|
John
Keats, Joseph Severn and Death
John
Keats spent the final days of his short life in Rome with his
friend, Joseph Severn. It
had been hoped that the sunny weather of Italy might have a
beneficial affect upon Keats's health. Keats,
however, was destined to die in the same way as his mother and
brother with consumption.
Joseph
Severn had expected to keep half a solicitous eye on Keats while
devoting himself to his blossoming art career.
He had not expected to become Keats's devoted nurse and
death-watch keeper. The
fact that he dedicated himself to his friend until Keats's final breath,
and beyond, has turned Severn into a legend in his own right.
John
Keats was only 25 years old when he died, with his lungs almost
completely destroyed, and yet he held a serenity that is still
inspiring. Joseph
Severn let the world know the beauty of Keats's thoughts in those
final days:
At
times, during his last days, he made me go to see the place where he
was to be buried, and he expressed pleasure at my description of the
locality of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, about the grass and the
many flowers, particularly the innumerable violets, also about a
flock of goats and sheep and a young shepherd all these
intensely interested him. Violets
were his favourite flowers, and he joyed to hear how they overspread
the graves. He assured
me that he already seemed to feel the flowers growing over him
"
it was then, also, that he asked that I should see cut upon his
gravestone as sole inscription, not his name, but simply Here
lies one whose name is writ in water.
John
Keats
Portrait
by Joseph Severn
|
