John Keats, one of the greatest English poets of the Romantic period, writes the Shakespearean sonnet, "When I am afraid", fueled by the fear of failing to achieve love and inner fame his short self-predicted lifespan. Most of Keats's odes, letters and poems focus on the theme of death and Keats's concern that he would die before fulfilling his promise, however, "When I Have Fears" paints a more complex, personal, direct portrait and introspective of Keats's anxiety (Brotter). The reader should be aware that Keats experienced one tragedy after another as he watched his family disappear, some due to battling tuberculosis and others from various causes. On 31 January 1818, having already lost his mother and uncle to tuberculosis, caring for his dying brother Tom and developing symptoms of the disease himself, John Keats writes a letter to his friend J. H. Reynolds which includes his sonnet: " When I Have Fears.” Keats states that the letter was meant to be a “serious poetic letter,” however, he apologizes to Reynolds and continues with an incessant panic about his condition. Faced with the knowledge of his own mortality, he also includes in his letter a fifty-line toast to the golden sun, to friendship, and to poetically drunkenness in the "glory and grace of Apollo" (King). Evidently, Keats has a chilling sense that his life, like that of his mother, his father , his uncle and his brother, will soon end. Indeed, he requested that the words, "Here lies one whose name was written in the water" be written on his tombstone and that a broken lyre be engraved to symbolize his unfulfilled aspirations (Stillinger). 211). With two fears, the fear that his life will be cut short and the fear of never receiving love, Keats, driven by motivation, dedicates himself...... middle of paper ......coats or collects his thoughts, his full thoughts are the fully ripe grain, and the books are his barns containing his thoughts. Works Cited Brotter, Cody. “Analysis of John Keats's “When I Have Fears”: Death and Freedom's Limits.” The pulse of the students. Student Pulse, November 4, 2010. Web. April 4, 2011. .King, Steve. "Daily book "When I am afraid..."." review Barnes and Noble reviews. Barnes and Noble, January 31, 2011. Web. April 4, 2011. .Shaw, Christine. “When I'm afraid I might stop being literacy terms.” Academy of Athens. Academy of Athens, 8 October 2008. Web. 4 April 2011. .