Compare and contrast Keat's 'To Autumn' and Vernon Scannell's 'Autumn'

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 Theo St John Stevens                                                 22/11/2010

Compare and contrast Keats’ ‘To Autumn with Vernon Scannell’s ‘Autumn’

        In these poems written by Keats and Scannell’s there are both large differences and contrast, but also similarities even though they are writing about the same topic: ‘Autumn’.These similarities are sometimes  distinguishable, sometimes not.                                                                                                                                         

        Even though they are both writing about the same idea there is great contrast in the content. Scannell’s sense of Autumn is portrayed in urban London. There is a certain sense of imperfection throughout his poem and in every aspect of it.                                                                                 A certain sense of dirtiness as this line suggests ‘The pavements of Kensington are greasy’. Also the line ‘As the Girls stir in their delicate chains’ is suggestive their job is of an adult nature. This very dirty and un-poetic idea emphasises the hardship of everyday life: people may have to turn to prostitution to earn money. Also their ‘gleam’ is not in a conventional way, it is ‘empty of joy or anger’ which supports the lack of poetic beauty in this stanza.  I think this expression of discrete beauty gives the poem an sense of reality and trueness, which I find more accessible then Keats because I can related to it easier.                                                          It is like the imperfect ordinary London urban area, very un-natural, which is very un-poetic and this is supported by the imperfection of his rhyme scheme. He uses half-rhyme which is un-poetic and imperfect like the content of the poem.  I think this un-poetic nature actually makes the poem poetic.                                                Keats is very different to this in his poem, his content is about the subtle beauty of autumn, not like Scannell portrays it, as rough edged. He is very poetic and uses the countryside to describe autumn. Keat’s poem is beautiful because he manages to emphasize most aspects of autumn.                                            Scannell and Keats have very similar style and form. Both poets uses the same literacy devices, but to describe a different type of beauty, Scannell’s unconventional and rough edged beauty is very different to Keat’s rich descriptive beauty. There are very large similarities in the sound patterns of both poems.  They both use many of the same poetic devices to create sound patterns. Scannell uses onomatopoeic language , ‘leaves are mushed’. Scannelll does this because he is trying to portray beauty in an urban environment where you do not expect to find beauty. Keats also makes use of this poetic device in ‘last oozings hours by hours’. He does this to emphasize the richness of autumn as it is ‘oozing’ from every aspect of the season.  ‘blurred anguish’  this illustrates juxtapostional effect because anquish is usually a sharp emotion which is in opposition to the blurred photo.          Scannell uses sibilance to create a long sound which is used for emphasise. ‘Like the slow swish of surf the tyres of taxis sigh’, Scannell uses sibilance in this context to again reinforce this surprising beauty, the fact that there is beauty in the way the taxi’s tyres sound like sea is unconventional. He still attempts to find beauty in this unlikely place. Scannell expresses this when he talks about the lamps in the ‘surprising dusk;’                                                                                                Keats uses many analogies to create a vivid picture, In line 12 he personifies autumn to create effect: ‘Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?’. He also uses alliteration in line 15; ‘Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind’, which is very soft. He also uses a compound adjective ‘soft-lifted’. By doing this Keats is making the verse soporific. He is trying to create a feeling of drowsiness by using soft sounds. The fume of poppies and the mid-day sun emphasises the drowsiness.

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Furthermore, both poets vary the length of their lines to create audible effect and interest: Keats enjoys autumns due to it’s intense and plentiful beauty. While the season lives, he to lets it affect him as strongly as possible. Keats does this by using techniques to vary the speed and to create pauses. The way he varies his lines is more fitted to his poem then Scannells. Scannell too embellishes autumn; he enjoys the season and his effects even if they are shorter. He still extends certain lines. ‘velutinous’, ‘rumour’.Both poets used all the techniques together to create these effects.                                                                 ...

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