Ode to a Grecian Urn

On October 29, 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a letter to Leigh Hunt’s wife, Marianne, on Keats’ work: "’Keats’ new volume has arrived to us, & the fragment called Hyperion promises for him that he is destined to become one of the first writers of the age. – His other things are imperfect enough…. Where is Keats now? I am anxiously expecting him in Italy where I shall take care to bestow every possible attention on him. I consider his a most valuable life, & I am deeply interested in his safety. I intend to be the physician both of his body & his soul, to keep the one warm & to teach the other Greek & Spanish. I am aware indeed that I am nourishing a rival who will far surpass me and this is an additional motive & will be an added pleasure.”