Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET, by JOHN KEATS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I have fears that I may cease to be
Last Line: Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
Subject(s): Milton, John (1608-1674); Sidney, Sir Philip (1554-1586)


WHEN I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love! -- then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.





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