to autumn - john keats Flashcards
“Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; conspiring with him how to load and bless”
a close relationship between nature.
- Personification suggests a friendship between the sun and autumn, are both are capable of working together for a good harvest.
- Adjective “maturing” suggests that the time is passing as the season continue alongside its natural cycle.
“and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; to swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells with a sweet kernel.”
describing how sucessful the harvest is.
- Describing the richness and wonders of the season of autumn.
- Verb “swell” and “plump” suggests how ripe almost to the point of bursting and this shows the abundance of the harvest.
“Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind.”
autumn has worked hard for the harvest.
- Personification of autumn as a Goddess to highlights the beauty of the season, just like a Goddess.
- Adjective “careless” implies that the harvest was effortlessly done as Autumn has done it so many times, it became a natural thing to do.
- Alliteration “w” shows the sound of wind, and this could possibly be suggesting that Autumn is at peace right now.
“Drows’d with fume of poppies”
Autumn is relaxed right now.
- Opium is made from the extraction from poppies, and this metaphor can highlights that the Goddest are intoxicated by the “fume” and this causes her to feel relaxed.
“With patient look, thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.”
shows the patience of autumn.
- she has lots of time in her hand, adjective “patient”
“wailful choir the small gnats mourn … the light wind lives or dies.”
“while barred clouds bloom the soft-dying days, and touch the stubble plains with rosy hue.”
end of the day, like end of the season, a natural cycle.
- Semantic Field of death suggests that the ending of a season is similarly to his end of life.
“The red breast whistles from a garden croft; and gatehring swallows twitter in the skies.”
migration of the robins.
- Symbolism of the bird shows the change of the season, leading to migration.
- Last line shows that although the birds have migrated, it isn’t permanent and this could be a symbol of hope.
- Last line could suggest that Keats is ready for death and ready to “move” despite his fear for death.
CONTEXT
- He’s a romantic poet.
- Describing the richness and wonders of the season of autumn.
- He believes that nature is a vital source of being in the world, like the harvest.
- His famous work is a series of six odes, and this poem is his final ode which is usually written in praise of a person or a thing, in this poem, it is praising Autumn for its beauty and hard work.
- English Poet
- He wrote this poem because he was inspired by an evening walk.
- He is aware he doesn’t have much time soon, due to his sickness TB.
- Last line could suggest that Keats is ready for death and ready to “move” despite his fear for death.
