<P> The first four lines express Keats' fear that he will die before he has written all the works he hopes to, "before (his) pen has glean'd (his) teeming brain ." The symbols of the night sky and clouds that Keats "may never live to trace" can represent many things . The first is simply Keats' desire for literary expression and interpretation of the world around him . Another, though, is more philosophical . Keats' use of "shadows" can connect to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which then represents his desire to understand life itself . The "magic hand of chance" may further represent fate as a function of life . Keats is condemned to a short life by chance, and because of that he will remain unable to trace or understand how fate functions . </P> <P> The "fair creature of an hour," according to Richard Woodhouse, the man who advised Keats' publishers on legal and literary matters, refers to a woman Keats encountered at Vauxhall Gardens . Keats' reflection on this woman may represent his preoccupation with beauty and his fear of no longer witnessing beauty, in the form of a woman or nature, once he dies . She also represents Keats' fear of loss and being unable to experience love once he dies . </P> <P> The final three lines where Keats stands alone and contemplates the end of life may represent a passive acceptance that life must end . Love and fame do not matter and cannot be achieved anyway once Keats dies . </P> <P> "When I have Fears" follows a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG . Shahidha Bari notes the rhyme scheme may reflect expectation . Readers expect the lines to rhyme with each other, as Keats anticipates the end of his life . The couplet and rhyme signals the end of the poem, as death signals the end of life . </P>

Why did john keats write when i have fears