Today’s letter consists mostly of Keats’s poem, “Dear Reynolds, as last night I lay in bed.” As such, we’ll let the poem speak mostly for itself! There are plenty of places where you can find it. Harry Buxton Forman prints it in his 1895 edition of the letters (as well as in his editions of the poems, such as the 1883 here). Included below you can find Richard Woodhouse’s transcript of the poem and the bit of prose that follows it. (Note that one sentence at the end of the prose section is written in shorthand!)
Page 1 of Richard Woodhouse’s transcript of Keats’s poem and letter to Reynolds, 25 Mar 1818. Keats Collection, 1814-1891 (MS Keats 3.2). Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Page 2 of Richard Woodhouse’s transcript of Keats’s poem and letter to Reynolds, 25 Mar 1818. Keats Collection, 1814-1891 (MS Keats 3.2). Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Page 3 of Richard Woodhouse’s transcript of Keats’s poem and letter to Reynolds, 25 Mar 1818. Keats Collection, 1814-1891 (MS Keats 3.2). Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Page 4 of Richard Woodhouse’s transcript of Keats’s poem and letter to Reynolds, 25 Mar 1818. Keats Collection, 1814-1891 (MS Keats 3.2). Houghton Library, Harvard University.