When we die, we hope to leave something behind. Sometimes, this could be a momento of the past, such as photos or albums. Other times, we leave legacies, such as that of the lessons we teach others, or our own children. And even more still, we hope to leave some sort of immortality through our works. Despite everything we might think, we’re afraid to be left behind. This was circumvented, however, with one writer, a writer whose works were only appreciated after he died. This writer was born in the Romantic era and played a role in shaping its narrative. This writer was John Keats.

Keats was born to a family of six on October 31st, 1795. His parents died when he was young, and as such, he and his siblings lived with his grandmother, where she gave the children two guardians, one of whom was Richard Abbey. When he was old enough, Abbey withdrew him from school in order to pursue a career in medicine. And though Keats did become an apothecary, he continued writing.

Eventually, Keats met the editor of The Examiner, which not only paved the way to him publishing his sonnets but also to establishing connections within the literary world, such as William Wordsworth. Ironically enough, he did meet Shelley as well, though they weren’t as close. Keats went on to publish Endymion, which was met negatively.

As years passed, Keats returned to take care of his brother, Tom. However, he contracted tuberculosis after his brother’s death and began working on his third collection, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems. Unlike Endymion, his third collection received favorable reviews, with one poem, in particular, Hyperion, being called Keats’s greatest work, despite it not being finished. Soon, he died in Rome on February 23rd, 1821. He was only 25.

Hyperion is an interesting case in that it was a poem that was never finished. It tells the tale of the Titans’ downfall after the Olympians overthrew them. It relates how most of the other Titans willingly chose to give up their powers to the newer generation of gods and goddesses. The poem was later regarded by Keats in The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream to search for certain truths behind life.

Yet another famous poem, Ode to a Nightingale, was written alongside five other odes. The ode attempts to reconcile the differences between fantasy and reality, and whether or not we should cast off any common sense in order to enjoy true pleasure. It’s a way for the audience to see the symbolism in the poem. Many have debated the meaning and structures behind more of Keats’s poetry, and thus giving Keats a presence that wasn’t necessarily there before.

Keats continues to help artists and writers draw inspiration from him. For instance, F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated one of Keats’s lines to his book. What’s more, his work shows up in places such as Tennessee Williams’s Not About Nightingales and Penny Dreadful. And despite the fact he was seen as a small, insignificant writer back then, he has remained a cherished writer who continues to motivate artists and novelists alike.