to autumn

Question 1

context

Answer 1

Keats’ uses ‘To Autumn’ as a vehicle to highlight the beauty in loss using the passing of the seasons to help process his imminent death from tuberculosis. This is accomplished through the poetic form of an ode, which is used to sing the praise of a given subject. In the case of ‘To Autumn’, this subject is the personified Autumn; an apt choice given Keats’ elevated view of nature as a Romantic poet.

Question 2

context

Answer 2

was about to die to tuberculosis, aged 25
romantic poet
parents died before he was 14

Question 3

quote 1

Answer 3

‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
· ‘M’ sounds create a serene, calm atmosphere, creating a feeling of no rush and feeling comfortable with the possibility that life could provide moments of grief and loss

· ‘Fruitfulness’ refers to the abundance and excess that comes with autumn, where just after reaching the peak state of life, everything will ultimately fall apart

· Nothing is permanent, just like autumn will end and turn into winter, the speakers life will inevitably end, but there is no choice in that- abundance will eventually turn into deterioration

Question 4

quote 2

Answer 4

“Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun”

· ‘Close companionship’ suggests an extremely close friendship between the autumn and summer sun

· ‘Maturing sun’ where even the sun is being personified suggesting nothing, not even nature is exempt from the passing of seasonal change and everyone’s mortality is a reminder of how precious life is

· As the seasons change and time moves on, there is also an eventual loss of light as the sun moves into winter, which links back to Keats finding out about his tuberculosis diagnosis, where he realised whether or not he liked it, he was slowly deteriorating and losing himself, so must enjoy these last moments

Question 5

quote 3

Answer 5

“thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind”
· Autumn is being personified in a feminine manner (a woman) which alludes to a steady and beautiful advancement of death rather than a unknown scary entity made to be feared

· Lateral alliteration creates peaceful imagery with ‘w’ from ‘winnowing wind’ being a connotation to gentleness and calmness

Question 6

quote 4

Answer 6

“thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.”
Use of ‘oozing’ is slow and satisfactory which is indicative of the speaker observing the last moments of his life as it ebbs away incrementally and without force.

Question 7

quote 5

Answer 7

“thou hast thy music too “
The movement away from Spring is symbolic of moving away from youth and accepting death with open arms, it’s a beautiful experience and something which you should embrace rather than shy away from

Question 8

quote 6

Answer 8

‘While barred clouds bloom the soft dying day’
· Metaphor is a gentle end to everything, something which you should not fear, but instead try to find the beauty in a beautiful moment

· Although you are losing most of everything you know, it is not something you can escape, so you should be able to enjoy life and the experiences it provides for as long as you can.