By Saanyakta K, Y13

On Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th September, each Year 13 English class attended a trip to Keats House in Hampstead as part of our study of Keats’ poetry in the Romantic Poetry anthology.

During the trip, it was fascinating to hear of Keats’ passions and aspirations, including his career in medicine, as well as to see a bust of the man himself, made to stand at his actual height (5 feet!). We were also able to sit in the very spot where Keats would sit and watch his fiancée, Fanny Brawne, take her walks. Our visit concluded with a reading of his poem ‘To Autumn’: a vivid celebration of the gradual transition from summer into autumn – particularly fitting for this time of year! It was a wonderful opportunity to experience the places and stories behind our syllabus, and helped us to not understand Keats simply as a poet, but as a person whose own life and experiences shaped his work – which is studied and admired to this day.