Selected Letters

by John Keats, Robert Gittings (Editor), Jon Mee (Introduction)

Keats's letters have long been regarded as an extraordinary record of poetic development. According to T. S. Eliot, Keats's letters are "the most notable and most important ever written by any English poet." They represent one of the most sustained reflections on the poet's art we have from any of the major English poets. Yet quite apart from the light they throw on the poetry, they are great works of literature in their own right. Written with gusto and occasionally painful candor, they show a powerful intelligence struggling to come to terms with its own mortality.

Sometimes bitterly jealous in love and socially and financially insecure, at others playful and confident of his own greatness, Keats interweaves his personal plight with the history of a Britain emerging from the long years of the Napoleonic Wars into a world of political unrest, profound social change, and commercial expansion.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, 19th Century, Classics, Biography, Literature, Unfinished

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Rich melodic works in classical imagery of English poet John Keats include " The Eve of Saint Agnes ," " Ode on a Grecian Urn ," and " To Autumn ," all in 1819.

Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley include "Adonais," an elegy of 1821 to John Keats.

Work of the principal of the Romantic movement of England received constant critical attacks from the periodicals of the day during his short life. He nevertheless posthumously immensely influenced poets, such as Alfred Tennyson. Elaborate word choice and sensual imagery characterize poetry, including a series of odes, masterpieces of Keats among the most popular poems in English literature. Most celebrated letters of Keats expound on his aesthetic theory of "negative capability."

Wikipedia page of the author

Reviews

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Love is my religion — I could die for that — I could die for you.
My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet.”

[SarahC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only started exploring John Keats in recent years. I have read a bit of his biographical information, and was glad to find the letter collections. I am drawn to Keats' youth and his short life. I am drawn to his gifted, intense personality and his need to create. I am impressed that he seemed to write constantly during the years covered by these letters. In addition to the poetry, he authored these profound, illustrative, private, warm, funny, and, finally, pain-filled letters. It seems that no one within his circle could have received these beautiful letters and not gained more and more true knowledge of their intimate friend Keats. And many of them are romantically-passionate (the Fanny Brawne letters) and most are greatly life-passionate.

I am continuing my journey by reading more of the letter collections, the poetry, and will resume the Andrew Motion biography, that I had read a portion of previously.

[M. Sarki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing read. Not my cup of tea. Far too verbose and inconsequential for me. Not even a fan of his poetry, but thought I might get something out of his letters. Not so.

[Elysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keats' letters make me nostalgic for a time I was never a part of. His emotional state about his poems and his life are so easy to follow because of the candid way he speaks to his friends. His life was an interesting one that was sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes beautiful. I will visit these many times, and they have helped improve my understanding of his poetry immensely.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should begin by saying that I didn't read the entire book. I specifically wanted to read the letters to Fanny Brawne (for a good, Valentine's Day read!) and I was not disappointed! (Like I would be...)

The letters were beautiful and romantic with just the right amount of sadness to warm my cold, dead heart.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Por qué leer las cartas de Keats?

Hay por lo menos dos razones para querer leer la extensa correspondencia que dejó el poeta romántico John Keat al morir con sólo 25 años. La primera es práctica: muchos de los poemas publicados o no en vida del poeta nacieron o fueron dados a conocer al calor de sus cartas a sus amigos, a su familia y a su novia Fanny. Es, por tanto, una ocasión casi única en el mundo de la creación poética de poder asistir al proceso de gestación de un poeta y su obra. En particular, la lectura de las cartas de Keats ha sido un recurso importante durante mi lectura y análisis de su obra poética, como explico >>aquí

La segunda razón, es que la lectura de sus cartas es en sí misma gratificante; nos permite compartir las experiencias de vida de un joven poeta que desea abrirse paso en la Inglaterra de principios del siglo XIX y conocer sus anhelos, sus viajes, sus angustias, sus profundas reflexiones sobre el oficio de poeta y sobre el arte, las relaciones que tejió con sus amigos y el despertar y la agonía del amor por una mujer. Keats fue un prosista epistolar bastante bueno.

La historia editorial de la correspondencia de Keats es larga y rica, de forma que la resumiremos refiriéndonos a tres hitos importantes: la primera publicación de la correspondencia de Keats por Harry Buxton Forman en 1883; la publicación de Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends, recopiladas y editadas por Sidney Colvin en 1891; y la importantísima y mucho más completa edición crítica de Hyder Edward Rollins en dos volúmenes titulada The Letters of John Keats, 1814-1821 publicada por Harvard University Press en 1958.

Las tres ediciones de las cartas revisadas

Lo que cuenta para nosotros los lectores promedio (es decir, no especialistas ni eruditos) es que a partir de la edición crítica de Rollins se han publicado ediciones más manejables por el público en general, de las cuales reseñaré tres que he revisado:

1. La edición de John Barnard, profesor emerito de la Universidad de Leeds, titulada Selected Letters of John Keats y publicada por Penguin Classics en 2014 (no se menciona en el libro ninguna edición anterior);

2. La edición de Grant Scott titulada también Selected Letters of John Keats y publicada por primera vez por Harvard University Press en tapa dura en 2002 y en rústica en 2005;

3. Y por último, en español, la de la Alianza Editorial, publicada en 2020 como John Keats, Cartas. Antología editada por Ángel Rupérez, quien también es responsable de la traducción de las cartas y los poemas que algunas de éstas contienen.

Valoración

Como digo, he revisado las tres y creo que cada una aporta un valor concreto, que de manera resumida puedo expresar así:

1. La de Scott moderniza la ortografía y puntuación de las cartas manuscritas e introduce separaciones de párrafo y otras operaciones de edición/diagramación para hacer las cartas más fácilmente leíbles. Incluye además de las cartas de Keats unas pocas intercambiadas entre sus amigos unos meses antes y unos meses después de su muerte, para así presentar un "coro de voces" que dan luz sobre el carácter de Keats y sus duras circunstancias finales.

2. La de Barnard para Penguin, además de ser de precio más económico, mantiene en lo posible la ortografía y puntuación de las cartas manuscritas por considerar que ello nos informa mucho sobre los rasgos de Keats. No incluye cartas de terceros.

3. La edición en español cuenta con un buen estudio introductorio y numerosas notas aclaratorias en el texto, lo cual contribuye mucho a que valga la pena hacerse con el libro. Al igual que la edición de Scott, opta por presentar las cartas con puntuación y diagramación moderna. Omite sin embargo cartas que las otras dos ediciones incluyen (he contado a vuelapluma unas 140 frente a las casi 200 de Scott) y, por tanto, los poemas contenidos en esas cartas. Se pierde así la oportunidad no sólo de acceder a las cartas por parte del lector monolingüe en castellano, sino de disponer de una traducción alternativa —a otras ya existentes en castellano— de algunos poemas de Keats. En todo caso, las traducciones de los poemas son más funcionales que poéticas.

Lo ideal sería comprar las tres ediciones, pero si hubiese que quedarse con una yo me decantaría por la de Scott.

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the letters of a literary figure is kind of a hobby of mine...in that I wait for the authorized collections of said letters, by the way (lest you think I'm a creeper rifling through the mail of literary figures without their knowledge). It's a great way to be reminded that the greatest literary lions of any age were beset with some of the same worries, concerns, and doubts as any of us who may aspire to create lasting art. And this holds true for John Keats, whose death in 1821 at the age of twenty-five cut short a literary career that was just really finding its flowering amidst the turmoil of England during the Romantic Era. This volume of his letters, with annotations and material in between that helps present context, is a fantastic read.

Keats, born on Halloween in 1795 (side note: where is the "scary Keats" zombie book, Seth Grahame-Smith?) died in early 1821 from a long bout with tuberculosis and with nary a notion that his fame would really begin after his untimely death. A former medical student, Keats had abandoned the profession to pursue his true love of poetry. He began his career in earnest in 1816, which is when the first letters of this volume appeared. He would experience ups and downs, victories and losses, until his dying day, and his poetry (neglected by all but a select few while he was alive) would be hailed as some of the best to come out of England during that same era (when Wordsworth and Coleridge were his forefathers poetically speaking, while Shelley and Byron were contemporaries). Keats was a prolific letter writer, and the bulk of the volume is taken up with letters to family (like his brother George, who immigrated to Kentucky, and his sister Fanny, who was under the care of a family friend until she reached her maturity). Money problems beset the Keats family early on, especially John, and what success he enjoyed in poetry was offset by his inability to stay one step ahead of his creditors. He also found love with Fanny Brawne, and their relationship was the source of some beautiful, teasing letters collected here.

In his short life, John Keats wrote some of the most lasting poetry of any era. But he also wrote some fantastic letters that show a side of a great literary figure that might otherwise be hidden from view. Like a lot of authors before and sense, Keats had enough of an ego to want his letters to be read by more than just their intended recipient, and the letters show a range of emotions and thoughts that characterized his development as a poet. It's a fascinating portrait of the artist as a young man, especially considering that he died a young man. The worries over money and health will be familiar to readers who've experienced one or both, and the letters to Fanny show a man deeply in love and also afraid that he won't be able to enjoy that love for much longer. John Keats as a letter writer penned a tale of his life that makes for compelling reading, even if you're not big on poetry. It took me this long to read the entire book simply because I was taking my time enjoying so much of what he had to say about the world around him, and what was important to him.

Including some early versions of many of his best verses, "Selected Letters" is a must-read if you appreciate good writing from the Regency and Romantic era of English literature.

[Petro Kacur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an unabashedly devoted fan of Keats, and his Romantic compatriots Byron and Shelley. This attraction was kindled in my sixteenth year. It has not abated. So it is surprising that it took me this long to really dive into his letters. They are vivid and funny and alive. I've not read them all but there are some fabulous tales and gossip and complaints and the occasional mundane. Here is a sample:

"I should like now to promenade round your Gardens - apple-tasting - pear-tasting - plum-judging - apricot-nibbling - peach-scrunching - nectarine-sucking and Melon-carving. I have also a great feeling for antiquated cherries full of sugar cracks - and a white currant tree kept for company. I admire lolling on a lawn by a water lilied pond to eat withe currants and see gold-fish: and go to the Fair in the Evening if I'm good."

Absolute filth.

[Paul Besley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An astonishing collection of letters and views of the life of a great poet. Keats seems capable of always just missing good luck in all aspects of his life, poetry, finance and love. The best section for me was the travels through the Lakes and Scotland with Severn. The end is tragic and too fitting for a poet of romance.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evan if you see this I wanted to kiss you so badly that night on the street corner.

[ZaRi]

Standing aloof in giant ignorance,
Of thee I hear and of the Cyclades,
As one who sits ashore and longs perchance
To visit dolphin-coral in deep seas.
So thou wast blind;--but then the veil was rent,
For Jove uncurtain'd Heaven to let thee live,
And Neptune made for thee a spumy tent,
And Pan made sing for thee his forest-hive;
Aye on the shores of darkness there is light,
And precipices show untrodden green,
There is a budding morrow in midnight,
There is a triple sight in blindness keen;
Such seeing hadst thou, as it once befel
To Dian, Queen of Earth, and Heaven, and Hell.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never understand the motivation for trying to reduce historical figures into two-dimensional charicatures of themselves. Prior to reading this, I'd been led to believe that Keats was a mild-mannered fop.

These letters cast light onto his full personality, rounded out with devotion and vindictiveness. He's charming.

[Anoushka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wrenching read. An extraordinary mind, cut off far too soon, aged 25.

From his last letter: "I have an habitual feeling of my real life having past, and that I am leading a posthumous existence."

What a loss.

What a gain to read what little we have.

[Heather Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Keats, not only is his poetry beautiful, he had a wonderful (though tormented) spirit that his letters express.

[Alisha Grauso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keats was just as fascinating and revealing, if not moreso, in his letters as his poetry.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's sort of fascinating. A little bit. I'll never read the whole thing, but I'm amused so far.

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the conflicted boy's courtship manual" -- letters to Fanny B. are gorgeously twisted

[Tom Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a good number of letters to Fanny Brawne, this should be a good companion to the very moving film, "Bright Star". nf

[Kiyaa Kanjukia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keats comes of as quite charming even though I gathers he wasn't of stable mind. Also, quite nostalgic of the letter-writing days. They need make a come-back

[Velvetink]

bookfi.com

[Katey Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved getting my hands on this edition, the way he wrote his love out was breath taking and captivating.

[Anomander Rake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly worse than his poetry, but a solid four star rating. Some letters are brilliant, but most are mediocre.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read only letters to Fanny Brawne. Had high expectations and was a little disappointed but it made me want to read his poems.