The Human Seasons
——By John Keats
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
He has his Summer, when? luxuriously
Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness? to let fair things
Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
or else he would forego his mortal nature.
Translation
Four seasons of life
-Keats
Four seasons cycle to form a year,
There are four seasons in the human mind:
He has a vibrant spring,
He takes in all the beautiful scenery in his fantasy;
In that luxurious and prosperous summer,
he loves to savor the nectar collected in spring,
he is immersed in the sweet thoughts of youth,
his dream of flying high almost goes to heaven;
In autumn, his soul lives in a quiet harbor.
He furls his tired wings,
He looks through the fog leisurely and contentedly,
Let beautiful things pass by like a stream in front of the door.
He will eventually walk into the bleak evening scene of winter,
Otherwise, he will lose his mortal nature.
Extended information
John Keats (October 31, 1795—February 23, 1821), born in London in the late 18th century, was one of the outstanding English poets and writers and a major member of the Romantic School. Keats is brilliant, as famous as Shelley and Byron. He is good at using descriptive techniques to create poems, combining various emotions with nature perfectly, and looking for the shadow of creation from life. His poems can bring people an immersive feeling.
He was only 25 years old when he died, but his poems are well-known all over the world. His poems are considered to perfectly embody the characteristics of western romantic poetry, and Keats is regarded as an outstanding representative of European romantic movement.