To Autumn notes
What is Keats ' 'To Autumn' about and what aspects of style have you noticed?
The title is the first striking aspect of this poem. Keats has addressed his work specifically to the season; it is not an 'ode to', which would make it less personal, but a direct communication instead. This suggests an intimacy, almost a friendship, and here the elements of classic mythology, which sit at the roots of Romanticism, are apparent. The ancient Greeks had many deities that represented natural objects and occurrences - Helios, the sun god, or Hephaestus, god of fire, for example - in an attempt to explain the world around them. Keats adopts this culture with the personification of Autumn into a living, conscious entity with thoughts and feelings:
'Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless'
(Lines 2 & 3, Stanza I)
In this sense, the indication that Autumn is a deity suggests that the poem is, in fact, an offering or a gift - adding a hint of worship to the title, as opposed to a simple message to a familiar acquaintance. The word 'bless' emphasises this as it has distinct religious overtones.
Autumn is a short season, and, at only three stanzas long, this reflected in the short and concise structure of the actual poem. However, Autumn is also a time of richness and abundance before the scarcity of winter and Keats has used extensive vocabulary and language to draw a detailed picture in the mind of the reader of this brief, colourful season.
The first stanza concerns itself with extolling the beauty and floridity of Autumn, appealing to the senses of sight and taste. The visual sense is the first to be addressed - 'Mists and mellow fruitfulness'. The use of 'mellow' conjures up an associated colour; one of warmth and age, the parchment yellow of ripened pears perhaps, or the sienna of fallen leaves - all of which fall under 'fruitfulness'. However, we are reminded to keep our other senses aware with the mention of 'mists' - sometimes our vision can be clouded and we have to rely on something other than sight. Taste is an obvious choice for the season of harvest: Keats refers to the 'sweet kernels' and fruit with 'ripeness to the core'.
However, most description is used to fully conveying Autumn's bounty giving the impression that, for a short time span, the land is overwhelmed with nourishment:
'Conspiring with him how to load and bless....
...To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees ...
To swell the gourd and plump the hazels shells...
For Summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cells.'
(Lines 3, 5, 6, 7 & 11,Stanza I)
A sense of fullness and lethargy is created in the language used. Line seven in particular uses long, slow verbs to create an atmosphere of calm and inertness: an atmosphere that continues through the second stanza, where Keats creates actual scenes to paint a specific picture in the mind of the reader.
All the images are of the ceasing of human civility to take in the hypnotic spell of Autumn - the gentle wind, the incense of the poppies, the slow pressing of apples, the quiet bubbling of a brook. Keats is recreating the sensations of Autumn by employing various techniques. Both alliteration and onomatopoeia are apparent in this stanza:
'thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind' (Line 4. Stanza II)
The effect of the onomatopoeia is to evoke another sense - that of sound. The final two words read like a gentle whistling, and Keats is completing a three-dimensional picture for the reader. The clear indication here is that to fully appreciate the gifts and unique, sensuous experience Autumn brings, it is not enough merely to observe. This insight makes it apparent that Keats writes from first-hand experience. The alliteration continues the 'sound' of the whistling as a continuous drone, creating a lullaby effect to match the sleepy ambience of the first stanza. This relaxed, heavy feeling is emphasised again by the language used:
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers'
(Lines 5 & 6, Stanza II)
'Drows'd' and 'swath' both include long, slow vowels which serve to slow the rhythm and pace of the poem and force the reader to dwell on each word, lingering on the poem as the unseen characters linger at their work. The concept of 'twined flowers' conjures up the image of damp, heady overgrowth where the wildlife escape the heat of the day and even the insects are still. Time moves slowly in this stanza:
'Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.'
(Lines 9 & 10, Stanza II)
The slow vowels in 'oozings' and 'cyder-press', coupled with the 'patient look' and 'watchest' make the time seem indeed like hours on end. The whole stanza is designed to create the sensation of a lazy, warm afternoon, rich in stimulation for all the senses, made all the more precious by the knowledge that the chill of winter is not far away.
The overall image of Autumn so far is one extolling the great beauty and bounty of this particular season. Keats' deep respect for nature runs throughout the poem: the idea that nature 'blesses' us with her gifts shows the poet's understanding of the dependence of all living things on the earth's fertility and fruitfulness. He treats it almost with reverence, addressing it as if it were a living force and a presence - a view that displays the romanticism of Keats' poetry.
There is no resentment at the way humans are ultimately tied to the earth. Instead, Keats chooses to celebrate the fecundity that keep us alive, expressing gratitude rather than hostility. The need to live in harmony with nature is stressed vividly with the scenes in the second stanza. Note the characters are not described as people, but as Autumn itself.
'Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting carelessly on a granary floor...
... Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep.'
(Lines 1,.2, 3 & 4. Stanza III)
This suggests that the essence of Autumn is in everybody and with it the maturity and 'mellowing' that age brings. The activities suggested are all connected with the harvest, a time when the earth's gifts can be collected and used to survive - the gathering of the wheat and corn, the pressing of the apples to produce a luxurious drink. The poet sees this time as one for joy and festivity, despite winter's deathly grip on the verge of tightening. Destroying nature would literally destroy the essence of survival, and co-existence is an important theme here. This attitude towards nature, and especially towards this particular season, speaks much of Keats' attitude to life itself. To celebrate fertility, as he does, is to celebrate new life. Why, then, does he choose the son where death begins to make itself known? The rich colours of the leaves add to the glory of the but they are like a swansong: a sign that the vegetation is dying.
'Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun.' (Line 2, Stanza I)
'Maturing' is the key word here that unlocks the deeper meaning of 'To Autumn'. It denotes experience, wisdom, knowledge and an ability to accept the inevitable. Autumn can be described as the 'twilight months' of the year; a time when the buds have bloomed and are in their full glory; a time when the young have grown and are ready to face the challenges of survival; a time when the old live out their last days before the onset of winter. If Autumn were a metaphor for life, then it would represent those of middle age, who have the benefit of hindsight and the wisdom of years of experience to draw from. The old are often overshadowed by the energy and vitality of the young; yet Keats, by richly describing the glory and blessings of Autumn, tells us that maturity an experience can offer just as much, if not more. The final stanza makes this point clear:
'Where are the songs of Spring?
Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too.'
(Lines 1&2, Stanza III)
The reaping of the harvest is symbolic of reaping the benefits of such qualities, or the 'music' of the season. However, death is an important factor here. As with winter ever closer as Autumn draws on, so maturity and age beckons the inevitable. Here Keats reveals the full extent of his acceptance. He takes a broad, cinematic view of the earth, expanding on the close description of the first two stanzas to reflect on the passage of time as Autumn - and ultimately life - draws to a close:
'While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day
And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue.'
(Line 3, Stanza III)
Yet the demise is made to seem almost welcoming: the transience to winter - to death - is pleasant and 'soft', a gentle passing that is beautiful to experience and not to be feared. There is no morbidity here, only a quiet acceptance that life on earth must end for each one of us. However, not all life dies. The poem ends with the sounds of various creatures, a stubborn message that the cycle of the seasons will continue and life will return, as the poet reminds us in his final line:
'And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.' (Line 11, Stanza III)
