to autumn

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

Like other romantic poets, Keats writes about his love for nature and how much he appreciates it. The purpose of this ode is to praise Autumn. Keats wrote this poem after a walk around Winchester and he felt inspired by seeing the beauty of nature firsthand. However, the speakers attitude changes. At the start he’s describing the beginning of autumn and how ripe it is. By the time he reaches the third stanza it’s the end of autumn and everything is dying so the tone is very melancholy. Keats has lots of experiences of lots of illness and death so this explains how he wanted to savor every moment as he only had a little time left when he realized he was dying.

Question 2

beginning

Answer 2

• Autumn is ‘conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines.’ This suggests how autumn is planning how to make the beginning of autumn more plentiful with the sun. The word ‘conspiring’ suggests how autumn and the sun are secretly plotting how to make a good harvest which would benefit us as it would provide people with food. The phrase ‘load and bless’ suggests how the fruit on the vines is a gift as they are considered a blessing. This helps to show the importance of the beginning of autumn.
• Keats describes how summer has ‘o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells.’ The word ‘o’erbrimm’d’ suggests how summer is overflowing because there is so much of it. Therefore the image of all the warmth spilling from summer into autumn is created. This suggests how at the beginning of Autumn there is an abundance of ripeness because so much of summer has leaked into Autumn.

Question 3

middle

Answer 3

• Keats describes Autumn as a variety of jobs. One is turning apples to cider. Autumn watches ‘the last oozings hours by hours.’ This repetition of the word ‘hours’ emphasises how long the process of turning apple to cider takes. The word ‘oozings’ creates the image of the cider slowly dripping which emphasises how long the job takes. With this imagery Keats helps to create a slow pace that adds to the relaxing atmosphere.

Question 4

end

Answer 4

• Towards the end, the ‘barred clouds hide ‘the soft-dying day.’ The clouds are ‘barred’ which suggests how its trapping the sunset from being seen. This creates a sense of melancholy as you can’t see the colours of the sunset. However, this creates a tone of acceptance as you can’t do anything about not being able to see the sun. This links to how you can’t stop the seasons from changing so you have to appreciate it while it lasts. The phrase ‘soft-dying’ suggests how the sun is dying peacefully which links to how Autumn is slowly dying as it gets closer to Winter.
• The landscape is described as ‘stubble-plains.’ This suggests how everything is dead. The word ‘stubble’ suggests how everything is rough and prickly, unlike earlier in the poem when everything was soft and full of life. This contrast helps to show how Autumn has ended.

Question 5

form & structure

Answer 5

• In the 1st stanza, Keats uses enjambment to make the words seem like they are spilling off the lines. This suggests that the beginning of autumn is full of energy and life. This makes the first stanza read quickly.
• In the 2nd stanza, everything slows down and Keats uses descriptive vocabulary to create this change. He might want to slow everything down to show how everything slows down before Winter or how he’s trying to hold onto Autumn for a little longer. The slow pace helps to reflect how tired the workers in the poem would be.
• It’s an ode which suggests how passionate he is about Autumn as he’s praising it. It suggests the thought Keats put into the poem.
• Complex rhyme scheme reflects how complex but beautiful nature is.
• 3 stanzas that show the different stages of Autumn