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english literature > to autumn > Flashcards

to autumn Flashcards

1
Q

who wrote the poem?

A

John Keats

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2
Q

what are the main themes of the poem?

A
  • nature
  • the passage of time
  • death
  • change
  • faith (?)
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3
Q

what are the possible links?

A
  • afternoons (passage of time)
  • DoaN (passage of time and nature)
  • As imperceptibly as Grief (time)
  • prelude (nature)
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4
Q

what are the main feelings and attitudes of the poem?

A
  • awe
  • sorrow
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5
Q

what does the speaker admire in the poem?

A

the power of nature, taking delight in its beauty and abundance

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6
Q

what is the poem about?

A

the narrator directly addresses nature, which is personified throughout. the poem begins by describing the plentiful nature of the start of autumn - there’s an abundance of produce. then it talks about the work people do during the harvest, then the passage of time as autumn fades

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7
Q

what is the form of the poem?

A

it is an ode to autumn, it is written in iambic pentameter (mimics sound of speech and makes it sound sincere), but its rhyme scheme changes slightly

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7
Q

how many lines does each stanza have and why?

A

each stanza has 11 lines, though Keats’ other odes have 10 lines per stanza, which reinforces the plentiful nature of autumn

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8
Q

what does the first stanza fous on?

A

it is a celebration and suggests that autumn begins in a rich and calm way and shows the gifts of nature, links morning with early autumn, focuses on the sense of touch

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9
Q

what does the second stanza focus on?

A

makes the suggestion that autumn is in no rush to move on, shows the ripening process and the harvest, sleepy mood also links it to the afternoon, focuses on the sense of sight

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10
Q

what does the third stanza focus on?

A

shows change, Keat recognises the change to winter and accepts the fact that he cannot control it, shows the harvest is over, hints at sunset, focuses on the sense of sound

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11
Q

what is the structure of the poem?

A

3 11-line stanzas

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12
Q

how does the rhyme scheme change?

A

always abab for the first 4 lines of each stanza, then the rest of the second and third stanza is different to the first, which indicates the key theme of transformation; the poem has evolved from the first stanza both thematically and structurally

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13
Q

what kind of language is used in the poem?

A

language of excess, sensory language

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14
Q

what could the language of excess symbolise?

A

the harvest is just beyond the point of perfection - the speaker hints that it’s too much, so the language of excess could symbolise the start death

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15
Q

what are the first four lines of the poem?

A

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! / Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; / Conspiring with him how to load and bless / With the fruit vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

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16
Q

why is the poem called ‘to autumn’?

A

he wants to celebrate the season

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17
Q

what are the annotations of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’?

A
  • soothing alliteration of ‘m’ makes autumn seem gentle
  • also the adj ‘mellow’ suggests that autumn is calm and that the changes are not disruptive
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18
Q

what does the exclamation mark at the end of the first line do?

A

it hints at the narrator’s awe

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19
Q

what are the annotations of ‘Close bosom-friend’?

A
  • suggests that autumn is working with summer to produce wonderful things
  • ‘bosom-friend’ already implies closeness, ‘close’ isn’t needed, which highlights the overflowing abundance in this stanza
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20
Q

what are the annotations of ‘maturing sun’?

A
  • connects autumn with the morning - the sun has risen and is getting higher in the sky
  • ‘maturing’ suggests time is passing
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21
Q

what ae the annotations of ‘conspiring’?

A

suggests that autumn is quiet and secretive

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22
Q

what are the annotations of ‘fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run’?

A

humans and nature are interlinked (thatch-eaves = the part of a thatched roof that hangs over the wall of the building)

23
Q

what are the middle four lines of the first stanza?

A

To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, / And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; / To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells / With a sweet kernel; to set budding more

24
what are the annotations of 'moss'd cottage-trees'?
the poem is rich with adjectives and details - mimics the abundance of autumn
25
what are the annotations of 'fill all fruit'?
symbolism, fruit symbolises life
26
what are the annotations of 'to swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells'?
suggests they're ripe almost to the point of bursting
27
what are the annotations of 'ripeness to the core'?
suggests that autumn is the best season and represents the peak time in life
28
what are the last three lines of the poem?
And still more, later flowers for the bees, / Until they think warm days will never cease, / For Summer has o'erbrimm'd their clammy cells.
29
what are the annotations of 'And still more'?
Autumn is able to 'trick' nature and wildlife into thinking that Summer will never end
30
what are the annotations of 'Until they think warm days will never cease'?
there's a hint of sadness - first indication that winter is coming
31
what are the annotations of 'o'erbrimm'd their clammy cells'?
- shows the abundance of food that autumn creates - negative connotations - Summer has produced too much
32
what are the first four lines of the second stanza?
Who hath seen thee oft amid thy store? / Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find / Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
33
what are the annotations of 'Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?'
Keats speaks directly to autumn, which could suggest that autumn can clearly be seen everywhere
34
what two parts is each stana split into?
the first line forms one part of the poem, while the rest of the stanza forms the other. the second part is a very long sentence which reflects the idea of abundance
35
what are the annotations of 'Thee sitting careless on a granary floor'?
- Autumn is personified and this suggests that autumn works hard to make the changes in the season, however the word 'careless' implies that it is effortless - 'careless' is ambiguous and could mean either carefree or shows a lack of care
36
what are the middle three lines of the second stanza?
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, / Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook / Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;
37
what are the annotations of 'Drows'd with the fume of poppies'?
- could imply that autumn is intoxicating and overwhelmingly beautiful
38
what are the anotations of 'thy hook / Spares'?
the hook used for cutting and the word 'spares' evoke the image of the grim reaper which hints at the decay winter brings
39
what are the last four lines of the second stanza?
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep / Steady thy laden head across a brook; / Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, / Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hour.
40
what are the annotations of 'gleaner' (someone whose job it was to collect fallen grain) and 'cyder-press'?
words related to human industry show that autumn provides for humans
41
what are the annotations of 'Steady thy laden head across a brook;'?
Autumn needs to rest due to all the changes she has made
42
what are the annotations of 'Thou watchest the last oozing hours by hours'?
- autumn has time to observe the changes it has made and enjoy the difference it has made to nature - repetition of 'hours' makes the line sound sluggish, reflecting the slow passage of time
43
what are the first four lines of the last stanza?
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? / Think not of them, thou hast thy music too - / While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
44
what are the annotations of 'where are the songs of spring? ay, where are they?'
- due to the changes autumn has made, spring has been forgotten which implies autumn is powerful - implies that nature needs to be reassured, that it is a season which should be admired - consecutive rhetorical questions makes the speaker sound scornful of Spring
45
what are the annotations of 'think not of them'?
speaker reassures themselves and autumn
46
what are the annotations of 'thou hast thy music too'?
autumn has many personas (farmer, brewer, singer) which shows the abundance that the season brings
47
what are the annotations of 'soft dying day'?
contrasts the long summer days mentioned earlier
48
what are the annotations of 'stubble-plains'?
evocative image of a reaped field - Autumn is coming to an end
49
what are the middle three lines of the last stanza?
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn / Among the river sallows, borne aloft / Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;'
50
what do the mixed images of life and death suggest?
they suggest that the narrator has mixed emotions
51
what are the last four lines of the last stanza?
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; / Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft / The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; / And gathering swallows twitter in the skies
52
what are the annotations of 'full-grown lambs'?
lambs that were born in the spring are full grown now - reflects the passage of time
53
what are the annotations of 'bleat'?
the lambs' bleating shows that even though winter is coming, the natural world is still rich with life
54
what are the annotations of 'red-breast'?
this suggests that autumn has done its job and winter is on its way, the robin symbolises the coming of winter
55
what are the annotations of 'And gathering swallows twitter in the skies'?
- swallows migrate south for the winter; their gathering represents the end of the year - migration isn't permanent so it symbolises hope that there will be new life again - the last line could represent that Keats is ready for death and to 'move on' just as the swallows move on to warmer climates
56
what does the use of language associated with death in the last stanza do?
it could imply that autumn is dying and Keats's own life is coming to an end

english literature (41 decks)

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