The Oxford Authors: John Keats

Originally trained in medicine and becoming a pharmaceutical salesman at twenty-one, Keats soon abandoned the profession in order to live for and by his poetry. He published three volumes of poetry before his death of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five. This authoritative new collection contains the majority of Keats's non-dramatic poetry, including "Endymion" in its entirety, and a substantial selection of letters that provide important background material to the poet's life. Offering both prose and verse in an accessible, chronological order, this collection also includes useful appendices on "St. Agnes' Eve" and "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," and provides a handy glossary of classical names. Keats poetry and his letters reveal a spirit of questing vitality and profound understanding. This remarkable volume attests to an astonishing maturity of power.