5 Short Keats Love Quotes to Fanny Brawne, Checked Against the Letters
Five short lines from Keats's letters to Fanny Brawne with the real letter, date and place for each, safe ways to trim them, and a card guide.
Updated
These five short lines from John Keats's letters to Fanny Brawne are the ones people copy onto cards, and the dates usually attached to them are often wrong. Each is checked against the text of the letters (H. Buxton Forman's edition on Project Gutenberg, ebook 60433), with the letter number, date and place as that edition gives them. Where a letter is undated, this page says so instead of guessing.
"I cannot exist without you."
My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you. I am forgetful of everything but seeing you again—my Life seems to stop there—I see no further.
John Keats, Letter VIII to Fanny Brawne, postmarked 13 October 1819, from 25 College Street
This is the line most often placed in the wrong season. It is not from the summer letters on the Isle of Wight but from a note written in Westminster in October, after he had returned to London. He had sat down to copy out verses and could not: "Upon my Soul I can think of nothing else." For a card, the four-word core "I cannot exist without you" works alone; keep the full sentence when you want the "my Life seems to stop there" turn, which is the better line.
"Love is my religion"
I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion—I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more—I could be martyr'd for my Religion—Love is my religion—I could die for that. I could die for you.
John Keats, Letter VIII to Fanny Brawne, postmarked 13 October 1819
It sits in the same short letter as the line above, a few sentences later, so a single sheet carries both. The context makes it stronger than the usual crop: he first admits he once found martyrdom frightening, then says he no longer does. Trim it to "Love is my religion—I could die for that" if space is short; stopping at "Love is my religion" loses the argument that gives it its force.
"You are always new."
You are always new. The last of your kisses was ever the sweetest; the last smile the brightest; the last movement the gracefullest.
John Keats, Letter XXIV to Fanny Brawne, undated
The Forman edition prints this letter with no date, and it sits among the notes written while Keats was living next door to her at Wentworth Place, so any card that gives a day and a street for it is guessing. Its first four words are the part that travels well, and the sentence after them explains why: each "last" kiss or smile is the best one, so the love never goes stale. It suits an anniversary note better than a first-date message, because it describes time passing.
"I love you the more in that I believe you have liked me for my own sake"
I love you the more in that I believe you have liked me for my own sake and for nothing else. I have met with women whom I really think would like to be married to a Poem and to be given away by a Novel.
John Keats, Letter II to Fanny Brawne, dated 8 July 1819, postmarked Newport (Isle of Wight) 10 July
This is the earliest of the five, from the summer he was writing "blank verse" and "tagging some rhymes" while far from her, and it is the one with the dry joke attached. Read alone it is a compliment; read with the next sentence it is a wry remark about women who would rather marry a poem than a poet. The first sentence is long for a caption, so use it on a card or inside a letter, where there is room to finish the thought.
"I wish to live with you for ever"
I long to believe in immortality. I shall never be able to bid you an entire farewell. If I am destined to be happy with you here—how short is the longest Life. I wish to believe in immortality—I wish to live with you for ever.
John Keats, Letter XXXVI to Fanny Brawne, from the Kentish Town group, 1820
Letter XXXVI belongs to the last group in the edition, written from Kentish Town in 1820, when he was ill and preparing to go to Italy. The same letter has harsh passages, including an appeal to her not to write to him "unless you can do it with a crystal conscience", so it is not only tenderness. The two-clause sentence "I wish to believe in immortality—I wish to live with you for ever" is the quotable part; it is a wish, not a claim, and a card should not turn it into one.
Which line for which card
| You want to say | Use | Safe cut |
|---|---|---|
| I am lost when you are away | "I cannot exist without you." | One sentence, no trimming needed |
| I would give everything for this | "Love is my religion—I could die for that." | Stop at "for that"; do not cut before "Love" |
| Years in, it is still fresh | "You are always new." | First four words, or add the "last of your kisses" sentence |
| You love me as I am | "I love you the more in that I believe you have liked me for my own sake and for nothing else." | Keep the full sentence; it ends where the clause ends |
| Forever | "I wish to believe in immortality—I wish to live with you for ever." | Keep the dash; it is the pause |
Two habits keep these honest. Give the author and "letter to Fanny Brawne", and give the year only for the letters that have one. Do not attach lines from other sources: "Bright star" is a sonnet, and a lot of Keats-labelled captions online come from neither the letters nor the poems. For sixteen lines with their context and a list of lines that are not his, see John Keats's Letters to Fanny Brawne. If you want to write your own after reading them, how to write a love letter and the short quotes for quiet moments are the next step; check anything you find against the misattribution guide first.
