Abstract Despite John Keats’ short poetic career, a gradual shift of opinions on the notions of death and immortality can be detected in his poems. Surprisingly, this potential shift has not been closely examined. While up to now, the research has focused on Keats’ 1819 odes, this study examines his lesser-known early poems as well to investigate how his ideas have evolved over his poetic career (1814-1820). Moreover, while some of the previous studies support that composing poetry can offer a sense of death-transcending significance, they have not investigated how Keats’ different belief systems such as national pride could alleviate his death-related anxiety by imbuing his life with a sense of meaning. Drawing on the framework of “terror management theory,” this study addresses these research gaps by examining a selection of Keats’ poetry. The study concludes that Keats’ early poems demonstrate his belief in the possibility of a kind of ‘literal immortality’ by revealing his belief in an afterlife. In contrast, his later poems imply that the poet is trying to attain a sense of ‘symbolic immortality,’ or feeling that he is a part of a significant system greater than himself, through wide-ranging methods varying from expressing nationalistic sentiments to seeking the self-esteem one can achieve by producing artistic works. Ultimately, Keats’ final poems imply that he has accepted his condition as a mortal human being.

Keywords