Poetry Anthology - To Autumn

Question 1

Key themes

Answer 1

Nature
Passing of time
Seasons
Acceptance/fate

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

1st stanza - free, full
2nd stanza - satisfied, good
3rd stanza - dying peacefully
Enjambment - reflects the natural progression of seasons

Question 3

Key quotes (7)

Answer 3

‘Mists and mellow’
‘Maturing sun’
‘Summer has o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells’
‘Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind’
‘Hours by hours’
‘Soft-dying day’
‘Gathering swallows twitter in the skies’

Question 4

Analyse ‘mists and mellow’

Answer 4

Alliteration with soft sounds
Creates a sense of peace and calmness
Makes autumn seem gentle
Harmony with nature

Question 5

Analyse ‘maturing sun’

Answer 5

Sense of time passing

Question 6

Analyse ‘summer has o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells’

Answer 6

Negative connotations
Summer has provided too much

Question 7

Analyse ‘thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind’

Answer 7

Personifies autumn as a woman
Physical beauty of autumn
Awe for the season

Question 8

Analyse ‘hours by hours’

Answer 8

Mirrors the unhurried passage of time
Lingering nature of autumns final moments

Question 9

Analyse ‘soft-dying day’

Answer 9

Autumn is dying
Accepting fate

Question 10

Analyse ‘and gathering swallows twitter in the skies’

Answer 10

Symbolise the end of the season as they migrate for winter
Cyclical nature of life
Swallows also represent death

Question 11

Context

Answer 11

Romantic movement - connection to nature
Very ill and aware of his own mortality - link to melancholic tone and sense of acceptance