To Autumn

Question 1

Form

Answer 1

Ode- Serious poem written in praise
Iambic pentameter
Keats’s other odes have ten lines per stanza, this one has 11 reinforcing plentiful nature of autumn

Question 2

Stanza 1

Answer 2

Plentiful nature - abundance of produce
Alliteration makes autumn seem gentle
Close and bosom friend exaggerates closeness, overflowing abundance
Ripe to the point of bursting
Negative connotations - summer has done too much
Hint of sadness - indication winter is coming
Rich with adjectives and details - abundance

Question 3

Stanza 2

Answer 3

Work people do during the harvest
Ambiguous - carefree / lack of care
Autumn is directly personified
Hook used for cutting and “spares” - images of grim reaper (death personified) - hints at decay in winter
Words related to human industry show it provides for humans
Repetition of hours makes line sound sluggish- slow passage of time

Question 4

Stanz 3

Answer 4

Passage of time as autumn fades and winter approaches
Consecutive rhetorical questions make the speaker sound scornful of spring
Speaker reassures themselves and autumn
Autumn has multiple personas - shows abundance
Evocative image of reaped field - autumn is coming to an end
Contrasting images of life and death - narrator’s mixed emotions
Lambs born in spring are bigger - passing of time
Robin - coming of winter
Swallows migrate for winter - gathering means end of year- not permanent, hope for new life

Question 5

Structure

Answer 5

First line is aspect of autumn, rest of stanza expands on it
Structure can show passing of time : first stanza - morning + early autumn, second stanza - mid-autumn + afternoon, last stanza - approach of winter + sunset

Question 6

Language of excess

Answer 6

Shows how autumn can produce a bountiful harvest
Just beyond point of perfection - a bit too much
Language of excess can symbolise start of death

Question 7

Personification

Answer 7

Second stanza- hardworking but also takes breaks and relaxes
Ages throughout poem like humans do, mourned in the final stanza

Question 8

Sensory language

Answer 8

Stanza 1 - touch, stanza 2 - sight, stanza 3 - sound. Reflects abundance - present around all. Many images are described in detail, underlining richness of the season.

Question 9

Feelings and attitudes

Answer 9

Awe - narrator admires power of nature, taking delight in beauty and abundance
Sorrow - sad tone as autumn signifies start of winter

Question 10

Context

Answer 10

Romanticism: Keats was a second wave Romantic poet - explores the transience of human life in time and the natural beauty of things that are not normally considered beautiful, like autumn and death. Romantic poets believed they had a deeper understanding of the purpose and meaning of life. Keats understood that like Autumn, the meaning of life is not to live or last forever but to leave a legacy and appreciate life’s unique beauty.
• Tuberculosis: The year Keats wrote To Autumn, he experienced the first signs of the tuberculosis that would end his life. As a medic he could probably tell that he was sick and going to die soon, so To Autumn can be seen as an ode to both autumn and his life.