John Keats is not only one of the greatest poets of English literature, but he is also one of its rare heroes. Although he was relatively unknown during his life, Keats became the defining symbol of the late Romantic period in which he lived. Even after his untimely death at the age of twenty-five, Keats's poetry was scrutinized. Without several significant events in John Keats's life and the friendships he made, he would never have been able to address the political issues of the day or find a way to release his feelings of grief. John Keats was born on October 31, 2008, 1795 on a small farm in London, England, to Thomas and Frances Keats. He had a relatively stable early childhood; he lost his father at the age of eight in a fall from a horse. This death had a significant impact on his early childhood. He had no father figure to guide him through the crucial stages of his development in his life. Through research done on his life and poetry, it was concluded that this might be the reason why some of his early poems had somewhat depressing titles. One of them is "In Drear Nighted December", which at one point explains that a young boy and a young girl have no joy in their lives. This is perhaps a reference to how sad and lonely he became during the cold winters of England. Not only did he lose his father at a young age, but just six years later his mother fell ill with leukemia and died. This required his grandmother to take care of him and his four brothers, but she could not, so she asked two London tradesmen to look after them. This undoubtedly left Keats feeling abandoned by his grandmother. His grandmother was the last known member of his family he had left and she... middle of paper ... pushed him to go to Italy, where he said its warmer climate would ease the pain that he felt. . He traveled by ship from England to Naples with his friend Joseph Severn. Joseph took care of John until his death on February 23, 1821. He was 25 years old. John's life was full of many difficulties that many people would not have been able to overcome. However, Keats was able to move on with his life and instead wrote his paper on emotions and thus produced 19th century classics. When he writes, Keats puts all his feelings and emotions into his work. These emotions can be traced throughout the poem and contribute to the passion of his works. Using this style, Keats created some of the best poetry ever created. It is for these reasons that the once much-despised poems of John Keats have become a staple of English classes and some of the most studied poems in the English language.