The theme that links my three chosen poems, 'Cold in the Earth', 'TheToys' and 'Autumn' is that of death

The fifth verse begins with two lines each starting with 'No other'; this repetition puts emphasis on the fact that the voice has loved no other person after fifteen years. The lover is then elevated when being compared to the sun because in our lives it is very important and life giving, without it we cannot survive. Thus, the comparison between the lover and the sun helps the reader to see that he/she is a life-giving force. He/she is elevated further when being compared to a star. In our lives, as 21st century readers, a star is not as important as it would have been to a pre-20th century reader, for whom it was written, a star was the thing that guided people on the sea. Without him/her the voice feels that her/his life lacks guidance, as the lover was the navigational device in her sea of life, now she is thrown about.

In the lines 'But when the days of golden dreams had perished and even Despair was powerless to destroy', there is the alliteration of 'd' sounds giving the lines a very leaded and dull feel, things which are associated with death. Since the voice mentions 'dreams' it makes the reader feel that he/she thinks the situation and death is too much of a reality. The voice has also made the lover an idol and an unreality. The word 'Despair' has been given a capital letter and personified to emphasise it.

The idea of the narrator harming and killing him/herself to be with the lover is then introduced. Emily Bront? has made us see just what a loved one's death can do to a person to whom they were close. When the poem was written, suicide was seen as a crime as it was breaking one of the '10 Commandments'- 'Thou shall not kill' and was punishable not only by law but also by eternal damnation. To the pre-20th century reader it helped to show just how serious the situation is and how much it has affected the narrator. To me, a 21st century reader, it also shows how serious it is, because a person who wishes to commit suicide is deeply troubled and needs help.

So in conclusion, Emily Bront? approaches the subject of death in an up-front way. She has successfully illustrated how much it can affect people. The voice in the poem is going around in circles, at the beginning of the poem he/she claims that he/she is over the death, but at the end he/she wants to die and be with the lover. Also, the use of oxymorons such as 'sterner desires' and 'darker hopes' illustrates the fact that she is very confused. It is clear from the poem that the narrator is not approaching the loss in a positive way. It is necessary to accept death and then attempt to move on. It is not good to feel guilty if you begin to stop thinking about a person who has died, as you will never forget them. If the voice and the lover had been so much in love then he/she should now be moving forward, treasuring and valuing the good memories. It is fifteen years later (a long time) and he/she is still feeling despair and grief, Bront?akes it clear that this is unhealthy and wrong.

'The Toys' written by Patmore also deals with emotions concerning death. 'Cold in the Earth' has a regular pattern and rhyme, 'AB AB', to emphasise that what the voice is feeling seems like a constant emotion. However, in 'The Toys' the poem does not have a regular pattern or rhyme through out as the feelings are not as consistent. However, if you look closely then it can be seen that when the poet and the narrator get emotionally aroused, the line structure is anything but regular. Also, the poet does not include the same number of syllables in each line, which was not typical in pre-20th century poems. This does help to show how emotional and unsure of themselves and the situation the narrator and his son are. In 'Cold in the Earth' the problem was that the woman could not come to terms with or accept that his/her love had died. However, in this poem the poet illustrates how a man and his son have attempted to come to terms and cope with the wife/mother dying.

The poem is written without commas at the end of the lines so that they run on like a conversation, helping the reader relate to what the narrator is saying. The poet refers to the boy as 'My little Son' this makes the reader aware that the boy is quite young and vulnerable. Even though the boy is young he seems to be attempting to cope with his feelings of despair. The boy has surrounded himself with very insignificant and inexpensive objects. However, this is a good example of where sentimental value can be the most important thing. The objects must remind him of happy times that he has experienced helping him to remember everything in a positive way. The boy has put a vast amount of effort into making the display around him for comfort. It is a typical child's way of coping, the boy uses things that cannot really help practically but do give some psychological help. At the beginning of the poem, the reader is made aware that the boy's mother has died. It is a strong possibility that the objects with which he has surrounded himself are pleasant memories of her and things that they used to do together. Another possibility is that they are just things that remind him of when he used to be happy. My initial reaction was that the boy was handling the situation in a mature way. However, even though these things do bring him comfort, they do not help in a practical way and suggest that he is living for the past and not the future.

The boy has found comfort with his objects, which has in turn left his father questioning himself. The father is covered with guilt and saddened by the fact that his son has not turned to him for help in his crisis but to useless objects. This then brings him to his relationship with God. He realises that he too turns to material and insubstantial things instead of God at times. The boy should have sought his father's forgiveness after his disobedience. Instead he went to material possessions for comfort. Instead of being angry, the father feels deep sadness and forgiveness. He then realises that he in turn should go to God for comfort, strength and forgiveness, but he does not. He realises that the Bible says he will go to hell if he does not do as God commands and seek forgiveness for sins from Him. However, if he can forgive his little boy, surely God who made man in His own image will forgive him, being as God is greater than man. This poem helps the reader to think about what they should do or whom they should turn to in times of crisis, such as a death. Even though small sentimental objects help, they are not the best option as they only bring temporary comfort; they do not provide a solution or practical help. However, turning to a loved one in hard times provides more relief and a positive way forward. By talking about things, such as death, it often helps a person to accept it and attempt to move forward.

'To Autumn' by Keats differs from 'The Toys' and 'Cold in the Earth' as it does not describe the death of a person but instead, the death of a season. Keats successfully portrays the message that all good things come to an end but life will still continue. The poet belonged to the Romantics movement. This means that his poems are sensitive to Nature, its power over mankind and in Keats' case his message was to seize the moment. He uses the ending of a season and beginning of another to express some of his opinions on the topic of death. 'The Toys' was written in a more narrative form to enable the reader to relate more to what was happening. 'Cold in the Earth' was written with a very consistent rhythm and pattern unlike 'The Toys' to emphasise the constant pain that the voice is experiencing. If 'To Autumn' is compared with these poems then it can be seen that it has much more of a fixed rhythm and pattern. This is to enhance the seasons and how they are regular and cyclical.

In order to help the reader relate to what the poet is saying, the season, autumn, is personified to make it more of a reality. Autumn is described as, a 'close-bosom friend' with the sun, which is maturing as the season, is coming to an end. This is building up the tension because we realise that things do not keep maturing forever, they have to come to an end. Also this feeling is enhanced by the fact that nature is not aware that it is being exploited and tricked.

Keats spent time choosing words that enhanced the images he was creating. A good example of this is the word 'load' which gives the strong image of things being piled on with no objection. All of the tension is being built up in the first verse with phrases such as 'fill all fruit...to the core' which creates an impression of everything being pushed to the heart and centre of the fruit. Keats then goes onto say 'to swell the gourd', 'swell' is a very expressive word and helps the reader feel the growing sensation, but eventually we feel like a balloon, it can only go on so far.

The poet says 'until they think warm days will never cease' however, we know that eventually the 'warm days' will cease since nothing is permanent. This feeling of in expectancy can be applied to death, we never expect it and sometimes we are lead into a false sense of security. However, we have to accept that everything dies or ends eventually.

The first verse explains all of the good things of summer, mainly all of the fruit that is grown with so much ripeness being loaded into it. This can be compared to life and how during a person's lifetime they strive to fill it with as much goodness and achievement as is possible. The poem may not just be about the death of a season but also of a life cut short. This is especially poignant an idea as Keats' life was over in his early twenties.

The next verse begins to describe summer coming to a close. By asking a question at the beginning of the paragraph- 'Who hath not seen thee oft amid they store?' the reader is drawn in and it makes him/her think about what is happening. The next idea introduced is that all of the things that were growing in the first paragraph are now being harvested. This is showing that things are slowly coming to an end. The 'hook' with which the man is harvesting reminds the reader of the grim reaper and is an image of death. It is very apt to the situation because when the crops are being harvested, they are in a sense being killed. The man who is harvesting poppies is overcome by the opium fumes and falls asleep. This gives the remaining crops a little longer to live even though we feel that it is only a transitory pause. This can be related to life where death can be deferred for a while by medicines. However, nothing is forever and by the end of the second verse Keats has described the harvest being finished and summer nearly over.

The final verse ends the gradual death of the season. The 'barr?clouds' block out the sun and trap it like a prison. The season is described as 'soft-dying', which is a peaceful conflict with the first paragraphs. Alliteration of 'd' in the phrase 'dying day' helps weigh the sentence down and give it a dull sound apt for death. When Keats begins to talk about the 'stubble' it shows that the harvest is finally over. However, another important idea is then introduced, helped by the phrase 'rosy hue'. It shows that you have to be optimistic about what has happened as everything happens for reason. When all of the fruits are cut down and 'killed' it is to provide people with necessary food. After it has been cut down, it grows back as it is a reoccurring cycle. The reader is forced to relate this to life where you have to appreciate the sadness of death in order to experience the joy of birth. It is important to know and accept both feelings.

There is then a 'wailful choir' from gnats, which indicates mourning of the death, almost like a funeral. This is complemented by the word 'sinking' which indicates something going down that cannot be pulled up again. This is the case with the seasons and death. Once a season is coming to an end, it cannot be kept going and when something is about to die, it cannot be saved. Sometimes you have to accept that you have to let nature take its course, without interference. To finish the death of summer, Keats introduces the idea of the swallows migrating to warmer places. However, the poet makes us realise that as summer is ending autumn is beginning. As one thing or life dies, another is born.

So, in conclusion even though Keats writes about the death of a season, it is so universal and well written that it forces the reader to apply it to human life. I think that the main point that Keats portrays in his poem is that all good things must come to an end. However, as one thing dies another is born and it is a constant cycle. To celebrate a new creation it is necessary to feel the upset of another one ending. He stresses that it is all to do with nature and should not be tampered with.