John Keats was born in London in 1795 as the eldest of four siblings. His father died in a riding accident when Keats was just eight years old, and his mother succumbed to tuberculosis six years later — the same illness that would ultimately take Keats' life. He was partly raised by a tea merchant, Richard Abbey, who didn't support Keats' literary ambitions. Keats trained as an apothecary-surgeon and received his license in 1816, but he quickly left medicine behind to pursue poetry full time. It was a bold, some would say reckless, choice for a young man without financial independence.
He became part of a circle that included critic Leigh Hunt and painter Benjamin Robert Haydon, who exposed him to classical sculpture and the Elgin Marbles. These experiences left a lasting impression on his imagination — the idea of beauty as something achingly fleeting became central to his best work. He was an avid reader: Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, and Dante all influenced his style.
“The years 1818 and 1819 were both incredibly productive and intensely challenging for him.”
He cared for his brother Tom during the final stages of tuberculosis, witnessed his death, and then fell deeply in love with Fanny Brawne, a neighbor he could never afford to marry. This emotional pressure led to an extraordinary outpouring of poetry, including his great odes, *Lamia*, *The Eve of St. Agnes*, and much more. He wrote at a pace that seems almost unimaginable now.
By early 1820, he was coughing up blood and understood the implications. He traveled to Rome that autumn, hoping the warmer climate would provide relief, accompanied by his friend, painter Joseph Severn. Unfortunately, it did not help. He passed away in Rome in February 1821 at the age of twenty-five and was laid to rest in the Protestant Cemetery there. His gravestone, per his own wishes, has no name — only the words "Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water."
