ABSTRACT
The French Revolution served as a locus for much of the discussion at the close of the eighteenth century and well into the first decades of the nineteenth century. John Keats's review binds his views of poetry's role in society, and the compulsion he felt to offer poetry that might act as physic, to concepts associated with the secret societies. During the Romantic period, Paracelsus's theories were still studied and commented in medical schools where his works were acknowledged as precursors to chemistry and medical reforms. Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry during the Romantic period were cultural phenomena that served as a nexus for scientific, political, philosophical, and religious debate. As a result of the many connections, there is ample evidence to justify an examination of Keats's poetry and letters in light of the hermeticism contained in the secret societies.
