Romantic Medicine and John Keats | National Humanities Center

Work of the Fellows: Monographs

Romantic Medicine and John Keats

By Hermione de Almeida (NHC Fellow, 1982–83)

Romanticism; Poetry; British Literature; History of Medicine; English Literature; John Keats

New York: Oxford University Press, 1991

From the publisher’s description:

Using original research in scientific treatises, philosophical manuscripts, and political documents, this pioneering study describes the neglected era of revolutionary medicine in Europe through the writings of the English poet and physician, John Keats. De Almeida explores the four primary concerns of Romantic medicine--the physician's task, the meaning of life, the prescription of disease and health, and the evolution of matter and mind--and reveals their expression in Keats's poetry and thought. By delineating a distinct but unknown era in the history of medicine, charting the poet's milieu within this age, and providing close reading of his poems in these contexts, Romantic Medicine and John Keats illustrates the interdisciplinary bonds between the two healing arts of the Romantic period: medicine and poetry.

Subjects
Literature / Medicine / Romanticism / Poetry / British Literature / History of Medicine / English Literature / John Keats /

de Almeida, Hermione (NHC Fellow, 1982–83). Romantic Medicine and John Keats. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.