Notes For May 5th, 2026

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This Day In Literary History

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On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, which drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject."

- John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2025

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This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour took him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats' executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that."

- John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2024

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour took him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats' executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that."

- John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2023

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour took him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats' executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2023

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2022

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2021

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2020

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2019

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2018

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2017

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2017

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale, performed by actor Robert Donat. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2016

---

This Day In Literary History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode to a Nightingale, performed by actor Robert Donat. Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2015

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary English poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine.

Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen. In 1815, he was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing.

The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner.

This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were trashed by critics, who drove him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classing poem, Ode to a Nightingale, performed by actor Robert Donat. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2014

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his epitaph to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors engraved his headstone:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2013

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. Soon, he became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis at the age of 25, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were savaged by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted the poet's critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his gravestone to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors had it engraved:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For August 8th, 2012

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On August 8th, 1818, the legendary English poet John Keats returned home from a strenuous walking tour of the United Kingdom. The tour would take him through Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District of Northwestern England.

Keats was accompanied by his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his sister-in-law Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster. The couple then went to Liverpool. From there, they emigrated to America.

In July of 1818, while on the Scottish Isle of Mull, John Keats caught a bad cold. He continued on the walking tour and his cold worsened. He began showing the early signs of tuberculosis. He soon became too ill to remain on the tour.

Back home by August, Keats set about nursing his brother Tom, who was dying of tuberculosis, exposing himself to more infection. Tom died a few months later.

At that time, tuberculosis, then known as consumption, had not yet been identified as a bacterial infection of the lungs. It was seen as a weak person's illness, contracted by the physically or spiritually weak, in the latter case a symptom of either severely repressed or unbridled lust.

Since tuberculosis was believed to be caused by engaging in sexual practices considered sinful, (or the desire to engage in such practices) the disease carried with it a huge social stigma. Contracting tuberculosis was as humiliating as contracting a venereal disease.

John Keats would die of tuberculosis in 1821, three years after returning home from his walking tour. As his health deteriorated, he established himself as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time.

Ironically, during his short life, Keats' works were scorned by critics to the point that he was driven to despair by the bad reviews. His close friend and fellow poet Lord Byron urged him to buck up and not let the critics get to him.

Byron, recalling his own reaction to negative reviews, quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

When John Keats died in 1821, tuberculosis had finally been identified as a bacterial infection. Though he was no longer shamed by the disease, a new myth began that dragged his name through the mud.

It was said - and even his friend Percy Shelley believed - that John Keats had been killed by bad reviews, too weak to withstand the critics' onslaught. In Adonais, Shelley's classic poem eulogizing Keats, he depicted Keats' critics as loathsome creatures like worms and reptiles.

Although Keats' girlfriend Fanny Brawne blamed Shelley's poem for exacerbating the myth of Keats' fragility, the real culprits were Keats's executors. He had wanted his gravestone to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors had it engraved:

This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion - I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more - I could be martyred for my religion. Love is my religion - I could die for that." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classic poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn. Enjoy!

Notes For December 1st, 2011

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On December 1st, 1821, Adonais, the classic epic poem by legendary English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was published. It appeared in the Literary Chronicle and became known as one of the greatest Romantic poems ever written.

Adonais was Shelley's elegy to his close friend, the legendary English poet John Keats, who had died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. Shelley believed that scathing reviews of his poetry, not tuberculosis, had actually killed Keats.

During his short life, Keats' work was loudly derided by critics. It wouldn't be until after his death that Keats was finally recognized as the one of the greatest poets of all time.

In Adonais, Shelley metaphorically depicted Keats' critics as loathsome creatures such as worms, reptiles, and dragons. Other scathing metaphors included "carrion kite" and "a noteless blot on a remembered name."

Keats' girlfriend, Fanny Browne, complained that Adonais made Keats appear overly sensitive and gave him "a weakness of character that only belonged to his ill-health."

The great poet Lord Byron, a mutual friend of Shelley and Keats, recalled his own reaction to negative reviews and quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

Shelley's poem wasn't really to blame for the resulting myth of Keats' fragility. Keats had wanted his gravestone to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but this is how his executors had it engraved:

"This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone."

By the time the engraving was completed on Keats' tombstone, Percy Bysshe Shelley had also died, drowning at sea after his ship went down in a storm.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." - Percy Bysshe Shelley

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a complete reading of Adonais - performed by Vincent Price! Enjoy!

Notes For May 5th, 2011

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On May 5th, 1816, O Solitude, the first published poem by the legendary British poet John Keats, appeared in The Examiner, which at the time was England's leading liberal magazine. Keats, the son of a bartender, began writing poetry at the age of eighteen.

In 1815, Keats was studying medicine at Guy's Hospital, (now part of King's College, London) but his true passion was writing. The hospital was more interested in Keats' medical skills - they offered him a position as junior surgeon. This increased his workload and cut into his writing time, causing him to fall into a depression.

Determined to become a poet, Keats spent his precious spare time honing his writing skills and studying the works of others. In May of 1816, his sonnet O Solitude was accepted for publication by The Examiner. This was a milestone in Keats' career and a great source of encouragement, as The Examiner's editor was poet Leigh Hunt, one of Keats' literary idols. O Solitude introduced Keats' distinctive style and helped to establish him as one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,-
Nature’s observatory - whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Five months after his poem was published, Keats was introduced to the man who published it, his literary idol Leigh Hunt, by his friend, writer Charles Cowden Clarke. Impressed by Keats, Hunt brought him into his literary circle, which included such legendary poets as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

After Keats' first poetry collection, Poems, was published in 1817, he gave up medicine and devoted himself exclusively to writing. In his short life, he would become one of the greatest poets of his generation, writing many classic poems. Sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at the age of 25.

During his short life, Keats' works were often derided by the critics, driving him to despair. It wasn't until after his death that he was finally recognized as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of all time. His works remain hugely influential to this day.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject." - John Keats

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features a reading of John Keats' classing poem, Ode to a Nightingale, performed by actor Robert Donat. Enjoy!

Notes For December 1st, 2010

---

This Day In Writing History

---

On December 1st, 1821, Adonais, the classic poem by legendary British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was published. It appeared in the Literary Chronicle and became known as one of the greatest Romantic poems ever written.

Adonais was Shelley's elegy to his close friend, the legendary British poet John Keats, who had died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. Shelley believed that scathing reviews of his poetry, not tuberculosis, had actually killed Keats. During his short life, Keats' work was loudly derided by critics. It wouldn't be until after his death that Keats was finally recognized as the one of the greatest poets of all time.

In Adonais, Shelley metaphorically depicted Keats' critics as loathsome creatures such as worms, reptiles, and dragons. Other scathing metaphors included "carrion kite" and "a noteless blot on a remembered name." Keats' girlfriend, Fanny Browne, complained that Adonais made Keats appear overly sensitive and gave him "a weakness of character that only belonged to his ill-health."

The great poet Lord Byron, a mutual friend of Shelley and Keats, recalled his own reaction to negative reviews and quipped, "Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of claret and began an answer." In his classic poem Don Juan, Byron described Keats' fate this way:

'Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle,
Should let itself be snuffed out by an Article.

Shelley's poem wasn't really to blame for the resulting myth of Keats' fragility. Keats had wanted his gravestone to read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but his executors had it engraved, "This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone."

By the time the engraving was completed on Keats' tombstone, Percy Bysshe Shelley had also died, drowning at sea after his ship went down in a storm.

To read the complete text of Shelley's classic poem, Adonais, click here.

---

Quote Of The Day

---

"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." - Percy Bysshe Shelley

---

Vanguard Video

---

Today's video features an excerpt from a documentary about John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Adonais. Enjoy! Note: You'll have to click on it and watch it on YouTube.