To Autumn

To Autumn

by John Keats

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.

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,
Drowsed 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 cider press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

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.

Summary of To Autumn

• Popularity: Written by John Keats in 1819, “To Autumn” is a celebrated ode that captures the richness of the autumn season. Its enduring appeal comes from Keats’s skillful portrayal of a season that, rather than mourns decline, celebrates abundance and peaceful acceptance.
• Representing the Natural World: The poem unfolds autumn in three distinct stages. First, autumn cooperates with the sun to nurture and ripen the earth’s bounty. Second, autumn is personified as a guardian overseeing the harvest’s completion. Finally, it is rendered as a gentle musician, producing its own unique melody. Keats focuses on abundance and quiet beauty rather than loss.
• Major Themes: Contentment, the cyclical nature of the natural world, and the acceptance of time’s passage are central. Each stanza highlights a different aspect of autumn—its growth, culmination, and gentle decline—conveying a sense of contentment and an appreciation for fleeting beauty. The inevitability of change is acknowledged, yet joy remains in the present moment.

Analysis of Literary Devices in “To Autumn”

Literary devices enrich writing by adding depth and emotion. Keats masterfully employs a range of devices in “To Autumn” to paint a vivid portrait of the season.

1. Rhetorical Question: Keats uses rhetorical questions not for answers but to emphasize a point. In the third stanza, “Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they?” he invites the reader to recognize autumn’s own unique beauty and sounds, distinct from spring.
2. Imagery: The poem’s imagery engages all five senses, creating a richly textured experience. Visual imagery such as “thatch‑eves,” “moss’d cottage‑trees,” and “plump the hazel shells” paints autumn’s bounty. Olfactory details like “fume of poppies” add sensory depth, while tactile references such as “clammy cells” evoke the season’s coolness.
3. Personification: Keats animates abstract ideas by attributing human qualities. Autumn is described as a “close bosom‑friend of the maturing sun,” establishing intimacy and collaboration. This personification continues, with autumn portrayed as a figure who “sits careless” and “watches” the harvest.
4. Apostrophe: The poem can be seen as an apostrophe to autumn itself—a direct address to the season, a loving contemplation of its qualities.
5. Symbolism: Autumn symbolizes maturity, fulfillment, and acceptance of change. The “gathering swallows” in the final stanza symbolize the approaching winter and the cyclical nature of time.
6. Simile: In the second stanza, “And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep,” autumn is compared to a gleaner, emphasizing its role in gathering the last of the harvest.
7. Assonance: Assonance repeats vowel sounds within nearby words. For example, in “Among the river sallows, borne aloft,” the repeated “o” sound creates a musical quality.
8. Consonance: Consonance repeats consonant sounds. In “Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers,” the repeated “s” sound adds to the poem’s sonic texture.

This skillful deployment of literary devices allows Keats to create a poem that is not merely a description of autumn, but a profound meditation on beauty, transience, and acceptance of life.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “To Autumn”

Keats also employs specific poetic devices to shape rhythm, sound, and structure.

1. Stanza: The poem is composed of three stanzas of eleven lines each, giving a balanced structure to the exploration of autumn.
2. Rhyme Scheme: Each stanza follows the scheme ABAB CDECCCE, contributing to the poem’s musicality and sense of order.
3. End Rhyme: End rhyme appears throughout, as in the pair “bliss” and “kiss” in the second stanza, creating cohesion between lines.
4. Iambic Pentameter: The poem is primarily written in iambic pentameter, a pattern of five unstressed‑stressed syllable pairs per line. An example is “Among the river sallows borne aloft.” Keats varies the meter to add subtle rhythmic shifts that enhance musicality.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “To Autumn” can be used to evoke the season’s atmosphere and reflect on nature’s beauty.

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.

This passage perfectly captures the abundance and generosity of the autumn harvest, highlighting the season’s role in nurturing life and preparing for the future.