100 Selected Poems by John Keats

One of the most eminent poets of the romantic revival in the early nineteenth century, John Keats (1795-1821) was the last to be born among the Romantics and the first to die. The eldest son of Frances Jennings and Thomas Keats, a stable-keeper, he developed an inclination towards history and classics at an early age. His first poem, ‘Imitation of Spenser’ (1814), was inspired by the fairy land in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. His first collection of poems was published in 1817 and his next volume, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, came out in July 1820. From his early poems, which were considered to be written under the influence of his close friend and contemporary, to his mature and flawless poetry written in the later years, Keats came a long way in a very short time. In a lifespan lasting only two decades and a half, and a poetic career lasting only a few years, he penned down some of the most exquisite verses. His works continue to remain among the greatest and most beautiful creations in English language.