Close Reading of a Poem To Autum by John Keats - Essay Example

The poem seems to be “a speaker’s letter to the harvest time” that reveals his gratitude and admiration towards this season and autumn’s ability to bring so much harvest to people. Keats’ To Autumn symbolizes life, when after the experience of spring and the joy of summer; one enters the perishing of autumn.  However, for Keats autumn is not the time for sorrow; it is a moment of peaceful reflection. The tone of the poem seems to be quite different if the readers compare it with Bright Star.

The latter includes negative attitude to the star in the first lines and this influences the whole tone of the writing. Thus, John Keats begins Bright Star with the help of these lines: “Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art/ Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night” (Keats 29). As for To Autumn, here the speaker has no claims to share with the readers. In comparison with Bright Stars, To Autumn is more positive and warm; it raises joy and all other pleasant feelings in readers’ soul.

So, Keats helps the readers to look at autumn from a new point of view. The poet depicts the season as a living being, which is able to breathe, work and achieve results. This makes the poem interesting and unique. There are several major themes high lightened by the poet. They are the following ones: 1) beauty of nature, 2) the mystery of harvest time, 3) the connection between all natural processes and the theme of death, 4) man’s dependence upon nature and its products, 5) the act of creation.

It is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the depiction of autumn is applied by John Keats in order to demonstrate the beauty of nature. People do not pay much attention at the things that surround them, but Keats tries to change this situation with the help of the ode To Autumn. From the first line of the poem the readers start following the poet’s depiction of autumn: Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,         Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;     Conspiring with him how to load and bless         With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run (Keats 360).

This unusual attitude towards autumn makes the reader become involved in the poem and keep on reading it. In the last lines of the ode the speaker addresses autumn as a person. It seems that it hears and can react to human speech. This makes the readers think that autumn is a living being. John Keats depicts it so that it seems to be one who takes care of plants and then gathers the harvest. The personification of autumn makes it a mysterious character of the poem and adds specificity to the writing.

A sophisticated reader may note between the lines the connection between all natural processes in the poem. All items of nature may exist only together. For instance, there would be no bees without flowers. They depend upon the warmth of autumn days. Both flowers and bees are mentioned by Keats in one line: “And still more, later flowers for the bees/ Until they think warm days will never cease” (Keats 360). By the ode To Autumn the poet demonstrates man’s dependence upon nature and its products.

It would be impossible to live a normal life without fruits and vegetables given by this perfect season. One should be grateful to autumn for its magnificent gifts. Moreover, the act of creation is closely connected with autumn, according to John Keat’