To Autumn Flashcards
Context
-Keats was a romantic poet and believed in the individuality of everything
-Died 6 months after writing this from tuberculosis
Form
-An Ode
-Written in iambic pentameter but rhyme scheme changes slightly.
-First 4 lines of each stanza - ABAB
-Keats’ other odes have ten lines per stanza- this one has eleven reinforcing the plentiful nature of autumn.
Structure
-Structure can be seen as passing of time as the stanzas are linked with different times of day
Themes
-Passing of time
-Change and transformation
-Death and loss
-Nature
‘Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness’
-Soothing alliteration to make autumn seem gentle
-This stanza directly starts talking about the senses of Autumn giving the reader full imagery of the season.
‘Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’
-Implies nature/humans are interlinked
-Use of noun ‘bosom-friend’ and the word ‘close’ exaggerate this
-This personification used to describe the sunrise is also effective as it shows the sun being human like and vice versa.
‘moss’d cottage-trees’
-Rich in adjectives/details symbolising the abundance of autumn.
‘fill all fruit’
The use of the superlative is used to create symbolism of fruit representing whole life.
‘Until they think warm days will never ceasem
This use of foreshadowing hints at the idea that there is also death as well as life within Autumn. Also indicating the literal change in seasons to winter.
‘while thy hook/Spares the next swath’
The hook used for cutting and the word ‘spares’ evoke this imagery of the grim reaper (death personified) which hints at the decay winter brings.
‘hours by hours’
Repetition of the word hours exaggerates the slow time passing through the seasons. This shows the time passing towards Keats death of tuberculosis.
‘Where are the songs of Spring? Aye, where are they?’
Consecutive rhetorical questions make the writer sound scornful of spring.
‘stubble-plains with rosy hue’
-Evocative imagery of a reaped field- Autumn is coming to an end. -Contrasting images of life and death suggest the writer has mixed emotions. -Represent this realisation that Keats has experienced because of his inevitable coming death.
‘Gathering swallows’
-Swallows migrate south for the winter, their gathering represent the end of the year. Migration isn’t permanent so it also symbolises hope that there will be new life again.
‘barrèd clouds bloom the soft-dying day’
-almost like heaven - ideas of death
