LLAUDERES, Christina M.

MIRAFLORES, Erica Joy S.

POROL, Ariecel Rose R.
RAOTRAOT, John Stephen G.
BEE III-3
2S-ENG10

POETRY ANALYSIS WORKSHEET – GROUP 9

Directions: Complete the Poetry Analysis Worksheet below to help you understand the sample
poems.

Poem Title: “When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be” by John Keats

Author’s Bio-note:

John Keats

Born: 31 October 1795

Moorgate, London, England
Died: 23 February 1821 (aged 25)
Rome, Papal States
Cause of death: Tuberculosis
Occupation: Poet
Literary movement: Romanticism
Relatives: George Keats (brother
Fanny Keats (sister)
Tom Keats (brother)

John Keats was an English Romantic lyric poet who spent his short life perfecting a
poem characterized by vivid imagery, tremendous sensory appeal, and an attempt to
explain a philosophy via ancient mythology. Keats maintained tight emotional
relationships with his sister, Fanny, and his two brothers, George and Tom, throughout
his life. After their mother's second marriage ended, the Keats children moved to
Edmonton, Middlesex, to live with their widowed grandmother. Keats went on a walking
excursion in the Lake District (of northern England) and Scotland with his friend Charles
Brown in the summer of 1818, and his exposure and over exertions on that trip brought
on the first indications of TB, from which he died. When he returned to London,
Blackwood's Magazine published a harsh critique of his early poetry, followed by a
similar assault on Endymion in the Quarterly Review. Contrary to subsequent
allegations, Keats responded to these critiques with a calm declaration of his own skills,
and he continued to write poems consistently.
LLAUDERES, Christina M.
MIRAFLORES, Erica Joy S.
POROL, Ariecel Rose R.
RAOTRAOT, John Stephen G.
BEE III-3
2S-ENG10
PERSONA
Based on the persona’s lines, how
would you characterize him/her?
 The speaker is most likely a poet
who appears to be confident in his
or her literary ability, believing that
if given enough time, the speaker
would achieve a variety of artistic
aims
 The speaker appears to be
youthful, since he or she sees a
long life of literary success ahead
of them, which may be cut short by
death.
Is there a clear addressee? How would
you describe the addressee?
 The poem does not have a specific
addressee, although some experts
believe it is for John Keats talking
to himself or to an unknown lover
who is the fair creature of an hour
in line 9. If you read the poem, it
may be directed to someone who
dread dying before accomplishing
their goals in life. It is for those who
are worried about their life
achievements and those who
believe that life is too short to
accomplish all they desire before
they die.
SUBJECT
What object is described in the poem?
 The speaker's fear of dying before
his or her "pen has garnered [his or
her] overflowing brain" shows that
writing is the speaker's principal
passion. The idea of a pen
gleaning the speaker's thinking is
described in metaphor in this
phrase. A pen is compared to a
scythe, a tool used to harvest
crops, in this illustration.
Who is described in the poem?
 At times, the speaker fears losing
his or her ability to gaze at his or
her beautiful lover, and therefore
losing the transformative power of
love. When the speaker thinks
about these anxieties, he or she
feels alone, as if standing alone on
a large beach. In such
circumstances, the speaker
believes that love and fame are
unimportant, if not impossible, in
the face of death. It becomes
obvious by the end of the poem
that the speaker is frightened of
losing love when he or she dies.
While the poem's initial focus on
the speaker's desire for romantic
love, it eventually widens to include
the speaker's desire for global
adoration and recognition. Thus,
the speaker dread dying not just
before realizing his or her creative
potential, but also before being
recognized for it.
LLAUDERES, Christina M.
MIRAFLORES, Erica Joy S.
POROL, Ariecel Rose R.
RAOTRAOT, John Stephen G.
BEE III-3
2S-ENG10

SITUATION

What is the basic situation in the

poem?

 As a lyric sonnet, it depicts a

speaker's intense fear of death and
loss of love, and so reflects several
of these tendencies. The poem is
both self-aware and subjective, as
well as deeply felt, and its primary
purpose is to convey the speaker's
fears and despairs about his or her
own mortality.

What could be the problem or issue?

 "When I Have Fears That I May

Cease to be" establishes the
poem's two thematic concerns right
away: the fear of death and the
fear of being cut off from one's
creative potential. The speaker
discusses occasions when he or
she dread death in the first
sentence.

TONE/ATTITUDE IMAGERY & FIGURES OF SPEECH

What images reveal the author’s tone

or attitude towards the subject matter?
Throughout the poem, it can be sensed
that while the persona can vividly picture
out his hopes and future, it is still  Teeming Brain - As the poem
overpowered by the fact that he is aware starts, it establishes the persona's
of how darkness, or death, can actually passion with writing by expressing
take all of these away. With this, it can be how he is full with endless ideas
LLAUDERES, Christina M.
MIRAFLORES, Erica Joy S.
POROL, Ariecel Rose R.
RAOTRAOT, John Stephen G.
BEE III-3
2S-ENG10
said that the poem has two major tones –
anxious and acceptance.
The poem started off with an anxious,
frightened tone – being scared of not being
able to be the person that he has always
dreamt to become, of his creative thoughts
not being translated into actual works, and
of losing the relationships he has built in
his lifetime. However, before the poem
ends, particularly in line 12, the persona
shifts from having an anxious tone into
accepting one – that the truth is, life is not
just about the beautiful things you wish to
keep and achieve. Alongside life is death
and fears – that no matter how lonely and
scary this may be for you, you have to
endure it, alone.
What could be the theme of the poem?
 Since the poem was written by
and thoughts waiting to be turned
into poetry.
 Night's Starred Face - Mentioned
in line 5, as the persona stares at
the sky, he is reminded of how
much stars are there – as he
wondered if he would be able to be
like them who leave trace after
death if he would not have the
chance to write his ideas into
symnolic poetry.
 All alone on a Vast Seashore - By
the end of the poem, the persona
comes into realization by the image
of standing alone on a vast
seashore. This reveals his shift into
tone as he understands the reality
of death – being inevitable and
being meant to be faced alone.
What figures of speech help show the
tone and attitude of the persona?
 Studying the poetry will give a
reader a clear idea that Keats is
fond of using metaphors and
similes as he also personifies sky
into a face, which is evident in the
explanation above that leads to the
tone towards the subject matter.
However, the figure of speech that
mainly helps in establishing the
tone in Keats' work is imagery
because through a clear depiction,
the readers are able to empathize
with the persona from the very
beginning when he is anxious up to
the very end, or the moment he
gets to accept his fate.
Which lines support the theme? Why?
LLAUDERES, Christina M.
MIRAFLORES, Erica Joy S.
POROL, Ariecel Rose R.
RAOTRAOT, John Stephen G.
BEE III-3
2S-ENG10
Keats who suffered from
tuberculosis that caused his
untimely demise at a ripe age of 25
- we can therefore conclude that
the major theme of this poem is
about the fear and anxiety that
death can bring in us, mortals. This
poem resonates to all of us, simply
because we’re all dreamers and
somehow, someday, we want to
see for ourselves how we are going
to achieve those dreams. However,
there is this lingering anxiety and
questions like “What if we die
before even getting the life we
want?”
 Line 1 &2: “When I have fears
that I may cease to be. Before
my pen has gleaned my teeming
brain” - These, we think, are the
lines that support the theme. It is
where the title of the poem came
from and it also talks about how
someone worries about dying even
before they have poured down their
thoughts into poetry.
How do the figures of speech help
reveal the theme?
 Imagery: Keats has used “fair
creature” “wide world” “night’s
starred face” and “high-pilèd
books” to.
 Simile: He also made use of simile
in the 3rd and 4th line in which he
compared how thoughts could be
piled as high as a pile of books with
how farmers fill their storehouses
with every grain they’ve harvest.
 Personification: Evident in the 5th
line in which he wrote “When I
behold, upon the night’s starred
face,” and the 8th line; “Their
shadows with the magic hand of
chance”.