Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

by John Keats

Book Overview

John Keats died in penury and relative obscurity in 1821, at the young age of 26. He is now seen as one of the greatest English poets and a genius of the Romantic age. This collection, which contains... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143117742
• ISBN13: 9780143117742
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Swoon-worthy poetry of unrequited love

"Bright Star," showcases the love letters and poems written by John Keats to Fanny Brawne. Although Keats died when he was just 25, he left behind some of the most amazing poetry ever written. He also left a tender collection of love letters, inspired by his great love for Fanny Brawne. They knew each other only a few short years and spent much of this time apart due to Keats' worsening illness. Keats writes again and again about Fanny. In fact, the last poem of this book is called, "To Fanny," and he wrote love letters to her constantly. (Oh, swoon! And get this - she wore the ring he had given her until her death, almost 45 years after he passed away.) The movie itself Bright Star is a treat to watch. Picture it: The setting is London, and the year is 1818. A secret love affair begins between 23 year-old English poet, John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw), and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), who is an out-spoken student of high fashion. This unlikely duo begins their friendship by butting heads. He thinks she's stylish, but too much of a flirt, while she is unimpressed with literature in general. When Fanny hears that Keats is nursing his seriously ill younger brother, she offers to help. Keats is touched by her efforts and shares his poetry with her. The poetry soon becomes a romantic remedy that works not only to sort their differences, but also to fuel their love for one another. Fanny's mother becomes alarmed by this friendship (typical, huh?), but by then their relationship has an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers are swept up in the tide of their emotions. Keats wrote to Brawne, "I have the feeling as if we're dissolving." (ooh la la!) When Keats fell ill a year later, the two young lovers were separated. Keats needed to travel abroad to warmer clients due to health reasons, and Brawne remained in their home country, without her love. In Keats' own poignant words, "forever panting and forever young."

"When I have fears that I may cease to be...." *

This slim 132 page book was published as a companion to the film "Bright Star" (2009) directed by Jane Campion, who also wrote the introduction. I did not see the movie, as it was shown in only a few theaters in this area for a brief period of time, and hardly any word of it was mentioned in the local newspapers. I understand that it will be out in DVD in January 2010. Anyone who loves the poetry of the English Romantic Writers, e.g., Byron, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, et al, is already familiar with the poems of John Keats. It is interesting, though, that these poems and letters were the product of Keats's intense love for Fanny Brawne. Written in the last few years of his life, they are honest, open, touching, and full of life, love, and youthful optimism. They also hint of the tragedy yet to come. A letter written on 27 February 1821 by Joseph Severn, the friend who accompanied Keats to Rome, recalls Keats's last moments: "He is gone-he died with the most perfect ease-he seemed to go to sleep. On the 23rd, about 4, the approaches of death came on, 'Severn-I-lift me up-I am dying-I shall die easy-don't be frightened-be firm, and thank God it has come!' I lifted him up in my arms...he gradually sunk into death-so quiet-that I still thought he slept. I cannot say now-I am broken down from four nights' watching, and no sleep since, and my poor Keats gone." (ENGLISH ROMANTIC WRITERS - David Perkins, Ed. p.1263) How could I give anything less than 5 stars? * The first line of "When I Have Fears" by John Keats (1818)

Amazing!

Keats love letters the Fanny are so emotional. I loved reading them. It's like he his drawn to her in ways he cannot explain in the beginning and then develops an endless love for her. At times he in enveloped in this feeling and embraces it and other times he is afraid of losing her, and the fear of his own demise. I wish the letters Fanny had written him had also survived, it would have been amazing to read what she had written him as well. I absolutely loved the movie. Keats definitely has a way with words!

A bit sparse

Companion piece with the film but released a bit too late and very small volume. Like the other reviewer said, I'm uncertain why there's the absence of Ode to a Nightingale. Also, it would have been wonderful to have had this volume with glossy pages with pictures from the film as well. Nice introduction by director Jane Campion is included though.

Luminous But Somewhat Lacking

Published as a companion to the motion picture of the same name directed by Jane Campion [The Piano], this is a collection of the love letters and poems written by John Keats to his beloved Fanny Brawne. For anyone who enjoyed the film, as I did, the book provides a glimpse at the inspiration and source material for Campion's work. Campion's introduction to the collection gives a history of Keats and Brawne's intense love for each other. The love letters are delightful, touching, painful and the poems are amongst the greatest of the Romantic era. One inexplicable exclusion from the collection is "Ode to a Nightingale," a poem of Keats' that figures in the film. The recitation of "Ode to a Nightingale" during the final credits by the actor who portrays Keats, Ben Whishaw, is reason enough to go see the film. Though readily available in poetry collections and on the internet, the absence of this beautiful and key poem from a collection centered around this tragic love story is a shortcoming and may disappoint those who want to savor its words in print.