John Keats

Keats is one of the most widely read and studied of the English poets, but there are few books about him for the student. Not surprisingly, most books give much space to the romantic life. Mr Mayhead resists the temptation: he writes only about the poems and the letters; and in this concise introduction he discusses them comprehensively and closely. The poems are discussed in broadly chronological order, with liberal quotation and much detailed analysis. This straightforward and businesslike study is also sensitive and sympathetic; it establishes more firmly in the reader's mind the nature of Keats's true achievement: the quality of the poetry.