“When - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

“When I have Fears that I may cease to be”

Poem by John KeatsExplication by Jonas Bagwell and Eva HongSlide2

The Man behind the fear

John Keats was born October 31, 1795 in London, England.He lived an understandably short life due to a bout with tuberculosis which was to end his life in 1821- He was 26 years old.A melancholy man, his poems often revolved around the aspect of a short life and unfulfilled dreams, a subject he was no doubt come to terms with in his final years

. He also wrote many letters that were later compiled and released due to their deeply personal nature, biographical reliability and quality of writing.

With a short time on earth as well as a subpar education, it’s amazing to think that John Keats accomplished what he did. He wrote

poems and sonnets awash with vivid imagery, great sensuous appeal and ties to classic legend. Slide3

WHEN I have

fears that I may cease to be

Before my pen has

glean'd

my

teeming brain

,Before high pilgrave’d 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 feel that I may never live to traceTheir 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 powerOf unreflecting love;—then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think, Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.Slide4

Literal Sense

Sometimes I wonder about my death and feel scared. Is there enough time to accomplish what I want? Will my accomplishments amount to anything substantial? It takes an entire lifetime to comprehend the beauty of things, the natural and the superficial. I now realize this too late into my life. There isn’t enough time to take in all the beauty the night sky has to offer, even with chance and divinity in my favor.

Oh,

Fanny

, my beautiful love! When I look at you, I feel remorse. The thought of someday no longer getting to relish in your radiance, and that I will no longer be there to return your love, sickens me.The though of losing something is as good a reason as any to not have at all. I’m truly alone, until death, when all my earthly fixations will no longer matter.Slide5

Literal Sense- Line by Line

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to beBefore my pen has

glean'd

my teeming brain

,Before high

pilgraved

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 feel that I may never live to traceTheir 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 powerOf unreflecting love;—then on the shoreOf the wide world I stand alone, and think,Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.When I think about my deathBefore my goals are achievedBefore I amount to anythingAnything of worth or value,When I see the worlds natural beautyInfinite, symbolic and pureAnd fear that I can never fully appreciate Or begin to comprehend it, even with luck.When, my love, these fears entailNever seeing your beauty againNever feeling your magic againAnd Never getting to return your loveI feel alone and I keep thinking of my deathUntil it finally comes, and all of this no longer mattersSlide6

Diction

This poem uses a blend of abstract, colloquial and vivid language. The author paints a rich picture of his dreams and death with strong imagery and diction, as to give an almost artful and beautiful tinge to this bitter poem.Slide7

Abstract, Colloquial

and Vivid

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to

be

Before my pen has

glean'd

my teeming brain,Before high pilgraved 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 feel that I may never live to traceTheir 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. Slide8

Syntax Manipulation

In may older sonnets and poems, syntax (word order) is edited and changed to establish a better lyrical flow, syllable count , or mental rhythm.Syntax is also warped to put a new spin on ideas, such as mentioning the subject after the less important ideas, to give a feeling of belittlement or loss of self.Slide9

Deciphering Syntax

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain, Before high

pilgraved

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 feel 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. Slide10

Tone

John Keats really establishes that he isn’t happy, and that he doesn’t care if you’re happy either. He presents his poem in a regretful and spitefully wishful tone, washing waves of lament over beautiful imagery and genuine poetic talent. The atmosphere is very personal and brooding, and the punctuation in the poem is very important in the overall tone. When read aloud and correctly, the impact of the poem is much bolder than when read in your mind.Slide11

Mood

Since the tone (voice of the reader) is highly pessimistic, the mood is reflective of that. No sunshine or happy thoughts should cross the readers mind as they read the poem. Slide12

Rhetorical Situation

Who is speaking? John Keats.To who is he speaking to?

John Keats

.

What’s the reason? He’ll die some day

.

Why is he doing this? He’s scared.This sonnet, like others, was written as a thought process between the author and himself. He’s reminding himself of all the reasons he’s scared, and sporadically switches from subject to subject – pens, books, grain, the night sky and his love. The disjointed thought process that usually comes with a personal narrative also gives credence to the use of syntax, emotional punctuation and more abstract thoughts. A.K.A “Well, It makes sense to me.”Slide13

What about us?

There are really no outward references or acknowledgements to the audience until the last few lines. These lines can be considered as directed to the audience because they’re more confessionary and forward. The last line is the most soberly stated allusion to death in the entire poem, giving a sense of mental grounding while it also references his fame, which is due to an audience. None of the lines are specifically designed to speak to or directly connect with the audience, but the last few lines is where he seems to speak to someone other than himself. Slide14

Does the poem use figurative language?

A) SimileIn line 4, "hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain.” This simile relates how the book is holing his complete thoughts to how garners (storehouses for gain) hold the fully ripened grain. He wants the value of his work to reflect the value and bounty of a garner of grain.Slide15

Metaphors

B) Metaphor- In line 12 and 13, "shore of the wide world." The shore of the world creates a visual image of vastness. The world does not have an actual shore of course, but the shore is his standpoint of overlooking all his life. Slide16

Personification

C) PersonificationIn line 2, “Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain.” It expresses the idea that his pen is really the lead in his creative process, giving a sense of distance between author and subject.

In line 3, “Before high piled books, in charact'ry.” It expresses the books as an animate object that holds all the thoughts of his mind.

In line 5, “When I behold, upon the night's

starr'd face.” It expresses night as a face with stars stretching across it. Slide17

Kenning

D) Kenning In line 9, “fair creature of an hour.” It is description of his wife. “Fair creature” expresses beauty and “of an hour” means temporary due to his impending death.Slide18

What kind of imagery does the poem use?

- In line 4, “Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain.” words such as "glean'd," "garners," "full ripen'd grain“ gives the imagery of harvest.

- In line 5, “night’s starred face.” Readers can visualize the images of a beautiful sky, a sheet of darkness speckled with points of life.Slide19

Imagery Continued

B) - In line 8, “Their shadows with the magic hand of chance.” The shadows are faint expressions of his dreams that he may be able to achieve.- In line 3, “Before high-piled books.” It expresses the extent of his literary aspirations visually. -In line 12 and 13, “Then on the shore of the wide world I stand alone.” I can visualize a man standing alone on the outskirts of the world.Slide20

Symbolism

c) Symbolism- In line 1, “I may cease to be” symbolizes death.In line 3, “Before high-piled books in charact’ry.” This is symbolic of his hopes and dreams.In line 6, “Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance.” These cloudy symbols are symbols of the great mysteries in life which he wants to find out. Slide21

How does sound contribute to the effect of the poem?

A) The rhyme scheme in this poem is a b a b, c d c d, e f e f, g g with ten syllables in each line.B)

The repetition

of r sounds in "

charactery," "rich," "garners,"ripen'd," and "grain.”The repetition of "when" at the beginning of each quatrain and “of” in line 12 &13.Slide22

Sound continued

C) Alliteration in line 3 and 4, "glean'd," "garners," "grain." D)

Assonance in line 2

"

glean'd" and "teeming" to draw attention to the line which expresses the speaker's fear. Also, in line 3 “high ,”piled”, and “night”.

E

) There is no onomatopoeia in this poem.Slide23

How is the poem structured?

“When I have fears that I may cease to be” is in the form of a Sonnet.The 14 lines are divided into 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas) and a final couplet by different groups of rhyming words.The rhyme scheme in this poem is a b a b, c d c d, e f e f, g

g

with ten syllables in each line.Slide24

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to be

Before my pen has glean'd

my teeming brain,

Before high

pilgrave’d

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 feel that I may never live to traceTheir 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 powerOf unreflecting love;—then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think, Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.