2.3 Form The meter of “To Autumn” is quite irregular. While iambic pentameter generally rules the poem, it is at times debatable, or even open for interpretation. There are eight to ten lines in the poem which could be forced into the meter, but which would then sound awkward and unnatural (e.g. l. 2, by making “close” an unstressed syllable; l. 8, by stressing the “a”, and not the “sweet” …) Additionally, several spondaic feet (e.g. “moss’d cottage”, l. 5; “sweet kernel”, l. 8 …) can be found in the poem, providing strong accentuation to relevant places in the poem, and a distinct pronunciation when reading it aloud. The effect of these features is that it gives the ode a natural, as in non-artificial, flow, and that the poem cannot be …show more content…
There are less ominous words, like “granary” (l. 14), or “gleaner” (l. 19), but also words symbolically representing death, such as “half-reap’d” (l. 16), “hook” (l. 17), or “cyder-press” (l. 21). The burden of harvest (or death), however, is weakened by depicting Autumn, the reaper, as idle, soft, passive, and sleepy. They are only half-working, taking part, but not in all seriousness (“sitting careless”, l. 14, “sound asleep”, l. 16 …). In the last stanza, where the personification of Autumn is almost entirely removed from the scene, words belonging to the word field “sound” or “music” predominate the stanza, such as “choir” (l. 26), “bleat” (l. 30), or “treble” (l. 31). In the context of the poem, it is quite possible that the stanza itself, or even the whole poem, is a farewell song, or a mourning anthem (see also the word “mourn” in l. 26), especially if one considers Autumn’s sudden disappearance, and the detailed description of their …show more content…
It shifts from stanza to stanza. Presented like a supernatural power in the first stanza, and still addressed as season (“[s]eason of mists”, l. 1), Autumn is present and active, changing nature together with the sun (“[c]onspiring with him how to load and bless”, l. 3), and putting summer's work to the extreme (“more, | And still more”, l. 9). In the second stanza, Autumn is very much humanized, since they are described in human terms (“sitting careless”, l. 14; “keep | Steady thy […] head” l. 19 f. …). They are still present, but very passive, in their role as a
You can tell that in the poem the season is fall because of the color of the wood. In the fall the color of the wood turns yellow which indicates that the poem takes place in the fall. The season’s representations of what time frame a person life is in. How spring represents how someone is at that kid stage of their lives and how they are getting ready to bloom into their personalities. Summer shows how people are at the fun stage of their lives. That teenage to adult hood part of life. Winter is that time of life when all the excitement has went away, kind of like the years a person is elderly. Here is a man that has had many outcomes from the decision he had made in life, so he understands how important it is to it is to make a choice and live with whatever comes after making the choices. In lines 11-12 the speakers says “And both that morning equally lay, “In leaves no step had trodden black”. When he says the leaves haven’t been trodden black indicates that the leaves haven’t been crushed from people stepping on them. So this means he was the only that have been on that
Jeremy Karr Karr 1 Mrs. Overbeck AP Literature & Composition November 29th, 2014 “To Autumn” Explication John Keats’ “To Autumn” uses the beauty, and abundance in the season of autumn in his ode to create a sense of transformation and rebirth. The poem begins with talks of autumn’s abundance and ripeness of fruit along with the beauty of autumn’s ability to begin the process of rebirth for plants, showing autumn’s simplicity and beauty. However, the speaker begins to talk as if autumn is a woman, one that wants to enjoy the harvest she has worked for during her life, finally using the beauties or songs of autumn that come out as the day ends to suggest that the speaker would rather enjoy what autumn has to offer in his final moments.
Imagery is used throughout the poem to emphasize the finite time humans have on the earth, and how every second should be appreciated. Lines two and three are the speaker’s first use of imagery. Diction in line two illustrates the speaker’s recognition of the phenomena, which is snow in October. The phrase “But this morning” (line 2) highlights that the meaning is not a mundane morning. Most people would be agitated that winter came early, but the speaker seems to be grateful. Furthermore, the speaker describes the snow in a pleasant tone, seen in this line “pale muslin/ stretched across the grass” (line 2-3). This emphasizes that the speaker appricates the early
A few of the literary devices that i can see being used are assonance, consonance, and alliteration. I for one love the things that happen in poetry or writing when the writer knows how to make good use of these things, the words tend to flow like a gentle breeze through trees. This alone is a large part of what makes this poem appealing to me.
The poem, “O Autumn, Autumn!” used many detailed words and phrases. Overall, the poem was written about the season autumn, and the feeling you get during this time. The first stanza talked about the type of atmosphere the season helps you feel. Newsome expands on the mood of the season autumn. Newsome talks about the deep color of the sky. This helps the reader visualize how the autumn sky looks. Furthermore, she goes into detail about the ground, and how it appeals to everyone; moreover, she explains the beautiful color of the leaves, and how they are fluttering everywhere. There are beautiful butterflies and robins flying by in clusters everywhere. Then, she talks about the summer feeling slowly going away, and slowly moving into the autumn season. Throughout her poem, she used meticulous phrases. She describes the sky and the leaves in details that help you picture in your mind. Professor Emerita at Ohio State University talked about how she has a great amount of imagery in her poems. She describes everything in detail, and help the reader imbibe the
Although Robert Frost doesn't outright say the season of the poem, he is referring to spring.
Given that many plants need to be sown and then reaped when fully grown, the metaphorical conceptualization of people as plants may, accordingly, be elaborated to include a reaper, more specifically a conceptualization of death as the Grim Reaper (Lakoff & Turner, 1989, pp. 16, 75):
The seasons in the poem also can be seen as symbols of time passing in her life. Saying that in the height of her life she was much in love and knew what love was she says this all with four words “summer sang in me.” And as her life is in decline her lovers left her, this can be told by using “winter” as a symbol because it is the season of death and decline from life and the birds left the tree in winter. The “birds” can be seen as a literal symbol of the lovers that have left her or flown away or it can have the deeper meaning that in the last stages of our life all of our memories leave us tittering to our selves.
Misty dew covers the entire surface of the field. The yellowing corn stalks stand erect and proud until my grandpas tractor comes to end their growth. Autumn slowly weaves its way in and leaves a stain of brilliant color in its wake. Not everyone enjoys such colors, but when you take a second to step outside your doorstep, and look at all the wonders that surround you, you’d be surprised at how marvelous the world can truly be. To me, Autumn is a time for relishing in the colors. Soaking in the oranges and reds while sitting by a warm fire. It’s a time for remembering that everything does end, but it does not have to end in the dreadful way we think it will. Autumn is a time for the closeness of others to keep out the chill of the morning and the starry-eyed darkness of the night.
Here is the interpretation and analysis of the poem based on the sections that respect the grammar and meaning of its sentences:
According to Bracher, this loading and overloading makes Autumn quite the ambivalent figure, traditionally standing for death, but being attributed to fulfilment in the poem. Autumn’s actions unite both meanings within them, abundance and ripening symbolizing death and decay – through the anxiety of bursting and rotting –, as well as fulfilment (Bracher 1990, 646
This poem that I am going to be focusing on is titled "Ode to Autumn",
In the third stanza, the speaker praises the urn for its eternal youth and zeal. "Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu.”(lines 21-22) He admires the trees that cover the lovers for they will not loose their leaves over the changing seasons. For this he it seems is grateful and feels happy. Moreover, the use of word spring is of key importance for spring signifies the start of a new seasonal cycle of
Throughout the beginning of the poem, Keats touches on the beauty and richness of autumn. He accomplishes this by introducing distinct fall imagery. For example, Keats writes in lines 5 and 6, “To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees; And fill all fruit with the ripeness of to the cores” (414). Having the trees’ branches being bent by the weight of the apples and the fruit being ripe to its core, the narrator points to the plumpness and maturity of the fruit. Typically, fruit reaches this fullness in autumn when it is ready to harvest. Keats uses this delectable and pleasant image of the fruit to not only demonstrate the mouthwatering joys nature has to offer during this season, but to also
William shakespeare’s sonnet, “[h]ow like a winter hath my absence been”(1609), describes the feelings that the narrator has when he leaves his lover or close friend, which he describes as “like a winter hath my absence been.” The author develops the description of his feeling by first talking about the fact that it feels like winter, which could represent death and emptiness, when he is away from the subject of his affection; he then acknowledges that it is in fact autumn but because he is away from his lover or friend he does not feel the joy that usually comes with the season, he expresses this by saying “[y]et this abundant issue seem'd to me”; finally, the author describes his solemn mood by saying “the very birds are mute; [o]r if they