Question

When I have fears that I may cease to be

by John Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And feel that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink


How do the words “glean'd,” “rich garners,” and “full-ripen'd grain” enhance the theme of the poem?
A.
They bring out the speaker’s intention to express the thoughts in his “teeming brain” into words and his inability to do so because of lack of time.
B.
They convey the universal nature of death that puts an end to the writing of “high piled books” of a writer as well as the reaping of a harvester.
C.
They refer to the speaker’s desire to write “high piled books” on nature and harvesting before death puts an end to his writing.
D.
They allude to the speaker’s concern that death would deprive his fertile imagination, a field of “full-ripen'd grain,” to be harvested in books.

Answer 1

D. They allude to the speaker’s concern that death would deprive his fertile imagination, a field of “full-ripen'd grain,” to be harvested in books.

Step-by-step explanation:

"When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" is a sonnet written by John Keats, an English Romantic poet. The sonnet talks about life and how transient it is. It centers on his fear of people's mortality and how life can be very limited, as it limits his ability to write.

He is concerned on how death would prevent him from pouring out his thoughts, ideas and feelings into his books by writing.

So, this explains the answer.