To Autumn (Edexcel A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes

To Autumn

Context

• Written in September 1819, "To Autumn" is one of Keats' most famous odes.
• Reflects Keats' deep appreciation for the natural world and the changing seasons.
• Keats was experiencing a period of creative productivity and relative peace, which is reflected in the calm and celebratory tone of the poem.
• The poem captures the Romantic fascination with nature, beauty, and the passage of time.

Structure and Form

• Ode is composed of three stanzas, each with eleven lines.
• Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDE DCCE.
• Written in iambic pentameter, maintaining a formal and reflective tone.
• The structure allows Keats to explore different aspects of the autumn season, from its bounty to its gentle decline.

Key Themes

Abundance and Harvest

• "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, / Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;"
• Celebrates the richness and fullness of autumn as a time of harvest and abundance.
• Reflects the harmonious relationship between the season and the sun.

Passage of Time

• "For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."
• Emphasises the cyclical nature of the seasons and the transition from summer to autumn.
• Reflects the inevitability of change and the passage of time.

Personification of Autumn

• "Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;"
• Personifies autumn as a figure engaged in the activities of the season, creating a vivid and intimate connection with nature.
• Enhances the sense of presence and immediacy.

Reflexion and Acceptance

• "Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—"
• Advises against longing for the past (spring) and instead celebrates the unique beauty and music of autumn.
• Reflects a sense of acceptance and appreciation for the present.

Nature's Music

• "And gathering swallows twitter in the skies."
• Describes the various sounds of autumn, creating a symphony of natural music.
• Highlights the lively and dynamic aspects of the season.

Similar Poems

• "Ode to a Nightingale": Shares themes of nature, transience, and the desire to capture the beauty of the moment.
• "Ode on a Grecian Urn": Explores themes of beauty, art, and the transient nature of human experience, similar to the contemplation of autumn.
• "To Psyche": Reflects on imagination and the creation of an ideal world, akin to the detailed and celebratory depiction of autumn in "To Autumn".

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, / Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;"

• Begins with a rich, sensory description of autumn, emphasising its bounty and maturity.
• "Close bosom-friend" suggests a harmonious relationship with the sun, which aids in ripening the fruits.

"Conspiring with him how to load and bless / With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;"

• Describes autumn and the sun working together to produce an abundant harvest.
• "Load and bless" emphasises the generosity and productivity of the season.

"To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, / And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;"

• The imagery of apple-laden trees and fully ripened fruits highlights the abundance and richness of autumn.
• Active verbs emphasise the life within autumn and nature.

"To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells / With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,"

• Continues the imagery of growth and ripening, emphasising the fullness and sweetness of the harvest.

"And still more, later flowers for the bees, / Until they think warm days will never cease,"

• The repetition of "more" with the line break emphasises the plentifulness of autumn.
• Describes the extended blooming of flowers, providing sustenance for the bees and creating a sense of endless summer.
• "will never cease" is the first warning within the poem

"For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

• Concludes with the idea that summer has been so abundant that it has overflowed into autumn, filling the bees' cells with honey.

Stanza 2

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

"Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? / Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find"

• Questions who have not observed autumn's abundance, suggest its omnipresence and visibility.
• "Who hath not seen thee" personifies nature.
• Invites the reader to seek out and appreciate the season's richness.

"Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;"

• Personifies autumn as a figure leisurely sitting in a granary, with hair gently moved by the wind.
• The use of "thee", "thy" and "thou" suggests personal intimacy with autumn.
• Creates an intimate and serene image of the season.
• The alliteration of "winnowing wind" illustrates the sound and effect of wind.
  • Winnowing is a technical term within grain.

"Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, / Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook / Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:"

• Furrows are channels created by a plough, half-reaped due to the lousy personification of autumn.
• Describes autumn as a figure resting in a field, intoxicated by the scent of poppies.
• Suggests a sense of relaxation and pause amid harvest work.

"And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep / Steady thy laden head across a brook;"

• Compares autumn to a gleaner, carefully carrying a heavy load across a brook.
• Emphasises the effort and care involved in the harvest.

"Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, / Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours."

• Depicts autumn patiently watching the cider-making process, highlighting the slow, deliberate nature of the season.
  • The carefree tone of the poem.

Stanza 3

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

"Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they? / Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—"

• Begins with a rhetorical question, asking about the songs of spring.
  • Includes ubi sunt, a meditation on mortality and life's transience.
• Advises against longing for spring and instead celebrates the unique music of autumn.

"While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, / And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;"

• Describes the beauty of an autumn sunset, with clouds and light creating a rosy glow on the landscape.
• "Soft-dying day" emphasises the gentle decline of the season.

"Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn / Among the river sallows, borne aloft / Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;"

• Describes the sounds of gnats, creating a mournful, yet natural, music.
• Reflects the transient and delicate nature of life.

"And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; / Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft / The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;"

• Lists the various sounds of autumn, from lambs to crickets to robins, creating a symphony of natural music.

"And gathering swallows twitter in the skies."

• Concludes with the image of swallows gathering and twittering, preparing for migration.
  • Anxiety that Keats would not be able to write and create all of his ideas and poetic inspiration before his death.
• Highlights the dynamic and lively aspects of the season, even as it draws to a close.
• Transcendental ideas: swallows represent the continuous and cyclical nature of life and death.
• There's a resolution, but no final action, instead a continuous one - like the seasonal natural world.