Wedding reading
from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819
John Keats
“from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819” by John Keats is a prose reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 25 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion—I have shuddered at it. I shudder no more—I could be martyred for my Religion—Love is my religion—I could die for that. I could die for you. My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Keats wrote it to one person and never meant it to be heard, which is exactly how it reads. Twenty-five seconds, and it does not hedge once.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: love is my religion · my creed is love and you are its only tenet · a letter rather than a poem · unguarded · a couple who are not religious · short · a reader with a strong voice.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819” take to read aloud?
“from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819” takes about 25 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819” runs about 25 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- On marriage, from The Devil's Dictionary — five definitionsa minute and a halfAmbrose Bierce
- Love Is Friendship Caught Fire40 secondsAttributed to Ann Landers
- He’s Not Perfect45 secondsAuthor unknown — widely misattributed to Bob Marley
- On Marriage, from The Propheta minute and a halfKahlil Gibran
- On Becoming Real, from The Velveteen Rabbit55 secondsMargery Williams
- from Obergefell v. Hodgesa minute and a halfJustice Anthony Kennedy