to autumn Flashcards
overview
Like other romantic poets, Keats writes about his love for nature. The purpose of this ode is to praise Autumn. Keats uses lots of rich imagery in three equal stanzas to show the different stages of Autumn. Keats wrote this poem after a walk around Winchester and he felt inspired by seeing the beauty of nature firsthand. However, the speakers attitude changes. At the start he’s describing the beginning of autumn and how ripe it is. By the time he reaches the third stanza it’s the end of autumn and everything is dying so the tone is very melancholy. Keats has lots of experiences of lots of illness and death so this explains how he wanted to savor every moment as he only had a little time left when he realized he was dying.
beginning
- Autumn is ‘conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines.’ This suggests how autumn is planning how to make the beginning of autumn more plentiful. The word ‘conspiring’ suggest how autumn and the sun are secretly plotting how to make a good harvest which would benefit us as it would provide people with food. The phrase ‘load and bless’ suggests how the fruit on the vines is a gift as they are considered a blessing. This helps to show how important the beginning of autumn and the harvest season is.
- Keats describes how summer has ‘o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells.’ This suggests how all the warmth is overflowing into Autumn. This suggests how at the beginning of autumn everything is full of energy as it is spilling into the different seasons. There is an abundance of ripeness.
middle
- Keats describes autumn as a variety of jobs, one of them being turning apples to cider. Autumn ‘watchest the last oozings hours by hours.’ This suggests how this process takes a long time as it takes hours. The word ‘oozings’ emphasises this as it suggests how the cider is slowly dripping.
end
- Towards the end, the ‘barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day.’ The clouds are ‘barred’ which suggests how its trapping the sunset from being seen which creates a melancholy mood as you can’t see the pretty colours of the sunset. This helps to create a tone of acceptance as you can’t move the clouds to see the sunset as it is physically impossible. The phrase ‘soft-dying’ suggests how the sun is dying peacefully.
- The landscape is described as ‘stubble-plains.’ This suggests how everything is dead as the plains are stubble. The word ‘stubble’ suggests how everything is rough and prickly, unlike earlier in the poem when everything was soft and full of life. This creates a contrast as in the later months of autumn everything is dead whereas in the earlier months it’s full of life.
form & structure
The pace changes from the first to second stanza. In the first stanza, Keats uses enjambment to make the words seem like they are spilling off the lines which creates the impression that the beginning of autumn is full of energy and life. This makes the first stanza read quickly. However, by the second stanza, everything slows down. He might want to slow everything down in stanza two to show how he’s trying to hold onto autumn for a little longer.
