September 28, 2009

Keats and His 'Bright Star'

Keats and His 'Bright Star' 1

Keats house, City of London

An ambrotype portrait of Fanny Brawne, 1855

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Keats house, City of London

An ambrotype portrait of Fanny Brawne, 1855

By Amy Leal

In the village of Hampstead, England, John Keats wrote most of his great odes and mature poems in a two-family house he shared with his friend Charles Brown. He also lived an acutely pent-up existence there—emotionally, mentally, and sexually.

Fanny Brawne would never become Mrs. John Keats, nor would they ever consummate their love. They became engaged in 1819 but delayed marrying until Keats earned some money or realized his inheritance; he died of tuberculosis in Rome before

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