keats Flashcards
1
Q
to sleep - summary
A
keats fervently pray’s to the personified figure of Sleep itself, begging for Sleep to bestow blissful unconsciousness on them—and quickly, before all the speaker’s daytime worries can swoop in and spoil their rest.
2
Q
context for to sleep
A
- Keats was dying of TB and in a relationship with Fanny Brawne, who refused his offer to call off the engagement despite knowing he would die, this arguably created an element of worry and guilt for Keats that bothered him and he didn’t know how to deal with this
- He had lost several members of his family in close proximity, the grief would have been immense and troubling for Keats and upon finding out of his own illness, having seen the suffering of his Brother and his Mother with TB, understandably would cause a great deal or worry and concern
- Keats poetry was not appreciated at the time he was writing, often receiving negative reviews on his works and being told he should give up. As a massive part of his daily life, it could be assumed that Keats wanted to escape this negativity and underappreciation, especially considering one of Keat’s greatest fears was to be forgotten
