame prove illusory, me â€Å"high romance† of the universe discussed in the second quatrain does not â€Å"sink† into â€Å"nothingness.† It is this mystery, represented by the â€Å"huge cloudy symbols† of Line 6, that the speaker comes closest to in die poem, his fear of death leading to the ultimate question of his own existence. Overview Written in 1818, this poem expresses concerns that run through his poetry and his letters--fame, love, and time. Keats was conscious of needing time to write his poetry; when twenty-one, he wrote, Oh, for ten years that I may overwhelm Myself in poesy. By age twenty-four--only three years later, he had essentially stopped writing because of ill health. There were times he felt confident that his poetry would survive him, I think I shall be among the English Poets after my death. Nevertheless, the inscription he wrote for his headstone was, Here lies one whose name was writ in water. Definitions and Allusions Line 2. glean: in this poem, Keats is using the meaning of collecting patiently or picking out laboriously. teeming: plentiful, overflowing, or produced in large quantities. Line 3. charactery: printing or handwriting. Line 4. garners: granaries or storehouses for grain. Line 6. high romance: high = of an elevated or exaltedShow MoreRelatedJohn Keats: The Next Shakespeare Essay829 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Keats can easily be ranked as the top British poet to ever live; or at least in the top five ranking mark. His usage of his poems structures has become famous, just as his poems have become famous. Due to the young death of this famous poet, his literary work was cut short. 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