John Keats

1795 – 1821

1800s England · Poet

John Keats was an English Romantic poet who wrote beautifully about beauty, nature, and the shortness of life. He died of illness at just 25 years old, having published only a small number of poems in his lifetime. Today he is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language.

Quotes

5

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.”

“If Poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all.”

“Many have original minds who do not think it — they are led away by custom.”

“Nothing is finer for the purposes of great productions than a very gradual ripening of the intellectual powers.”

Sources

en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia's article on John Keats. Not yet checked against the books it cites.
Added 20 Aug 2026 · claude-sonnet-5

How this life story was put together

Put together from what’s generally known about John Keats, not from the sources above. The dates and details haven’t been checked against them yet.