On The Grasshopper and Cricket
By John Keats
The Poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
Summary of On The Grasshopper and Cricket
- Popularity of “On The Grasshopper and Cricket”: Composed by one of the greatest Romantics, this beautiful sonnet first appeared in his collection, Poems, in 1817. The title of the sonnet also points to the very theme or content of the poem. Although the sonnet presents two common insects or moths that show their sound having a melody in it, the poet associates them with nature and their voice with natural music. This has made the sonnet popular among students and teachers alike.
- “On The Grasshopper and Cricket” As a Representative of Love of Nature: The speaker of the poem is the poet himself. He speaks about nature, saying that the poetry of earth is always alive or that it is never dead. What he means is that nature always presents itself to the seeing eyes. He goes on to present the details, such as the birds hiding from the heat of the sun during the summer but the grasshopper continuing with its song. Calling it the champion of the summer and its pleasures, he unearths another insect that is the cricket. It sings in wintry nights showing that nature is never silent and always shows its beauty through the melodious singing of such insects. The poet’s conclusion is that the beauty of the earth is always alive, and only the people with inner eyes to see nature can detect this luxury, beauty, and love of nature.
- Major Themes in “On The Grasshopper and Cricket”: The power of imagination, love of nature, and natural beauty are major themes of this sonnet. Although the poet seems to have compared two different natural seasons, he is actually presenting the beauty of both seasons. In the first half of the sonnet, he presents the problem and resolves it through the song of the grasshopper, terming it the champion of the hot weather when even birds do not come out in the open. The same happens in winter, the poet argues, saying that silence rules the roost during the nights when frost is invading the environment, and yet the cricket does not stop. It is actually the love of the poet for nature that he continues showing the good and bad aspects of both seasons. This is the power of the imagination of the poet that he sees both seasons with their good and bad aspects, saying that natural beauty is always present.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in On The Grasshopper and Cricket
John Keats used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Allusion: It means to use references from society, history, or culture to stress upon the main idea. The poet used allusion to zoology and geology, such as birds, the grasshopper, and cricket or the earn and the sun.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “The Poetry of earth is never dead” and the sound of /i/ and /o/ in “ Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /h/ and /m/ in “From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead” and the sound of /s/ and /t/ in “He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. John Keats used imagery in this poem, such as “When all the birds are faint with the hot sun”, “That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead” and “He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.”
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of frost, showing it has wrought its silence as if it has some human emotions.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as the earth, sun, trees, and hedge, to show the beauty of nature.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in On The Grasshopper and Cricket
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. John Keats shows the use of the end rhyme dead/mead and sun/run.
- Quatrain: It is a Persian stanza having four verses. The poem shows the use of a quatrain, such as the first stanza.
- Rhyme Scheme: This sonnet shows the rhyme scheme of ABBAACCA in its octave and DEFDEF in its sestet.
- Sonnet: This is a fourteen-lined poem. This poem is a sonnet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas; the first octave comprises eight verses, and the second sestet comprises six verses as shown in Rhyme Scheme.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The sonnet shows an encouraging and reassuring tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when showing the beauty of winter.
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
