Set: 10/03/2008
Due: 13/03/2008
Poetry Revision & Essay
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Revision of 'To Autumn'
Essay Question:
Choose a poem in which a specific setting is strongly evoked.
Show how the poet creates this sense of place and/or time, and then discuss the
relative importance of the setting to the poem as a whole.
In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
theme, mood, imagery or any other appropriate feature.
Link: http://higherenglish.wetpaint.com/page/Ode+to+Autumn
Remember: the PCQEs that are available for this poem may not be
in the correct order, nor may they be complete. Any additional comments/updates, which would help your own exam successes, should be submitted as a comment to
this post.
I will update the PCQEs accordingly.
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Choose a poem in which a specific setting is strongly evoked. Show how the poet creates this sense of place and or time then discuss the relative importance of the setting to the poem as a whole. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting, theme, mood, imagery, or any other appropriate feature.
“visiting hour” by Norman MacCaig is a poem in which a setting is strongly evoked. The poet creates a sense of place and this strong setting contributes to the poem as a whole. The poem deals with MacCaig’s visit to see a sick relative. We are able to see through the poem that MacCaig’s relative is on their death bed. This deeply upsets MacCaig and through the poem this deep upset is conveyed through the strong setting that is evoked.
As the poem begins MacCaig immediately bombards the readers senses to create a very strong powerful visual image. In line one stanza one MacCaig comments on “the hospital smell combs my nostrils”. This immediately awakens the readers senses to this setting and allows the reader to relate to this smell as everyone has at one time or another made a visit to a hospital. This bombardment of the readers senses and relating this “visit” to the reader creates and evokes a strong reaction to the setting. This strong setting is vitally important to the poem as a whole as it adds to the plight and struggle that MacCaig faces.
The poem continues to highlight and bombard the readers senses and create a strong setting to which the reader can relate to. In line two stanza one MacCaig comments “as they go bobbing along green and yellow corridors”. This strong vivid imagery again bombards the readers senses and the “green and yellow corridors” gives strong connotations of bodily fluids which evokes the strong reaction to the setting by the reader. It also highlights the negative thoughts the poet is thinking shown by this strong visual imagery.
The poem continues with this strong setting but also shows the poets feelings that this is the beginning of the end for his relative. In stanza two the poet uses strong blunt language the poet uses words such as “corpse” and “heavenward”. This word choice is associated with death and shows the poets state of mind and distress at the predicament he is in. As this could simply be someone being pushed into a lift and going up to a different ward.
Again we are made aware of the poets negative attitude that he has taken. The poet again uses strong vivid word choice the poet uses words like “trundled” and “vanishes”. This vivid word choice shows again the reader the negative attitude the poet is taking to the situation. “trundled” indicates a lack of care and again shows the poet focusing again on the negative aspect of the situation. The word “vanishes” again shows the poet is focused on the negative aspect of this situation.
Choose a poem in which a specific setting is strongly evoked. Show how the poet creates this sense of place and or time then discuss the relative importance of the setting to the poem as a whole. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting, theme, mood, imagery, or any other appropriate feature.
“To Autumn” by John Keats is a poem in which the setting is strongly evoked. The poet creates a sense of place and the passage of time which contributes to the setting and the poem as a whole. Keats deals with the season of autumn and creates a strong visual image of the change and the passage of time that takes place throughout this poem. This strong setting and sense of passage of time contributes to the reader’s enjoyment of the poem as a whole.
The poem immediately creates a strong setting to the reader. The poet creates this by giving the season of autumn human like qualities. The poet in line two stanza one comments on the “close bosom-friend of the maturing sun”. This human like qualities given to the season of autumn evokes a strong felling that this season is a living breathing thing. The “close bosom friend of the maturing sun” also gives connotations of Mother Nature and that this season is to be respected and enjoyed.
As the poem continues Keats creates a relaxed mood to the poem to highlight the easy going relaxed nature of “autumn”. In line three stanza one the poet comments “conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines that run round the thatch-eves rung”. This again creates a strong setting to the reader and highlights again the human like qualities given to the season of autumn. The poet also gives emphasis to the sun and nature giving connotations to the reader that they discuss and choose the weather they give to this season and again gives connotations that autumn is a living thing.
As the poem continues we are again made aware of the relaxed and peaceful nature to which the writer highlights autumn. In line six stanza one the poet comments “And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core”. This creates this relaxed mood to the poem and to the season of autumn itself the writer uses alliteration “Fill all fruit” which adds to this sense of a relaxing season. A passage of time is also conveyed that this fruit is now ripe to pick and again creates a sense that autumn is a bountiful season. Also this conveys the sunlight and mother has chosen to give this ripeness and bountifulness to the season of autumn.
The poem again continues to develop the theme of a bountiful time and create a strong setting of the season of autumn. In lines seven and eight stanza one Keats comments “to swell the gourd, and plump hazel shells with a sweet kennel”. This again shows that autumn is a bountiful time and that at this present stage of the poem we are in harvest time. This also creates a passage of time of the growth and maturity of fruit and food and gives us a strong visual image that at this time everything is at its peak.
The structure of the first stanza also helps to establish the relaxed setting that is created throughout the first stanza. The structure of the first stanza is one long sentence “Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness….clammy cells”. This long sentence creates a relaxed informal mood to the opening of the poem and an almost flowing nature to the opening. This flowing nature as well as creating a relaxed easy going opening also conveys a passage of time as the season almost flows gently through without incident.
As the second stanza opens we are again made aware of the naturalistic setting that is being created. In line one stanza two Keats comments “Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store”. This iambic pentameter adds and gives the poem a realistic and natural flow also the rhetorical question directly involves the reader
To Autumn by John Keats
“To Autumn” by John Keats is a poem dealing with the season of autumn and the overall passage of time from summer into winter. Setting used in conjunction with time plays a major part in the overall appreciation of this poem, and both are developed through Keats use of literary techniques and word choice.
Line one of stanza one introduces the subject of the poem and also begins this sense of time, which is developed throughout the rest of the poem.
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
By describing autumn as the season of “mists and mellow fruitfulness” a sense of fatigue is evoked. “mellow” gives the sense of calm and tranquillity where things are quiet. This represents the beginning of Autumn where things are quiet. “mists” also creates and image of early morning mists when all is quiet.
Keats use of literary techniques enables setting and time to be enforced.
“maturing sun”
Here both time and setting are referred to. By use of personification Keats relates the season of autumn to the “maturing sun”. As autumn is nearing the end of the year it is still maturing it has not quite progressed to winter and so this comparison between the two is an effective relation to setting. Again this quote also relates to morning when the sun is rising in the sky, it’s not fully risen so it is still maturing. Keats effective use of word choice enables a referral to the setting and also gives a sense of time.
As the poem continues we are again made aware of the relaxed and peaceful nature to which the beginning of autumn is known for.
“And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core”.
This creates this relaxed mood to the poem and to the season of autumn itself. The writer uses alliteration “Fill all fruit” which adds to this sense of a relaxing season. A passage of time is also conveyed that this fruit is now ripe to pick and again creates a sense that autumn is a bountiful season.
The suggestion of time moving on is shown in the middle of stanza one as we begin to reach stanza two and the harvest of autumn.
“To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells”
This imagery of fruit bursting with ripeness is an indication that it is nearing the time of harvest. This indication is a clear sign of the passage of time and also has relevance to setting as it deals with a key event in autumn and that is the harvest.
Keats uses effective word choice to convey a sense of timelessness in stanza two.
“Drows’d with the fume of poppies”
A drug effect is induced here the relation of poppies as drugs creates an effect of an unawareness of time. Also sleep is suggested here “Drows’d” suggests sleepy and a laid back approach to the harvest, and this relates to setting as it shows the hardship of the harvest and how long and tiring a process it is. With Keats uses of word choice again he successfully relates back to the passage of time and also touches on the setting.
In stanza three a more auditoria sense is appealed to.
“wailful choir” “small gnats mourn”
With this sense of hearing being invoked here the time of night is suggested. Also the sense of nature mourning for the end of autumn and the beginning of winter is suggested with the introduction of words such as “mourn” and “wailful”. From stanza one which is consists of sights and ripe fruits through to now where a more auditoria sense is appealed to, conveys a passage of time from day into night. Again Keats use of effective word choice relates back to the setting of autumn and the sense of the passage of time from morning to night.
Keats uses a sign of winter to bring the poem to a close and also refer to the end of autumn.
“red-breast whistles”
The robin is known as a sign of the approaching winter, they appear as things start to cool down and all other life begins its preparations for the long cold winter. With the introduction of the robin Keats refers to the end of autumn and also the passage of time from summer into autumn and now into winter.
“To Autumn” is a poem set in the season of autumn with its bountiful fruit and progression into winter. Keats use of word choice is key in conveying the setting and also the passage of time. In this poem setting is a key point to the appreciation of the text as a whole it allows a strong foothold for the readers’ imagination and also an effective look on the passage of time and what that entails.
By Stuart Gilmer
Choose a poem in which a specific setting is strongly evoked. Show how the poet creates this sense of place and or time then discuss the relative importance of the setting to the poem as a whole. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting, theme, mood, imagery, or any other appropriate feature.
“To Autumn” by John Keats is a poem in which the setting is strongly evoked. The poet creates a sense of place and the passage of time which contributes to the setting and the poem as a whole. Keats deals with the season of autumn and creates a strong visual image of the change and the passage of time that takes place throughout this poem. This strong setting and sense of passage of time contributes to the reader’s enjoyment of the poem as a whole.
The poem immediately creates a strong setting to the reader. The poet creates this by giving the season of autumn human like qualities. The poet in line two stanza one comments on the “close bosom-friend of the maturing sun”. This human like qualities given to the season of autumn evokes a strong felling that this season is a living breathing thing. The “close bosom friend of the maturing sun” also gives connotations of Mother Nature and that this season is to be respected and enjoyed.
As the poem continues Keats creates a relaxed mood to the poem to highlight the easy going relaxed nature of “autumn”. In line three stanza one the poet comments “conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines that run round the thatch-eves rung”. This again creates a strong setting to the reader and highlights again the human like qualities given to the season of autumn. The poet also gives emphasis to the sun and nature giving connotations to the reader that they discuss and choose the weather they give to this season and again gives connotations that autumn is a living thing.
As the poem goes on we are again made aware of the relaxed and peaceful nature to which the writer highlights autumn. In line six stanza one the poet comments “And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core”. This creates this relaxed mood to the poem and to the season of autumn itself the writer uses alliteration “Fill all fruit” which adds to this sense of a relaxing season. A passage of time is also conveyed that this fruit is now ripe to pick and again creates a sense that autumn is a bountiful season. Also this conveys the sunlight and mother has chosen to give this ripeness and bountifulness to the season of autumn.
The poem again continues to develop the theme of a bountiful time and create a strong setting of the season of autumn. In lines seven and eight stanza one Keats comments “to swell the gourd, and plump hazel shells with a sweet kennel”. This again shows that autumn is a bountiful time and that at this present stage of the poem we are in harvest time. This also creates a passage of time of the growth and maturity of fruit and food and gives us a strong visual image that at this time everything is at its peak.
The structure of the first stanza also helps to establish the relaxed setting that is created throughout the first stanza. The structure of the first stanza is one long sentence “Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness….clammy cells”. This long sentence creates a relaxed informal mood to the opening of the poem and an almost flowing nature to the opening. This flowing nature as well as creating a relaxed easy going opening also conveys a passage of time as the season almost flows gently through without incident.
As the second stanza opens we are again made aware of the naturalistic setting that is being created. In line one stanza two Keats comments “Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store”. This iambic pentameter adds and gives the poem a realistic and natural flow also the rhetorical question directly involves the reader into the poem. The store also again highlights the passage of time as the natural progression from harvest time where produce is plentiful to the more scarce time when food is not so readily available which is symbolised by the store as the beginning almost of these scarce times to come.
As the poet continues we are made aware of the contrast between the first and second stanza. In lines fourteen and fifteen we are made aware of this contrast as the writer comments of being “soft lifted” and “sitting careless” this personification intensifies the contrast between stanzas one and two with the more hustle and bustle in stanza one with the growing of the crop to the more relaxed leisurely stanza two during the harvest season. This again adds to the passage of time and evokes a strong setting for the reader to visualise.
As stanza two continues we are again shown a more relaxed and sleepy atmosphere created by the writer. In lines sixteen and seventeen Keats comments “on a half reaped furrow sound asleep, drowsed with the fume of poppies”. This indicates to the reader again the passage of time that the “furrows” are being dug for next years crop in contrast to stanza one where the crop is growing. This also creates a sleepy laid back setting to the whole of stanza 2 and evokes this strong setting.
As the third stanza begins we again are made aware of this passage of time. In stanza 3 line twenty three the poet comments “Where are the songs of spring?”. This is a more aggressive mood created almost angry that this time has elapsed. But again this shows the passage of time as the poet asks the rhetorical question of where has the time gone to from the spring to the end of this season of autumn.
As the poet continues we are again made clear of this passage of time. The poet comments in line twenty five “While barred clouds bloom the soft dyeing day”. This highlights again the passage of time from the hustle and bustle of the first stanza with everything ripening to the more relaxed second stanza and finally the end of this season in the third stanza. This effectively shows this passage of time from beginning to end of the poem.
As the poem continues towards the end we are again made aware of the dyeing season of autumn. The writer comments in line twenty nine of the “light wind lives or dies”. This again highlights the passage of time between the bountiful time of this season and the now ending of this season. This evokes a strong reaction from the reader as a result of the setting and the atmosphere that the poet has created.
As the poem reaches its conclusion we are made aware of the end of “Autumn”. in line thirty three stanza three the poet concludes “gathering swallows twitter in the skies”. This indicates the “death” of autumn and highlights the migratory process that has taken place as a result this almost symbolises the start of the next season of winter.
In conclusion “To Autumn” by John Keats uses mood and vivid word choice and imagery to highlight a passage of time and evoke a strong setting. Throughout the poem he uses poetic devices in order to achieve this. As a result of this strong setting and passage of time the readers enjoyment of the poem and appreciation of the season of autumn is greatly increased.
By Mark Garner.
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