Nature Context

Question 1

To Autumn

Compare to Afternoons
Also can be compared to AIAG.

Answer 1

Written By John Keats who was a Romantic poet.
Written in 1819.
Write this poem after being inspired after a walk in the countryside when he noticed the fullness and ripeness of autumn.
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Three stanzas which each focus on a different stage in the season.
Each of the stanzas have 11 lines which differ from Keats other poems when there are 10 lines per stanza which poignantly highlights the abundance of autumn.
Regular rhyme scheme adds to the poems sense of balance and fulfilment.

Question 2

Afternoons

Compare to To Autumn

Answer 2

Larkin was an English poet, novelist and librarian who wrote this poem in his mid- thirties in 1959
His poem is an observational poem written in 3rd person narrator and he explores the existence of a group of young mothers he observes at the local recreation ground.
Only had a few close relationships and was quite unsuccessful at love.
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3 stanzas and there is no regular metre to show the lack of excitement in the mother’s lives. 3rd person narration.
First focuses on the woman’s lives and then their past identities and then returns to the present showing the cyclical nature of life.

Question 3

Death of a Naturalist

Compare to The Prelude

Answer 3

It is an autobiographical poem.
Draws attention on his childhood living in rural Northern Ireland.
Described his childhood as an “intimate, physical, creaturely existence in suspense between the modern and archaic”.
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Has two contrasting stanzas.
the first is long and detailed and filled with positive imagery whereas the seconds is shorter and more intense showing a clear shift in tone and emotion.
The volta at the end of the 1st stanza marks the turning point.
It mirrors the change in the speaker’s view of Nature.

Question 4

The Prelude
Compare to DOAN

Answer 4

An autobiographical poem which refers to the natural setting of the Lake District where Wordsworth grew up in.
He was an influential Romantic Poet who had a deep love for nature.
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Written in blank verse which makes it seem conversational and creates a flowing natural rhythm.
Written in one long stanza to mirror the uninterrupted motion of the skating and the smoothness of the memory.

Question 5

As Imperceptibly As Grief

Compare to To Autumn

Answer 5

Written in the 1800s.
Explores the theme of time passing through the lens of nature.
Dickinson is a New England poet who wrote introspective and often metaphorical poetry.
Published post humorously and uses the gradual end of summer as a metaphor for the quiet, subtle nature of grief, likely influenced by the death of her mother.
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One stanza structure, perhaps showing a glimpse of summer.
Final line is shorter showing that summer has gone.
Hyphens are uses in lines 2 and 4 to reflects pauses.
The other lines emphasise how it seems to be getting dark earlier and the morning’s seem different as Autumn is approaching.