1592997862000 1568984929000 Standard Record object-238722 1753207442921 1753186484000 1753207434446 adlib fitz-online adlib-object-238722 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/238722 9e11ee83-ac3a-3f41-abdd-7fa08e7921cf 15 reference term-135664 adlib-term-135664 3253d3ba-3b50-3748-87f7-8396c4da1200 autograph manuscript Manuscripts and Printed Books This manuscript contains the original draft of ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, the only copy in Keats’s own handwriting to survive. The story of its composition is told by Charles Armitage Brown (1787-1842), with whom Keats was living in Wentworth Place, Hampstead in the spring of 1819. Brown’s Life of John Keats - first delivered as a lecture at the Plymouth Athenaeum nearly sixteen years after the poet’s death and not published until 1937 – contains the following memorable account: ‘I observed that every short poem, which he was tempted to compose, was scrawled on the first piece of paper at hand, and that it was afterwards used a mark to a book, or thrust anywhere aside. In the spring of 1819 a nightingale had built her nest near my house. Keats felt a tranquil and continual joy in her song; and one morning he took his chair from breakfast-table to the grass-plot under a plum-tree, where he sat for two or three hours. When he came into the house, I perceived he had some scraps of paper in his hand, and these he was quietly thrusting behind the books. On inquiry, I found those scraps, four or five in number, contained his poetic feeling on the song of our nightingale. The writing was not well legible; and it was difficult to arrange the stanzas on so many scraps. With his assistance I succeeded and this was his Ode to a Nightingale, a poem which has been the delight of everyone. Immediately afterwards I searched for more of his (in reality) fugitive pieces, in which task, at my request, he again assisted me. Thus I rescued that Ode and other valuable short poems, which might otherwise have been lost. From that day, he gave me permission to copy any verses he might write, and I fully availed myself of it. He cared so little for them himself, when once, as it appeared to me, his imagination was released from their influence, that it required a friend at hand to preserve them.’ Scholars have argued about the reliability of Brown’s account, and whether the Fitzwilliam manuscript represents the very first draft or a subsequent reworking. Note that, in line with Brown’s narrative, these two pages have been hastily torn from a notebook – they have damage to edges typical of pages sewn in and subsequently torn out. The order of the stanzas on the pages is also significant. It seems that Keats had grabbed two sheets of paper and began writing on the first page. Working with his customary intense speed and concentration, he did not turn the paper over, but continued on a second sheet. He then ran out of paper, but did not re-enter the house to seek more, but turned instead to the back (verso) of the first sheet, and finally, the verso of the second sheet. These are pages written in the full flood of concentrated inspiration – Keats did not know as he wrote how long the poem was going to be or what the end point was. In other words, they have all the hallmarks of a very first draft. The text was first published first published anonymously in July 1819 in Annals of the Fine Arts, a short-lived periodical. It was published again with a few changes the following year the collection of Keats’s work, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St Agnes and other Poems (London: Taylor and Hessey, 1820). Keats death followed soon after in February 1821. The manuscript consists of two half sheets of wove paper, the first 204 × 121.5 mm, the second 204.5 × 123 mm. In 1982 these were conserved by Sandy Cockerell and mounted within a wide margin of handmade paper bearing the Cockerell watermark. These were bound in leather with marbled-paper sides. 142 reference exhibition-2966 adlib-exhibition-2966 1c8952b5-4682-35e9-80d0-f87ada041be2 John Keats: A Bicentenary Exhibition 308, plate 62 reference exhibition-18 adlib-exhibition-18 d710f826-fb52-350a-bae1-4630a842e7cb Treasures of Cambridge 892 reference exhibition-488 adlib-exhibition-488 7de5d48d-46e3-31d8-b3f9-9d18b3f1da7b The Romantic Movement MS 1-1933 1 accession number MS 1-1933 238722 priref 238722 2019 2019 2019-10-09 Youtube Video ojYAEa1hxOY uri https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/238722 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/238722 reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum reference agent-198374 adlib-agent-198374 87a4a746-3ea3-34d2-976d-1a465c0a8b0d Crewe-Milnes, Robert, 1st Marquess of Crewe 1933 1933 1933 given 1819 CE 1819 1819 author reference agent-70646 adlib-agent-70646 df14f154-5e99-35c6-ab96-71692fa6f3d6 Keats, John conservator reference agent-158758 adlib-agent-158758 10684a22-c9f3-318d-94b8-a2b7dd838289 Cockerell, Sandy binder (person) reference agent-161226 adlib-agent-161226 2ea4b926-ddc0-3c94-a25d-ad3446b8adbb Cockerell Bindery reference media-217477 adlib-media-217477 836e8073-8ea9-3aa1-8dce-48425274b340 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f1r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1687 width pixels 1024 1742604516120 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f1r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 823 width pixels 500 1742604516120 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f1r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 5832 width pixels 3541 1742604516120 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f1r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 412 width pixels 250 1742604516120 1 image 0 media image reference media-217478 adlib-media-217478 3eb81c96-828c-3fe6-a09a-94ad69df2d63 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f1v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1667 width pixels 1024 1742604489238 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f1v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 814 width pixels 500 1742604489238 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f1v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1976 width pixels 1214 1742604489238 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f1v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 407 width pixels 250 1742604489238 1 image 1 media image reference media-217480 adlib-media-217480 677aa177-3aa3-3e38-ab93-d0703743b860 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f2r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1632 width pixels 1024 1742604632821 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f2r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 797 width pixels 500 1742604632821 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f2r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1928 width pixels 1210 1742604632821 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f2r_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 398 width pixels 250 1742604632821 1 image 2 media image reference media-217481 adlib-media-217481 6787a218-3863-3f49-989d-3d9a79ba04d8 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f2v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1647 width pixels 1024 1742604568780 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f2v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 804 width pixels 500 1742604568780 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f2v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1916 width pixels 1191 1742604568780 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f2v_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 402 width pixels 250 1742604568780 1 image 3 media image reference media-217479 adlib-media-217479 64b3ce18-7e89-3d9e-abfa-cbadca7eb971 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f1v_detail_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 896 width pixels 1024 1742604539546 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f1v_detail_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 438 width pixels 500 1742604539546 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f1v_detail_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1592 width pixels 1819 1742604539546 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f1v_detail_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 219 width pixels 250 1742604539546 1 image 4 media image reference media-217482 adlib-media-217482 3cc7351c-69dd-36a9-9ce6-a0bc34dd3a14 jpeg msspb/msspb20/large_ms_201_1933_f2v_details_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 681 width pixels 1023 1616249870635 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/mid_ms_201_1933_f2v_details_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 333 width pixels 500 1616249870635 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/ms_201_1933_f2v_details_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 1331 width pixels 2000 1616249870635 1 image jpeg msspb/msspb20/preview_ms_201_1933_f2v_details_201302_amt49_dc1.jpg 1 height pixels 166 width pixels 249 1616249870635 1 image 5 media image reference media-1523032521 portfolio portfolio-media-1523032521 5e1a5fce-172c-3645-9b09-04a1fe9cefca jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/317/large_MS_1_1933_02_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 1746 width pixels 1024 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/317/mid_MS_1_1933_02_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 852 width pixels 500 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/317/MS_1_1933_02_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 2581 width pixels 1514 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/317/preview_MS_1_1933_02_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 426 width pixels 250 1568044290000 1 image 6 <primary>1</primary> <type>main title</type> <value>Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats</value> media image reference media-1433706743 portfolio portfolio-media-1433706743 e78cf7b6-b35f-33e2-8a7e-db8e3e2eeefe jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/318/large_MS_1_1933_03_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 1731 width pixels 1024 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/318/mid_MS_1_1933_03_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 845 width pixels 500 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/318/MS_1_1933_03_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 2580 width pixels 1526 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/318/preview_MS_1_1933_03_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 423 width pixels 250 1568044290000 1 image 7 <primary>1</primary> <type>main title</type> <value>Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats</value> media image reference media-421931909 portfolio portfolio-media-421931909 506421ea-6f67-3426-b2b8-8a882571c678 jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/319/large_MS_1_1933_01_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 1757 width pixels 1024 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/319/mid_MS_1_1933_01_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 858 width pixels 500 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/319/MS_1_1933_01_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 2580 width pixels 1504 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/319/preview_MS_1_1933_01_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 429 width pixels 250 1568044290000 1 image 8 <primary>1</primary> <type>main title</type> <value>Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats</value> media image reference media-3810284469 portfolio portfolio-media-3810284469 6695750b-5250-35e8-bf24-7e8500bfc536 jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/320/large_MS_1_1933_04_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 1772 width pixels 1024 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/320/mid_MS_1_1933_04_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 865 width pixels 500 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/320/MS_1_1933_04_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 2580 width pixels 1491 1568044290000 1 image jpeg portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/672/320/preview_MS_1_1933_04_dc2.jpg 1 height pixels 433 width pixels 250 1568044290000 1 image 9 <primary>1</primary> <type>main title</type> <value>Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats</value> media image reference term-102725 adlib-term-102725 90793621-af4f-3f5c-b879-b8e9205b3155 poem 1 Documentation on the manuscript held in the Museum Archive reference object-110004648 adlib-object-110004648 bb649ba2-503a-393f-9363-7122090c8ae1 FM/70/11/3/Keats reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum reference number literal name Sensual Virtual Sensual Virtual July 1819, pages 354-56 reference publication-400002118 adlib-publication-400002118 48334d40-5f57-3166-96ad-2072ab3d4a50 Annals of the Fine Arts reference publication-8714 adlib-publication-8714 070715de-ba7d-311f-8068-ae9fc6523858 Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St Agnes and other Poems 394-401 reference publication-8718 adlib-publication-8718 b31369ba-de3f-3125-9d18-7a26c0d7b372 John Keats 53-54 reference publication-8730 adlib-publication-8730 3498931d-1e2a-3f14-9188-5b4f9f8e5c43 Life of John Keats reference publication-200003203 adlib-publication-200003203 4c6cab6f-28db-3244-8ccd-0e162f8ce1b4 'Some Scraps of Paper’: The Autograph Manuscript of Ode to a Nightingale at the Fitzwilliam Museum 135-6 reference publication-8716 adlib-publication-8716 52f4a69b-58f4-3cb0-8b32-cca4a210b387 John Keats: A Poet and his Manuscripts KeJ282 375 reference publication-8731 adlib-publication-8731 d3ec077c-468d-30c6-a626-c832d7e0635b Index of English Literary Manuscripts: Volume 4, 1800-1900 65-67 reference publication-8732 adlib-publication-8732 3d4f9160-16fa-3121-89ce-4722c697ae18 Odes of Keats and their Earliest Known Manuscripts p.95 reference publication-200003204 adlib-publication-200003204 2ccd4d3a-829e-3222-9241-12113b41620a Houghton-Crewe Draft of Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale” 130-41 reference publication-200003205 adlib-publication-200003205 775b49b5-6e14-3a42-a03c-5821660a6672 Morning’s Work in a Hampstead Garden reference term-102725 adlib-term-102725 90793621-af4f-3f5c-b879-b8e9205b3155 poem poem <value>Ode to the Nightingale</value> object OBJECT