보통 사람의 모습을 띠고 있는 그림자 무리: 키츠와 독자 대중

Abstract

This essay explores how the reading public shaped John Keats's self-consciousness as an author and influenced his writing practices, by examining his literary and publishing activities. While the traditional image of Romantic poets often highlights their individual creativity as the foundation of their artistic expression, this view oversimplifies their complex interaction with external realities. Instead of characterizing them as isolated bearers of original creativity, it is crucial to acknowledge that their private emotions and artistic expressions were deeply influenced by the socio-economic conditions of their time, particularly within the capitalist framework that intensified during the 18th century. The commercialized publishing market and its associated reading public notably influenced the direction of their literary works. For Keats, who had a vulnerable socio-economic base, the reading public had a profound impact on his writing practices. Thus, tracing his relationship with the reading public is essential for understanding the historicity behind what seems to be his original expressions of personal emotions. More specifically, this essay argues that the complex emotions and self-consciousness Keats exhibited during three publishing projects reflect the vivid consciousness of a Romantic poet who was compulsively contemplating how to reconcile his authorial ideals with the contemporary publishing markets demands, thus revealing the public significance and historicity embedded within the domain of individual creativity that Romantic poets were thought to have pioneered.