Ode to Autumn
...a great abundance of fruit. “To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells … budding more, and still more …” The use of word choice such as “swell”, “plump”, and repetition of “more” in these lines indicates that the summer’s growth has been good. This effective word choice adds to the already developed feeling of fulfilment that surrounds this season. Also the alliteration in the first stanza extends the sense of the fruitfulness of autumn such as “fill all fruit” and “clammy cells”. Both of these remind the readers of the great abundance of fruit that Keats is describing. In addition to this Keats heightens this mood of peacefulness and satisfaction in his extensive use of personification. In the second stanza the poet personifies autumn as a beautiful woman, “Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies” Autumn’s job is now over and ‘she’ can enjoy the fruits of her season. Autumn can leave the harvesting to man. This beautiful image sees Keats rejoicing and admiring the season and its produce. The words he chooses to describe her contribute to the mood of contentment. She lies “careless on a granary floor”. Her hair is “soft-lifted” by the “winnowing wind”. The language here is soft and gentle. “Drowsed” suggests the smell of poppies at this time of year is intoxicating. Once again appealing to our senses. By personification autumn in this way Keats evokes the joy for the beauty of this season. However the mood changes slightly in stanza three as winter approaches. There is a sense of sadness but there are still many aspects of autumn to enjoy at the end of the season. The word choice in this stanza show that there is still a sense of beauty and delight in this season as it draws to a close. Phrases such as “soft dying day” and “rosy hue” both convey the gentleness and beauty at the end of autumn. The mood is intensified by the sense of sound in this stanza. “Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn” “And full-grown lambs bleat from hilly bourn: Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;” These beautiful sounds show that Keats wants to get the most out of autumn that he can and as the end is coming Keats reflects on the beauty of autumn by using sensual, gentle onomatopoeia. It is not only in the evocation of mood that the poet rejoices the beauty of autumn. Keats also reflects on the beauty of nature by using personification. “Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless…” In the...