A Balance of Creative Manifestation In his brilliant poem, When I Have Fears, John Keats uses several metaphors to explain the three principal things that he will miss when he “cease(s) to be”. The third quatrain deals with his lover, whom he fears he will not live long enough to love completely, which ironically was the case in his real life. In the last two lines of the poem, Keats reveals another love of …showed first 75 words of 808 total…

…showed last 75 words of 808 total…of them when it would be his time to die. He also knew that he was in love, with fame and a woman, and feared losing them as well. In the last two lines of the poem, Keats comes to accept that his fears are selfish and worthless. The speaker is forced to accept that it is useless to worry, and decides to “stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness to sink.”