When I Have Fears Analysis

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

.: :.

When I have fears that I will die before I get the chance to write down all the things that are in my brain, before I am able to write piles of books filled with my writing; when I look at the starry night and the clouds and see the different symbols of romance and think that I might die before I get the chance to write poetry about them; and when I feel that that I will never be able to look upon the magic face of love, and I will never have the chance to enjoy the supernatural power of unquestionable love—then I stand alone on the shore of the wide world, and think until love and fame mean nothing to me. .

| Posted on 2009-11-05 | by a guest

.: :.

Thanks for nothing all of you do not know how to write about a professional poem. Such ignorance here.

| Posted on 2009-11-04 | by a guest

.: :.

_When I have fears that I may cease to be_
When I have fears of dying
Before I've written my poems,
Before I write books of worth;
When I behold symbols of beauty and think that I may never live up to them, never trace their shadows
And when I feel that I will never see my love again, never relish in the 'faery power' of unreflecting, solid, love -- then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Until love and fame mean nothing no longer

| Posted on 2009-06-30 | by a guest

.: :.

Can someone please summarize the whole poem please and thank you.

| Posted on 2009-05-06 | by a guest

.: :.

Ok, main points of this poem.
-Shakespearean Sonnet
-End-stopping lines
-Ideas developed over three quatrains
-Link words
-Couplet run on from final quatrain
-Effect not trivial
-Natural images
-Concrete images
-Ideas of self doubt
-Contrast

| Posted on 2009-05-01 | by a guest

.: :.

John Keats is expressing his feelings of inadequacy. He feels as though his poetic works are not comparable to those poets who came before him ("When I behold...huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that i may never live to trace Their shadows", symbols of a high romance being a metaphor for famous poets).

| Posted on 2009-04-13 | by a guest

.: :.

This is one of Keats's most famous sonnets. It is typically formed by three quatrains and a final couplet (Elizabethan sonnet).
He wrote this poem when he was 21 and only three years later he had essentially stopped writing, due to his health problems.
As Keats's life was full of misfortunes and setbacks, his poems constantly reflect a deep sense of melancholy, although mixed up with his unlimited love for Beauty.
Here again, the general setting is on the sad side: the reflection on death and his preoccupation of not being able to fully show his poetical gifts, seem to be a sort of prediction of how short his life will be.
The poet’s concern with the passing of time is indicated by the repetition of “when” at the beginning of each quatrain and it is also reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Sonnet XII (“When I do count the clock...”).
The conclusion has a sombre tone and it is imbued with a sense of resignation and solitude (“I stand alone”). The sensuous, rich imagery of the second quatrain with its starry night has now turned into a vast shore on a world that’s much too wide for him. And for us too…
Giovanni di Fazio - Italy

| Posted on 2009-03-08 | by a guest

.: :.

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,

| Posted on 2009-02-27 | by a guest

.: :.

Keats states that he fears death for a few reasons. The first quatrain expresses his fear that he will not be able to accomplish as much fame as he wishes to. "Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain." The poet possesses so many poetic thoughts that he fears he will not be able to express them all in time. The second quatrain expresses his fear that he will not be able to experience the love which the Heavens boast. He looks at the night sky, mesmorized by the "cloudy symbols of romance," and worries that he will never get a chance to experience such wonders. Finally he regrets that he may not have time to puruse a love affair with a newly met woman. A "creaute of an hour." The final quatrain establishes an image of Keats utterly alone with his thoughts, even his concerns regarding love and fame have been sunk to nothingness as death lumes over him.

| Posted on 2009-02-06 | by a guest

.: :.

I wish one of you guys would have just analyzed the poem. I'm doing a research project on Keats and this doesn't help me whatsoever.

| Posted on 2009-01-26 | by a guest

.: :.

This is pathetic. It's ironic that you both jeer at someone else's mistakes while making typical if not juvenile mistakes yourselves. It's laughable, and both of you should be ashamed.

| Posted on 2009-01-26 | by a guest

.: :.

If I am correct, summary isn't spelled "summry."
There is a possibility that certain types of computers do not have spell check available on it's web browsers. (Apples, Linux, etc.)
Not everyone uses Windows, you know.
Personally, I hate Windows.
Anyways, the poem does suggest that John Keats does have fears of dying before writing all of the poems he wants to. John Keats compares romance in the heavens, and basically tells us that Shakespeare influenced many people after his time.

| Posted on 2008-12-17 | by a guest

.: summry :.

you should run things through spell check before posting them on the internet.
or at least proof read your work before thousands of people read it.

Second line-This
Fourth line-Romance
Sixth line-In & Encounter
Eighth line- Experiencing
Ninth line- All
Proper names should be capitalized and spelled correctly!
Shakespeare

| Posted on 2007-10-11 | by a guest

.: analyse when i have fears :.

the first quatrain expresses the poet's fears that he may die before he has written all the poems that he wants to. Tihis is expanded in the second quatrain with a more specific reference to the possibility he may never trace all the "high rtomance" he sees symbolized in the heavens. In the third quatrain he adresses a woman whom he met inb a brief encountr to consider that he may also be prevented from ever experiencnmg love. finally, he presents an image of himself standing alone on the shore of the whole wide world with alll personal ambitions and concerns erased form his mind by the immensity of what he contemplates.
This poem shows shakespears's influence on keats...

| Posted on 2006-02-26 | by Approved Guest