Poetry collections are often a respite for the persons who are marred by the whimsical world which is offended by just nothing… those who love literature and also those who have nothing to do with it, a good poem will always be good – irrespective of gender, caste, creed and race… poetry does not know any boundaries and nor do the lovers of poetry. Today, I will be reviewing The Complete Poems of John Keats (Wordsworth Editions). This is a collection which was also in my University syllabus and I had the luxurious chance to read and reread it many times and sometimes just the random readings. Today, I will share my opinions and experiences with this poetry collection of John Keats.

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”

Howsoever failed his oeuvre might be for the critics and intellectuals, John Keats will remain one of the most loved poets as long as there would be something like poetry on the earth. Yes, most of his poems (when you mark them) sound subjective and sometimes entirely personal. He seems like a caged bird which is flapping the wings to come out of the cage and fortunately or unfortunately, the cage is self-construct! Even then, the sub-conscious, the poet in Keats looks beyond these and he always thinks of something which is rather permanent. For example, let’s have a look at the following lines taken from his poem To My Brother George:

These are the living pleasures of the bard:
But richer far posterity’s award.
What does he murmur with his latest breath,
While his proud eye looks through the film of death?

He has maintained a sense of detachment even after an affectionate address to his brother George. Vainly attempting his art on writing longer poems, Keats tried his best to do justice with the Homeric and Greek mythology but yes, on technicalities, he rather failed. However, a master of aphorism as he was, he landed us some of the most-quoted gems in poetry and we must be thankful to him for that pleasure! Even his epic-failures offer us worthy marvels of poetry! And such was the art of this death-infatuated poet John Keats.

The Complete Poems of John Keats is a splendid collection which offers the readers a complete outlook of the poet’s oeuvre. You can find his poems addressed to some unknown lady and also the poems addressed to Chapman and even Shakespeare. Whatever he wrote, is there in the book! Those who want to know the person Keats was, and that through his poetry, must be reading this collection with utmost care. You can get the copy of this wonderful Wordsworth Edition of Keats’ poetry from the link below:

John Keats: Complete Poems on Amazon