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When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be poem
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be poem - ENG1501 Questions and answers
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The ti tl e accur atel y refl ects Shakes pear ean/El i z abethan s o nnet: 14 l i ne devi ded i nto 3that the tho ught o f dyi ng quatr ai ns o f 4 l i nes each, endi ng i n a rhymi ng co upl et.
yo ung ter ri fi es the s peaker.
Thi s fear i s caus ed by the When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be
fact that he has n' t
acco mpl i s h hi s dreams , John Keats (1795-1821)
des i r es and as pi rati o ns .
Keats r efl ects o n,
i denti fi es w i th & tackl es Metapho r: l i kens wr i ti ng po etry
Euphemism fir death
the emo ti o n o f fear. to har ves ti ng grai n, w i th the
When I have fears that I may cease to be pen as the mai n i ns trument.
Q uatr ai n 1 (l i nes 1-4): Harvested Crowded
The s peaker' s br ai n i s Before my pen has glean'd* my teeming brain, Si mi l e ex tended fro m l i ne 2:
l i teral l y “teemi ng” wi th The many bo o ks ar e co mpar ed
Letters of the alphabet
i deas that he wants to ful l “gar ners ”. He w ants to
Before high piled books, in charactry,*
“penned” o r wr i tten harves t (wr i te do wn) the frui t
Storehouses
do wn. o f hi s w o rds (“gr ai n”) befo r e
Hold like rich garners* the full ripen'd grain; he di es .
Pers o ni fi cati o n: The ni ght Observe
s ky i s l i ke a s tarr y face When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, 5 “hi gh r o mance”: abs tract o r
l o o ki ng do wn o n the ear th. Milky Way
phi l o s i cal i deas abo ut the
meani ng o f l i fe & l o ve.
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
Q uatrai n 2 (l i nes 5-8): Per s o ni fi cati o n (l i nes 6-8): W hen he
Keats refl ect o n the And think that I may never live to trace l o o ks at the s hi ni ng, s tarr y ni ght, he
po s s i bl e co ns equences i s remi nded o f “s ymbo l s o f hi gh
o f hi s unti mel y death. ro mance” who s e “s hado ws ” he may
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
no t “tr ace” i f he were to di e yo ung.
C o nno tes gr eat pl eas ure He addresses someone, possibly his beloved
o r enj o yment. And when I feel, fair, creature of an hour, “faer y ” i s o l d and o dd to
des cr i be the ephemer al
Q uatrai n 3 (l i nes 9- nature o f ro mance & l i fe.
That I shall never look upon thee more, 10
12): Keats addres s es
Magic
s o meo ne, po s s i bl y hi s Hi s fear o f death l eads hi m to
bel o ved. Never have relish in the faery* power r eal i s e that he may never
ex peri ence & enj o y the “faer y
Rhymi ng co upl et: The po et Of unreflecting love; - then on the shore po wer/O f unr efl ecti ng l o ve”, as hi s
co mes to an awarenes s bel o ved ex i s ts fo r o nl y an ho ur.
that he i s “al o ne” i n thi s Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Metapho r fo r s tandi ng o n the edge,
wo r l d & that fame i s a
(“s ho re”) s tar i ng o ut at the wo r l d.
s ho r t-l i ved thi ng fo r hi m to Till love and fame to nothingness do sink. 14
bo ther abo ut.
Li ne 14: Hi s l o ng ques t fo r the
Emo ti o ns o f l o nel i nes s , meani ng o f l i fe (he tho ught he
des pai r, ni hi l i s m (s ens e w o ul d fi nd i n kno wl edge, fame
that l i fe i s meani ngl es s ) & *glean'd – harvested & l o ve) s eems a fo rl o r n ho pe,
acceptance o f the s i nce “l o ve & fame to
i nes capabl e i mpermenance *charactry – letters of the alphabet no thi ngnes s do s i nk”.
o f l i fe.
*garners – storehouse He co mes to ter ms wi th the i dea
o f dyi ng, and s ees i t as a natural
*faery – magic thi ng.
Euphemism: Softer way of saying something unpleasant.
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