Selected Poems

A selection of Keats's greatest poems

Over the course of his short life, John Keats (1795-1821) honed a raw talent into a brilliant poetic maturity. By the end of his brief career, he had written poems of such beauty, imagination, and generosity of spirit that he had unwittingly fulfilled his wish to be among the English poets after his death. This wide-ranging selection of Keats's poetry contains youthful verse, such as his earliest known poem "Imitation of Spenser"; poems from his celebrated collection of 1820, including "Lamia," "Isabella," "The Eve of St Agnes," "Ode to a Nightingale," and "Hyperion"; and later celebrated works such as "La Belle Dame sans Merci." Also included are many poems considered by Keats to be lesser works, which illustrate his more earthy, playful side and superb ear for everyday language.

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