Shakespearean Influence on Keats Sonnets

Abstract

Of all the Romantic poets John Keats (1795-1821)  was a true and pure romantic.  He was deeply influence by the Elizabethans.  The Elizabethan age was called as the first Romantic age in English Literature.  Shakespeare, Spenser and others belonged to the first Romantic Age.  Keats appreciated the work of Shakespeare and Spenser from the core of his heart and most of his compositions are a result of deep influence of these on Keats.  There was a difference between the Elizabethan and Romantic Age.  The poets of the Romantic age revived the poetry of the Elizabethans. They imbibed the characteristics of Elizabethan era, polished them and made them a part of their poetic compositions.