POEM : WHEN I HAVE FEAR...
by JOHN KEATS
THEME OF THE POEM
The speaker at times
worries about dying before he or she has turned all the thoughts in his or her
busy mind into poetry, before the speaker has filled stacks of books with
these thoughts in the same way that a farmer would fill storehouses with
harvested grain. At times the speaker looks up into the starry night sky
and sees vast images of elevated (perhaps chivalrous) love there. The
speaker worries about not living long enough to get the chance to translate
these symbols into poetry. At times the speaker fears being unable to look
upon his or her beautiful beloved, and of no longer being able to enjoy the
transformative power of love. When the speaker considers these fears, the
speaker feels isolated, as if standing all alone on vast seashore. In such
moments, the speaker feels as if love and fame do not matter, or perhaps are
impossible in the face of death.
