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A review by jmiae
Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne by John Keats
5.0
Call me biased, but I have a hard time rating anything by Keats less than 5 stars. I know not all of his poems are good, but I'm very fond of him as a person so I'm willing to overlook any shortcomings in his verses. Also, this rating and review are only for the first portion of this book--his letters to Fanny Brawne.
It's a bit of an auspicious point in my life to be reading these letters. The way he felt about Fanny and the suffering he went through because he did not think she felt as strongly as he did--it's quite heartbreaking. Made all the more so, too, because when he left for Rome he never saw her again. I wondered periodically throughout if Keats would have minded having his letters to her published. He was very jealous of others seeing the incredibly lovely words he wrote to her when he was alive. But I like to think he would be pleased with how his letters, once made public, eventually immortalized the love he felt so strongly for his Girl. I also wonder if his love for her could have lasted if he had not died at 25. I guess we'll never know, but I will take some comfort from the knowledge that there was once a man who loved a woman so beautifully and so intensely, and that from that love wrote the most beautiful poetry.
It's a bit of an auspicious point in my life to be reading these letters. The way he felt about Fanny and the suffering he went through because he did not think she felt as strongly as he did--it's quite heartbreaking. Made all the more so, too, because when he left for Rome he never saw her again. I wondered periodically throughout if Keats would have minded having his letters to her published. He was very jealous of others seeing the incredibly lovely words he wrote to her when he was alive. But I like to think he would be pleased with how his letters, once made public, eventually immortalized the love he felt so strongly for his Girl. I also wonder if his love for her could have lasted if he had not died at 25. I guess we'll never know, but I will take some comfort from the knowledge that there was once a man who loved a woman so beautifully and so intensely, and that from that love wrote the most beautiful poetry.