To Autumn - John Keats Flashcards
what type of poet is he
romantic
what was his relationship with his family like
he had difficult family issues
Keats struggle with money, why is this significant
he was particularly struggling in the autumn when he was writing this poem
why is this poem significant
it marks the final stage of his poetic career
why his is death significant
he dies or tuberculosis at age 25
what is the importance of the title “to autumn”
suggests the poem is an ode, a kind of lyrical poem which is meant to be sung. odes are sung in praise of something so in this case - praise of autumn
in the first stanza, what language does Keat use that creates a celebratory tone
- mists and mellows
- bosom-friend
- bless
- ripeness
- sweet
- flowers
what does the abundance of nature imagery represent
relate to the abundance of autumn
what is the significance of the first stanza which is meant to be an ode having 11 lines not 10
the extra line could reflect that autumn is practically overflowing with life and bounty
“who hath not seen the oft amid thy store”
autumn is an excellent helper during harvest
“why the hook spares the next swath”
autumn has been compared to the grim reaper, suggesting that death is never to far from autumn
“oozing hours by hours”
the repetition of hours suggests that time is passing slowly as the workers toil
in the second stanza what are some images of work?
“granary floor”
“half-reap’d furrow”
“hook”
“cider-press”
in the second stanza what are some images of rest?
“sitting careless”
“sound asleep”
what effect to these images have?
personifying autumn as a fellow worker and as somebody who involves themselves to exhaustion: autumn is working as hard if not harder then every man during the harvest
“Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they?”
the persona critisises spring as if no other season could compare to autumn
“thou hast thy music too”
the personification of autumn as a musician suggests that autumn is beautiful and brings happiness
“as gathering swallow twitter in the skies”
an uplifting image, the swallows will return and autumn will come back
what have wintery images such as “red breast whistles” been used
to mark the immanent end of autumn
where has a sad tone been used in the stanza and why?
“soft-dying day”
“mournful”
“dies”
the end of autumn is something worth crying about
how has enjambment been used across this poem
shows immense passion by the persona
what progresses as the stanza move on?
time progresses with each stanza
stanza 1 - September growing
stanza 2 - October harvest
stanza 3 - novemebr death
what is the meaning of this poem
Keats traces the progression of autumn
keats references how the significance of autumn changes though the months
we see his strong love for autumn as a whole
what is the mood of this poem
generally celebratory
however towards the end it shifts to a more negative tone as autumn is coming to the end
