Question

Who first used the term 'Negative Capability'?

• A. S.T. Coleridge
• B. William Wordsworth
• C. John Keats
• D. Lord Byron

Hint:

Associate 'Negative Capability' directly with John Keats and his admiration for Shakespeare. Keats believed this quality—the ability to be comfortable with uncertainty—was what made Shakespeare's work so profound and universal.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
'Negative Capability' is a literary-philosophical concept referring to the capacity of an artist to pursue artistic beauty and truth even when it leads to intellectual uncertainty and doubt, without an "irritable reaching after fact and reason." [4, 9, 16, 22, 26]

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The term was coined by the Romantic poet John Keats in a letter to his brothers, George and Thomas, in December 1817. [4, 9, 16, 22, 26] He used Shakespeare as the prime example of a writer who possessed this quality, arguing that a great poet can be a "chameleon," able to inhabit different characters and perspectives without imposing a singular, rigid philosophy on their work. The other poets listed—Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Byron—were Keats's contemporaries, but the term originates specifically with Keats.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct answer is John Keats, which is option (3).