“Ode to Autumn” – By John Keats

“Ode to Autumn” was one of the Keats’ last ever poem. The language of the ode is simple, reflecting the natural language of man. This poem also inductively addresses the theme of beauty in death.

The basic meaning of the poem is to fall is the culmination of hard work and finally offers a time of rest, rejuvenation for a new cycle, and reward for hard work. This poem highlights the beauty and woman warmth of Autumn. Summer is a time for growth and work and winter is represented with cold and darkness but Autumn is a time for rest and enjoyment before the cold months. 

The theme of “To Autumn” is that time passes and that each portion is appreciated by different individuals. An important characteristic of an ode, is its dedication to the topic, however it cannot be said that “To Autumn” is only devotion to Autumn, because that would only neglect the rich emotional appeal of “To Autumn”

Context of Nature:

Keats uses Autumn as a source of inspiration in this poem to relate to anyone who has trouble letting good things come to end.

Analysis of the poem:

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;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

In the first line Keats already awakens our senses to the sounds, tastes and colours of Autumn. Autumn is personified as a friend of the sun and these two friends work together to create the most delicious fruit. The idea of fullness and fulfillment is developed in the words 'budding' 'swell' and 'plump'. In the first stanza, Keats concentrates on the sights of autumn, ripening grapes and apples, swelling gourds and hazel nuts, and blooming flowers.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

In the second stanza, the emphasis is on the characteristic activities of autumn, threshing, reaping, gleaning, and cider making.
Autumn is being personified several times:

Autumn is a woman, sitting in a granary, whose hair is gently lifted by the wind. This is a striking image of the chaff being separated from the wheat.
Next, Autumn becomes a reaper, drowsy from the smell of poppies, resting from her labour of harvesting
The last 'human' figure that Autumn becomes is the gleaner.
However, it is also a metaphor as the image is that of a willow tree over a brook, which looks just like a gleaner bent over the wheat, with her hair falling forward over her face
The stanza comes to a leisurely end with a person watching the apple juice ooze out of the cider press. The rhythm slows down considerably with the words 'last oozings hours by hours' - you cannot say this quickly!

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

In the concluding stanza, the poet puts the emphasis on the sounds of autumn, produced by insects, animals, and birds. To his ears, this music is just as sweet as the music of spring. The last stanza also describes the end of Autumn as the fields have now been harvested and all the work is done. The earth, as well as the farmers will enter a period of rest in the cold winter months. The ending of the poem is artistically made to correspond with the ending of a day: "And gathering swallows twitter in the skies."