The New York herald., 1921-02-20
A Readers Tribute
By WILLIAM H. KEATS.

| Jonn Keats was Dorm In LONDON Oc-
tober 81, 1795, and died in Rome Feb
ruary 23, 1921, victim of tuberculosis
in his twenty-sixth year. George
Keats, the poets eldest brother, set
tied in America in 1913.
Cut off in what seemed the begin
ming of his promise. the poet has been
the subject of many themes Of re-
gret and disappointment throughout
the century. But are not all these
regrets unworthy of posterity? Though
he never married the name of John
Keats is immortal through the chill
dren of his verse.
Beauty is truth. truth beauty-that is
Ye know on earth. and all ye need to
know.
No more fitting epitaph could be
inscribed upon the tomb of John
Keats, in the shadow of the pyramids
Of Gaius Cestius in Rome, where the
poet was buried a century ago. For II
Keats had a creed 1t was love Of
beauty, he worshipped at the shrine
Of nature in all her loveliness.
His genius for the felicitous use
of words Is no less unerring than his
instinct for the beautiful in the world
of tastes and smells, sights and
sounds" says Charles Mills Gayley
who adds: Like Spenser and Shelley,
he Is one Of the most truly poetical Of
poets; like the former he drew his in
spiration from the enchanted regions
of the past"
In the popular mind Keats is often
linked with Byron and Shelley. Yet
aside from the fact that he was a
contemporary of these two poets and
like them was cut off in early life
he has little in common with them.
poet of the aesthetic transition, the
influence of Keats is seen in the work
of Tennyson. Unlike Tennyson, how
ever, who often rewrote a single line
a thousand times, Keats worked rap
idly under the spell Of the witchery of
his imagination. 1t was on the spur
of the moment that he wrote that
matchless sonnet:
ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAP
MANS HOMER.
Much have travell'd in the realms OF
gold.
And many goodly states and Kingdoms
seen:
Round many Western islands have
been
Which. bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled DER his
demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out LOUD
and bold;
Then felt / like some watcher OF the
When a new planet swims into his
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle
He stared at the Pacific-and all his
Look'd at each other with wild sur
mise
/ silent. upon a peak in Darien.
Keats has been called true child
of the Elizabethans. Matthew Arnold
speaks of his work as "Shakespearian
mot initiative. indeed. of Shakespeare
but Shakespearian-beca its ex-
preston has that rounded perfection
and felicity of loveliness of whlcn
Shakespeare is the great master"
Sidney Colvin says of him: After
or together with Coleridge, Keats mas
contributed most among English
writer's to the poetic method and ideals
of Rossetti and his group"
Among the best known of Keats's
poems are the odes "On Grecian
Urn" and ITO a Nightingale" and
that beautiful romance 1.-The Eve of
81 Agnes" "Endymion'' is probably
his most imposing poem and begins
thing
Of beauty is a Joy forever" AS a
master of lyrical verse Keats stands
preeminent Few, indeed, have IN
herited his genius for fiuency of Ian
guage and melodious expression.
Listen to the music of these lines:
Cbarnnd. magic easements, opening on
the foam
OF perilous seas. in faery lands forlorn.
FaultIess as pearls on velvet, each
word greets the ear like tone from
cadence of Chopin or Schumann.
, The reader without special literary
training is inclined to quote from the
long line of critics who have expressed
the worlds admiration. But this poet
is not for scholars alone. He belongs
to all of us.
Early in life / was attracted to the
work of my illustrious namesake. 1t
was my habit to read him nightly In
the interval of quiet after a fretful
day or festive evening. He became
my companion and friend. His poems
were my prayers. I found in them
inspiration and exaltation. The sea,
solitude, music. flowers and the things
loved most. woven into a fanciful
fabric Of language. were the constant
images of my thought and the pleas
ure of my life.