The London poets once mocked as the 'Cockney School of Poetry'
In short: While Romanticism often evokes wild mountains and stormy seas, a vital generation of English poets found their inspiration in the streets of London. Led by John Keats, this literary circle faced brutal critical attacks that some believed even broke the poet's spirit.
The 'Cockney School of Poetry' was a label used by critics to deride a group of London-based writers, including John Keats, Leigh Hunt, and Charles Lamb. Far from the isolated wanderers often associated with the era, these figures were deeply connected to the city's literary scene, contributing to publications like The London Magazine. This circle also included the essayist Charles Lamb, the 'opium-eater' Thomas De Quincey, and the critic William Hazlitt.
John Keats's journey from medicine to verse was marked by both sudden ascent and intense scrutiny. After apprenticing as an apothecary-surgeon at age fifteen, Keats became a licensed apothecary in 1816. However, through the influence of editor Leigh Hunt, he moved into the literary spotlight. While his 1817 debut was a milestone, his 1818 work, Endymion, faced a coordinated assault from influential periodicals like Blackwood’s Magazine and the Quarterly Review. Blackwood’s went so far as to label his verse 'nonsense' and suggest he abandon poetry entirely.
The impact of this vitriol remains a subject of historical nuance. While Percy Bysshe Shelley privately recognized Keats's genius, he later suggested that the negative reviews contributed to Keats's declining health. Keats's later years were defined by both immense productivity and personal tragedy. Between 1818 and 1819, he produced masterpieces such as 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' and 'Ode to a Nightingale.' Yet, while nursing his brother Tom through tuberculosis, Keats himself contracted the disease. By February 1821, facing his own mortality, he described his life as a 'posthumous existence.'
Despite the early hostility, Keats's final published volume in July 1820, featuring works like 'Lamia' and 'Isabella,' received significant praise from peers like Frances Jeffrey of the Edinburgh Review, cementing his place among the greatest poets in the English language.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Cockney Romantics: John Keats and his Friends
- Also: About John Keats | Academy of American Poets
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