Keats' Obsession

"When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" by Keats is a poem of missed opportunity.  Fame, love, and life are all beyond his reach and power to control.  He believes death will prevent all of his desires from coming true.  His fear of the lack of fame, "before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain" is a lifelong struggle for him.  This is something that is actually quite justified since he was not received well critically during his lifetime.  His fear of the lack of love is due to the female subject of the poem.  He saw a woman one day at an amusement park, never spoke to her, and yet idealized her for years afterward.  His lack of action and subsequent obsession with her helps his idea of love being another thing he did not accomplish...even though he became engaged to Fanny Brawne later.  Life is the final element he can not control.  He sees death approaching.  His family history pretty much guarantees his early death.  He knows he cannot fight it.  Love and fame are both gone with his life. "Till live and fame to nothingness do sink."