John Keats “When I have fears that I may cease to be” is an Elizabethan sonnet with the theme of life’s brevity. The form resembles that of many Shakespeare sonnets, in which the poet framed his discourse through “when” and “then” clauses.”
First Quatrain: “When I have fears that I may cease to be”
In the first quatrain, the speaker expresses his consternation that he might die before he has had to chance to do all of the writing he wants to do. He has a “teeming brain” full of ideas, images, and thoughts that he hopes to write about and fill books. He wants to write so many books that they will be piled high.
He wants his books to be filled with mature writing that fills out characters and that examines his thoughts and ideas and presents them ready for public consumption. He metaphorically compares his ideas to grain that is harvested and held in huge silos. But through the construction of the “when” clause, he asserts that at times he has fears that he will not be able to accomplish his desired writing goals.
Second Quatrain: “When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face”
Again, the speaker continues with another “when” clause that features further things that he fears he will miss, if he dies too young. When he sees the vast array of stars shining and contrasting with the backdrop of the black sky, he likens them to “symbols of high romance.”
He again feels consternation that he may not be able to “trace / Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance.” He wants to be able to determine the meaning of the stars: that they appear so easily if by mere happenstance, he wants to be able to contemplate, study, and write about the romantic possibilities.
Third Quatrain: “And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!”
In the third quatrain, the speaker examines his feeling regarding his possible premature failure to complete a true romantic, love relationship. Referring to a possible partner in such a relationship as “fair creature of an hour,” he is admitting that all earthly love relationships are doomed to brevity, but he still laments that he may never even experience that much, “Never have relish in the faery power / Of unreflecting love!”
He laments the odds that he may never feel the kind of love that makes the individual abandon himself to pure feeling. Then the speaker abruptly ends his “when” speculations to begin his answer or what happens “when” he has all of these negative contemplations.
Couplet: “Of the wide world I stand alone, and think”
When all of these thoughts of his life ending before he has had to opportunity to achieve his goals, he continues to “think” until he is able to realize that “Love and Fame” are nothing. He realizes that he is alone in this world, and true love is not possible here for it inevitably ends through separation and/or death. And fame, he realizes, is evanescent as well.
Other Keats Articles:
Keats' “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”: The Awe of Discovery Editor’s Choice Award
Keats' “Ode to Autumn”: A Celebration of Beauty
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