Ode To Autumn

Ode To Autumn-John Keats
Overall Meaning:
Overall, "Ode to Autumn" by John Keats celebrates the beauty and abundance of the
autumn season. The poem explores how autumn is a time of fullness, with nature reaching
its peak in terms of ripeness and harvest. Through vivid imagery, Keats describes autumn as
a peaceful, quiet time of change, where the land is rich with fruit, flowers, and the sounds of
life preparing for the coming of winter. The poem also reflects on the passage of time,
showing that autumn, though full of life and abundance, is a reminder of the inevitable cycle
of seasons, with all things eventually coming to an end. Keats portrays autumn as a season
of maturity and completion, urging readers to appreciate the present moment before it fades.
Stanza 1:
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-eaves 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.
This stanza is taken from the poem “Ode to Autumn” by a romantic poet “John keats”
In the first stanza of "Ode to Autumn," John Keats describes autumn as a season full of
rich, ripened fruit and gentle, misty mornings. He imagines autumn as a friend of the sun,
working together to bring warmth and ripeness to everything. The trees are heavy with
apples, the vines around cottages are covered with fruit, and nuts have grown full and sweet.
Late-blooming flowers still provide food for busy bees, who seem to think the warm days will
never end. In this stanza, Keats shows autumn as a season of plenty, with everything filled
to its peak before winter arrives
1
Stanza 2:
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,
Drowsed 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 cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
This stanza is taken from the poem “Ode to Autumn” by a romantic poet “John Keats”
In the second stanza, Keats describes autumn as calm, sleepy, and peaceful. He imagines
autumn resting in the fields after the harvest. Autumn is personified as someone who might
be found sitting on a barn floor, hair gently blown by the wind, or lying in a field, drowsy from
the smell of poppies. Sometimes autumn is like a worker carrying a heavy load of crops
across a stream, or patiently watching the juice ooze from apples being pressed into cider.
This stanza highlights autumn’s slow, gentle mood and the feeling of rest after hard work
Stanza 3:
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.
2
This stanza is taken from the poem “Ode to Autumn” by a romantic poet “John Keats”
In the third stanza, Keats reflects on autumn’s beauty and music. He asks where the songs
of spring are, but then suggests that autumn has its own music. As the sun sets, the sky is
filled with soft, warm colors. Small gnats hum in the breeze by the river, sheep bleat in the
hills, and crickets chirp. A robin whistles in a garden, and swallows gather in the sky, ready
to migrate. This stanza captures the quiet, bittersweet music of autumn as nature prepares
for winter
Short Questions:
1.Who is the "close bosom-friend" of autumn in the poem?

Ans:The sun is the "close bosom-friend" of autumn.
2.What is autumn conspiring with the sun to do?

Ans:Autumn is conspiring with the sun to ripen fruits and bless the crops.
3.What fruit does the poem mention as being ripe in autumn?

Ans:The poem mentions apples, grapes, and hazelnuts.
4.How is the apple tree described in the poem?

Ans:The apple tree is bending under the weight of the ripe apples.
5.What is autumn’s effect on the gourd and hazel shells?

Ans:Autumn causes the gourd to swell and the hazel shells to plump with sweet kernels.
6.What flowers are still blooming in autumn according to the poem?

Ans:Late-blooming flowers are still growing for the bees.
7.What do the bees think about the warm days?

Ans:The bees think that the warm days will never end because of the abundance of food.
8.What is autumn often seen doing in the fields in the poem?

Ans:Autumn is seen sitting carelessly on a granary floor or asleep in the field, drowsy from
poppies.
9.How is autumn personified in the poem?

Ans:Autumn is personified as a tired, peaceful figure who works slowly and watches the
harvest.
10.What do autumn’s "laden head" and "steady" movement suggest?

Ans:These suggest autumn’s role in carrying the burden of the harvest, patiently completing
the work.
11.What question does the poet ask about spring in the third stanza?
Ans:The poet asks, “Where are the songs of Spring?”
12.What does autumn have instead of the songs of spring?

Ans:Autumn has its own music, such as the sounds of gnats, lambs, crickets, and birds.
3
13.What is described as "blooming" in the "soft-dying day"?
Ans:Barred clouds are described as blooming in the soft-dying day.
14.What do the gnats do in autumn according to the poem?

Ans:The gnats mourn in a wailful choir, flying around the river sallows.
15,What animal sounds are heard in autumn?

Ans:The lambs bleat loudly, and crickets sing.
16.What bird is mentioned in the poem as signaling autumn?

Ans:The red-breast (robin) whistles from a garden-croft.
17.What birds are gathering in the sky?

Ans:Swallows are gathering in the sky.
18.How does Keats describe the setting sun in the poem?

Ans:The setting sun is described as “soft-dying,” giving the day a peaceful end.
19.What does the poem suggest about the passage of time?

Ans:The poem suggests that autumn marks the passage of time and the transition from
summer to winter.
20.What is the overall mood of the poem?

Ans:The mood of the poem is calm, reflective, and filled with appreciation for the beauty and
abundance of autumn.

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Ode To Autumn-John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

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.

1.Who is the "close bosom-friend" of autumn in the poem?

2.What is autumn conspiring with the sun to do?

3.What fruit does the poem mention as being ripe in autumn?

4.How is the apple tree described in the poem?

5.What is autumn’s effect on the gourd and hazel shells?

6.What flowers are still blooming in autumn according to the poem?

7.What do the bees think about the warm days?

8.What is autumn often seen doing in the fields in the poem?

9.How is autumn personified in the poem?

10.What do autumn’s "laden head" and "steady" movement suggest?

12.What does autumn have instead of the songs of spring?

14.What do the gnats do in autumn according to the poem?

15,What animal sounds are heard in autumn?

16.What bird is mentioned in the poem as signaling autumn?

17.What birds are gathering in the sky?

18.How does Keats describe the setting sun in the poem?

19.What does the poem suggest about the passage of time?

20.What is the overall mood of the poem?

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