A summary sheet of 'To Autumn' by John Keats, which is a poem from the Time and Place collection in the Pearson Edexcel GCSE 9-1 English Literature Poetry Anthology. This summary discusses the language, structure/form, context and potential comparisons of the poem. The summary is laid out in a tabl...
‘To Autumn’ At a Glance
Use this activity sheet to record your ideas about the poem ‘To Autumn’ as you study it.
Keep this in your notes for revision.
Language Structure/
Form
Personification (personified as a Ode: a lyrical poem written in
woman) – ‘sitting careless on a praise
granary flood/Thy hair soft-lifted by Pastoral – work of literature that
the winnowing wind’ idealises rural life
Sibilance & assonance – creates a
summery sense of splendor & o Stanza 1: Growth
decadence o Stanza 2: Harvest
Juxtaposition – poem intertwines o Stanza 3: Death
the themes of life and death – o Iambic pentameter- da DUM da
‘barred’ and bloom’ which suggest DUM
blocking and fertility
Soft sounded f’s (‘oft’, ‘find’, ‘floor’,
‘soft-lifted’, ‘furrow’, ‘fume’) and
w’s (‘whoever’, ‘winnowing wind’,
‘Drows’d’, ‘while’ swath’, twined’) –
drowsy tone in-keeping w the
season in which leaves fall and
animals go into hibernation)
Context ‘To Autumn’ by John Potential
Keats Comparisons
Lost most of close family to Tb Where the Picnic was –
Died of Tb in his mid-20s Cyclical nature of time and
Romantic poet – reacted against seasons
C.18th society’s new interest in Passing of time is metaphorical
science, had a bigger focus on of death
nature, the imagination & emotions Regular meter and rhyme
Composed after autumnal walk scheme
through Winchester in 1819 Keats adopts a more peaceful
1819 – pinnacle & end of his poetic view of death than Hardy does
career (24 yrs old) -> $ troubles ‘To Autumn’ is immersed in the
>2 yrs later -> passed away rural idyll whereas the speaker
in ‘Where the Picnic was’
o LITERARY CONTEXT appears more transitory
o Autumn – symbol of impending
death or maturity in life
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