John_Keats,_The_“unpoetical”_Poet__Defense_Of_Truth

John Keats, The “unpoetical” Poet: Defense Of Truth John Keats, the “unpoetical” Poet: Defense of Truth Keats, on his deathbed, is troubled, as no one has really understood the philosophical and aesthetic principles underlying his work. J. W. Croaker of the Quarterly Review condemns him as the uneducated son of a stable-manager and the exponent of the “Cockney School”. Edinburgh Review describes his work as “tartarly” as Milman stated. Even brothers George and Thomas never seemed to comprehend his use of the term “negative capability”. As he waits to die, he is writing to his one remaining brother, George, explaining the concerns and tensions that appear in his work. My dear brother, George, you must be clear on who I am, and my heavy purpose in life. I must not go misunderstood any longer. You are my last hope. I do not despair upon my pride, but merely my compulsion to be real, to represent truth. That is all that has ever mattered to me. I do not desire fame. I will say it again: only to express truth is what is important. My works are really about what is real, this temporary world, what I know to be true. must, am, truth, always, work, one, life, should, real, poet, negative, capability, been, art, ability, time, smith, ode, never, need, know, keats, george, content, come, clear, brother, beauty, autumn, yet, ye, world, way, unpoetical