The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne
Seen from the vantage point of the Victorian sensibility, John Keats’s letters to Fanny Brawne transgress the norms of respectability, being too personal, too passionate and too direct. Moreover, they define Keats as a sensuous, therefore effeminate poet who allows himself to be flooded by emotio...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Pardubice
2012-12-01
|
| Series: | American and British Studies Annual |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2206 |
| _version_ | 1797832575959433216 |
|---|---|
| author | Malgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys |
| author_facet | Malgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys |
| author_sort | Malgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Seen from the vantage point of the Victorian sensibility, John Keats’s letters to Fanny Brawne transgress the norms of respectability, being too personal, too passionate and too direct. Moreover, they define Keats as a sensuous, therefore effeminate poet who allows himself to be flooded by emotions and passion. After the publication of the letters in 1878, the perception of Keats as “feminine” became standard during the Victorian era. This paper proposes to look at chosen letters and poems which Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne in order to see how the problematic discourse of infatuation can account for the charges of effeminacy brought against the poet. Strikingly, although Keats expresses love and devotion in his letters and love poetry, at the same time he articulates much more ambivalent attitudes to femininity in general. Therefore, it can be suggested that the problematic relations between male and female characters in Keats’s verse (where the woman is frequently figured as either the threatening femme fatale or the indifferent muse) can be better understood in the context of his conflicted views on gender matters. Finally, my interpretation facilitates the understanding of the “camelion Poet” concept, one of the chief ideas concerning Keats’s poetic theory.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:11:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b54b230aa8f474382d8ae38a6771e23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1803-6058 2788-2233 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:11:05Z |
| publishDate | 2012-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Pardubice |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American and British Studies Annual |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b54b230aa8f474382d8ae38a6771e232023-05-06T14:00:43ZengUniversity of PardubiceAmerican and British Studies Annual1803-60582788-22332012-12-015The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny BrawneMalgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys 0University of Warsaw Seen from the vantage point of the Victorian sensibility, John Keats’s letters to Fanny Brawne transgress the norms of respectability, being too personal, too passionate and too direct. Moreover, they define Keats as a sensuous, therefore effeminate poet who allows himself to be flooded by emotions and passion. After the publication of the letters in 1878, the perception of Keats as “feminine” became standard during the Victorian era. This paper proposes to look at chosen letters and poems which Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne in order to see how the problematic discourse of infatuation can account for the charges of effeminacy brought against the poet. Strikingly, although Keats expresses love and devotion in his letters and love poetry, at the same time he articulates much more ambivalent attitudes to femininity in general. Therefore, it can be suggested that the problematic relations between male and female characters in Keats’s verse (where the woman is frequently figured as either the threatening femme fatale or the indifferent muse) can be better understood in the context of his conflicted views on gender matters. Finally, my interpretation facilitates the understanding of the “camelion Poet” concept, one of the chief ideas concerning Keats’s poetic theory. https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2206John KeatsFanny Brawnewomenlettersinfatuationfear |
| spellingShingle | Malgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne American and British Studies Annual John Keats Fanny Brawne women letters infatuation fear |
| title | The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne |
| title_full | The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne |
| title_fullStr | The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne |
| title_short | The Discourse of Infatuation in John Keats’s Letters and Poems to Fanny Brawne |
| title_sort | discourse of infatuation in john keats s letters and poems to fanny brawne |
| topic | John Keats Fanny Brawne women letters infatuation fear |
| url | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2206 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT malgorzatałuczynskahołdys thediscourseofinfatuationinjohnkeatsslettersandpoemstofannybrawne AT malgorzatałuczynskahołdys discourseofinfatuationinjohnkeatsslettersandpoemstofannybrawne |