“Ode To Autumn”, John Keats
a)
This poem is an excellent portrayal of a term dismissed as being either “too cold” or “too windy” to be classed as a special term, as other poets would, and have, written about the ever-optimistic spring, whereas John Keats has here conveyed Autumn naturally and as beautifully as he sees it.
The first stanza is a very descriptive piece, leaving the reader to wonder whether the poet is addressing the time of the year, or merely writing about it, i.e. there is no verb present to show who is doing what, just a varied collection of semantically similar adjectives, e.g. “mature” “ripe” “mellow”. These all share the connotation of lateness, or ageing of an object, and these are a reflection of the title of the ode, as it is a term for the year later on in its cycle, and it is aged and is effective because of that.
The second stanza directly addresses the autumn, and uses pronouns such as “thee” and “thy”. These suggest a respect present between the poet and the Term, with a familiar feeling creeping in as he says “Thee sitting carelessly on a granary floor”. This is an effective image, the poet seeing the term as being wheat or cereal on the floor, where it usually is at the time this poem is set. This personification is effective as it creates a homely atmosphere, bringing the autumn closer i.e. bringing it all around us and making us realise that it is closer than what we imagine. From this stage onwards, the poet gives a feeling that autumn is in fact a woman, and he romances with her, describing all her beautiful aspects, e.g. “Drows’d with the fume of poppies” and “Or by a cyder-press, with patient look”. One thing that must be noticed here as well is that although the time is personified, she is not named, a feature maybe that she is so familiar that she need not be named by the poet, and this is extremely effective as it adds to the familiar feeling given to autumn.