John Keats' To Autumn

John Keats' "To Autumn"

Life is a beautiful thing that should not be wasted. Life must be lived without warning; it is not to be taken for granted. We will never fully understand life, not even in a million years. The theme of John Keats' "To Autumn" is to enjoy life, even as you grow old and it begins to move away from you. He spreads his message through the time frame, imagery, and diction of the stanzas.

To begin with, the time frame of the stanzas begins to prove the theme. By itself, it doesn?t prove the theme, but, when added with the imagery and diction, it gets the job done. The second and third proofs build off of the time frame. The time frame of the stanzas progresses through autumn and a day as a person?s life does. It shows that autumn and a day are being paralleled to a person?s life.

The first stanza is set in early autumn and the morning. This is shown is passages from the poem. For example, season of mists and warm days will never cease show this time setting. Season of mists prove morning because mist forms in the early morning. Warm days will never cease proves early autumn because this is the hottest and most humid time of the year. The first stanza clearly takes place during the morning in early autumn, and those are paralleled to childhood in life.

The second stanza is set in mid-autumn and the afternoon. This is evident in the poem. In example, while thy hook, gleaner, and on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep show the time frame is mid-autumn and afternoon. While thy hook and gleaner show mid-autumn because these quotes deal with the harvest, which happens in mid-autumn. On a half-reaped furrow sound asleep proves afternoon because the furrow is half-reaped, thus half way through the day, or the afternoon, and naps are usually taken during the afternoon hours. Obviously, the second stanza is set in the afternoon during mid-autumn. Mid-autumn and afternoon compare to adulthood in life.

The third stanza is set in late autumn and the evening. The proof is in the poem. For instance, gathering swallows and hedge crickets sing prove the time frame is late autumn in the evening. Gathering swallows proves late autumn because that is the time when birds gather to migrate to warmer climates. Hedge crickets sing proves evening because crickets produce their patented sound in the evening hours. Certainly, the setting of stanza th...

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...s fullest. The first stanza contains active imagery, while the second uses passive. The third stanza is expected to contain even more passive diction, but instead uses a mix of both active and passive. The active diction is used a little bit more. The diction in the third stanza is what makes this poem so great. If you add this proof to the first two, you get life slipping away as it progresses, with the individual being active even as he is dying. In other words, the person is enjoying his life as it slips into death?s hands, which is the theme of the poem.

The theme of John Keats? ?To Autumn? is to live your life actively until darkness consumes your body. The time frame, imagery, and diction of the stanzas prove this. The time frame shows that life is progressing, while the imagery is paralleled to life being taken away from the individual. The diction proves that the person is active during childhood, passive during adulthood and slightly active during the elderly years of life. The proofs clearly show what the theme of the poem is, proving every part of it thoroughly. This was a wonderfully written poem, and it gives a great message that everyone should learn and live by.