To Autumn Themes
Man and the Natural World
There's a lot more to say about this poem besides the fact that it's a "nature poem." By itself, the term "nature poem" doesn't tell us much. "To Autumn" contains very specific natural landscapes a...
Time
We don't think it's a coincidence that "To Autumn" mentions autumn and spring, but not winter. Keats doesn't want to dwell on the cold days to come. To appreciate autumn, we need to forget about ho...
Awe and Amazement
This ode is almost like a pep talk delivered to autumn. The speaker knows that autumn often gets short shrift in the catalogue of seasons, so he reminds her (and, maybe, himself) of its many wonder...
Transformation
Autumn is the time of transformation between the growth of summer and the dormancy of winter. Things are winding down, and once the harvest is complete, there is nothing left to do but wait until t...
Mortality
Autumn is frequently used as a symbol in literature for old age, the time before death, symbolized by winter. "To Autumn" avoids any super-obvious references to death, but we do get some subtle one...