John Keats was an English Romantic poet who lived from 1795 to 1821. He was part of a group of POETS known as the 'Cockney School' or the 'Lake POETS', which included William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and George Gordon Byron. These POETS were known for their focus on nature and emotion in their works. Keats and his colleagues were influential in the development of the Romantic movement in literature.