Fanny Brawne: Keats’s ‘Sweet Home of Pleasure and Pain

Abstract

Fanny Brawne, Keats’s beloved, to whom he was betrothed, was a source of both pleasure and pain for him. Fanny filled Keats;s mind with love and affection when he was going through physical, mental and economic crisis. However, Keats's agonies were multiplied by some misunderstandings about Fanny's dubious behavior and rumors that Fanny was a 'flirt'. Keats's agonies and frustration found vents in his poems and in letters that he wrote to different people including Fanny Brawne. This paper examines some of his poems and letters in an attempt to find out the extent of his feelings and passion for Fanny Brawne. It also includes comments of Keats's friends and critics on his love affair with Fanny Brawne