Love Letter
My Selection — From Love Letters of Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who loved Fanny Brawne to madness, and we can see the intensity of that love from his letter to her.
My dearest Girl,
This moment I have set myself to copy some verses out fair. I cannot proceed with any degree of content. I must write you a line or two and see if that will assist in dismissing you from my Mind for ever so short a time. Upon my Soul I can think of nothing else — The time is passed when I had power to advise and warn you against the unpromising morning of my Life — My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you — I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again — my Life seems to stop there — I see no further. You have absorb’d me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving — I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. I should be afraid to separate myself far from you. My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change? My love, will it? I have no limit now to my love — Your note came in just here — I cannot be happier away from you — ’T is richer than an Argosy of Pearls. Do not threat me even in jest. I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion — I have shudder’d at it — I shudder no more. I could be martyr’d for my Religion — Love is my religion — I could die for that — I could die for you. My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet — You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist; and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often “to reason against the reasons of my Love.” I can do that no more — the pain would be too great — My Love is selfish. I cannot breathe without you.
Yours for ever
John Keats
John Keats has written this letter in October 1819. He put out his heart in his letter to Fanny that how much he loved her. We can clearly see Keat’s impatience and storming love for Fanny that he sees nothing but her and thinks of nothing but of her.
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who was born on October 31, 1795, grew up to see greater tragedies in the shape of the deaths of nears and dears.
His father died when he was eight years old and his mother died of tuberculosis six years later. Like his mother, his brother Tom also died of tuberculosis only to make him more miserable.
In 1819, Keats himself contracted Tuberculosis and was certain that his death is upon him. While nursing his brother Tom, he met a beautiful girl called Fanny Brawne and was ultimately engaged to her. His literary ambitions and his failing health prevented them to get married.
When his health deteriorated, Shelly, another great romantic poet and friend of Keats, invited him to Rome to live in a warm climate country to mitigate the effect of Tuberculosis.
However, this great poetic genius died on February 23, 1821, in Rome at the age of 25. At that young age, he had produced poetry that is still unmatched and that passed the test of time.
According to critics, had he lived longer, he would have outdone every great poet in English literature.
