To Autumn

• mists and melons fruitfulness

  • soothing alliteration makes autumn seem gentle
  • directly addresses autumn
  • narrator uses positive words when describing autumn
  • exclamation mark hints at narrator's awe
• 'sitting careless on a granary floor'

  • ambiguous - could mean either carefree or showing lack of care - effortless
  • autumn is personified and suggest that autumn works hard to make the changes in the season, but is now resting
  • autumn is therefore a season to relax and enjoy what has been created earlier in the season - may refer to Keat's view that towards the end of life we can look on the joys of our earlier life and enjoy them
• 'gathering swallows twitter in the sky'

  • creates a sense of moving on, much like the swallows do - makes shift in season towards winter - migration isn't permanent so it symbolises there will be hope for new life again
  • "twitter'- natural world is still lively with this change - instead of an act of abandonment- it is simply a natural part of the cycle of life and it is time to change
• context

  • Keats was a romantic poet and wrote a lot about nature and the natural world
  • Keats died at the age of 25, he was worried that he would leave no lasting impression on the world – this poem could be his attempt to leave his mark and be remembered
• structure

  • The first stanza is a celebration and it suggests that autumn begins in a rich and calm way
  • In the second stanza, Keats speaks directly to autumn and makes the suggestion that autumn is in no rush to move on
  • The final stanza shows change, just as the season is changing from autumn to winter, Keats recognises this and is accepting of the fact he cannot control this