KEATS, JOHN

by Algernon Charles Swinburne Swinburne's prose is precisely what one might expect from a poet whose verse is so markedly idiosyncratic; but what a shock it must have been to the editor of the Ninth Edition (1875-89)! This "biography" of fellow-poet John Keats really must be read aloud to be fully appreciated. Evidently the editor did appreciate it, although he found it necessary to subjoin a lengthy footnote in order to supply the reader of the encyclopdia with "the most important facts in the life of Keats." Keats, John born October 31, 1795, London, Eng. died February 23, 1821, Rome, Papal States English Romantic lyric poet who devoted his short life to the perfection of a poetry marked by vivid imagery, great sensuous appeal, and an attempt to express a philosophy through classical legend. Additional reading Three major critical biographies are Walter Jackson Bate, John Keats (1963, reprinted 1978); Robert Gittings, John Keats (1968, reissued 1985); and Aileen Ward, John Keats: The Making of a Poet, rev. ed. (1986). Special studies are Claude Lee Finney, The Evolution of Keats's Poetry, 2 vol. (1936, reprinted 1963), a detailed account of the origins of the poems; M.R. Ridley, Keats' Craftsmanship (1933, reissued 1963); John Spencer Hill (ed.), Keats: The Narrative Poems (1983), a collection of 19th- and 20th-century criticism; and Wolf Z. Hirst, John Keats (1981), a study of his life and work. Helen Vendler, The Odes of John Keats (1983); and John Barnard, John Keats (1987), are both critical assessments.