John Keats Ode to Autumn - Admission/Application Essay Example

Outline: John Keats’ “Ode to Autumn” A. Topic: “Ode to Autumn” by John Keats B. Tentative thesis sentence: Seasons have a remarkable impact on the human senses. C. Major points: The insightful explanations of each of the physical changes that take place in autumn give readers an insight into the poet’s love for nature and reminds one of the good times spent with someone special, in the past. Evidence to Thesis: Each stanza has a unique description of autumn that the speaker of the poem praises and compares the season to a goddess who silently observes her surroundings. 1. “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun…” 2. “Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind…” 3. “While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue…” D. Tentative introductory paragraph Reading Keats’s “Ode to Autumn” reminds one of, the memorable times spent alone or with someone special in the past, where autumn was at its peak. The simplistic description of the ode sooths the senses and aspires one to look around and appreciate nature as Keats has done in this poem. The autumn season is likened to a goddess who is full of warmth and hopefulness. The poet reminds autumn to think of its own song instead of searching for spring’s because autumn has its own essence. This poem has a lubricating force which allows the readers to feel all five senses at once. John Keats’ “Ode to Autumn” Reading Keats’s “Ode to Autumn” reminds one of, the memorable times spent alone or with someone special in the past, where autumn was at its peak. The simplistic description of the ode sooths the senses and aspires one to look around and appreciate nature as Keats has done in this poem. The autumn season is likened to a goddess who is full of warmth and hopefulness. The poet reminds autumn to think of its own song instead of searching for spring’s because autumn has its own essence and charm. “To Autumn” generates the themes of love and art as if an artist is thinking aloud while painting his own sketch of the season. Such accurate and pastoral idyll is the poem that it reminds me of my art lessons which I took during summer in Winchester, where Keats is said to have finished this ode. I started off as a young lethargic teenager who did not desire anything from life except longing for silent moments in the garden or in my bedroom. I was like this because I had lost my parents in a car crash and my aunt, who was single, had preferred to look after me instead of two other sisters I had, who were eventually adopted by another uncle and aunt who lived in Florida. I was forcedly sent to Winchester during my summer break when I could spend more time with my friends, to attend a stupid art class. Since it was an art class, our surroundings were natural and we were given the freedom to explore the heavenly gardens which covered more than fifty percent of the area. The other side was a farm land that we were only allowed to go as a field trip which we did last weekend. It was a very pleasant sight indeed and I realized how hardworking these farmers have been to till the land and grow crops, ultimately consumed by us. During my long walks in the garden I heard another student reading out poems by Keats, with long pauses to maybe wipe her tears off and adjust her vocal cords. I never gave attention to what she was reading but her recital was an indication that someone was present in the garden. We never spoke but her sudden death came to me as a shock as if I had lost someone very dear to me. I went to the spot where she used to sit and read out these poems and found a few scraps of papers on which she had copied most of them. The only one which I could make out as a complete poem was “Ode to Autumn”. As I read it in silence, my eyes flooded with tears and I felt I was the season which Keats was paying homage to. It was I whom Keats was addressing and calling out to remember my own existence. To my great surprise Keats died at a very young age and that is probably because he had mastered the art of living in pain and joy while admitting his sorrows and happiness on the paper in the form of his odes which often contradicted his own life during the composition. What I had experienced was a turning point in my life. I realized that I was not coping with my situation as well as I should be doing. Locking myself away from the rest of the world was a very convenient act and a very tempting one as well. But there was an element of cowardice in this deed and I realized, while reading “to Autumn” that life is about warmth and new hope each day which “will never cease” because the Summer has already flooded the thoughts with optimism. “Fruitfulness” and “ripening” give a sense of rebirth and new life. It also triggers the taste buds as they feel a distinct savor of each fruit and each joy. Life and death are a part of human experience, and I understood this philosophy while I read this poem at the spot where that girl used to read it aloud and I never paid heed. A strange guilt envelops my senses as I recall that moment which took place fifteen years ago, that I could have saved her life by accompanying her in those long walks I preferred taking alone. Life at present is very different from before but now I look at my surroundings and imagine myself conceiving a poem like Keats did, ages ago. It seems impossible. Despite the fact that winter follows autumn, the speaker of the poem reminds his readers that autumn still has ample of beauty to celebrate. The meaningful discovery of beauty comes forth through experience which Keats also did in his previous odes. The modern times are so full of hatred and pessimism that there is no time to appreciate beauty. Many novels written during the Romantic period attempt to capture the same image of beauty in vain. It was Keats unique skills which brought him fame. Jane Austen’s novel “Persuasion”, which was written three years before Keats wrote “to Autumn” reflects on the themes of optimism and warmth of characters who aim at persuading each other as a natural human instinct. One can deduce from the discussion of Keats “Ode to Autumn” that life is too short for grieving at the loss of a beloved or friend. In reality, life is about celebrating one’s own courage and existence. Our survival is an important acknowledgement of life which means that we need to return its favors on us in the form of all seasons. It has given us autumn to cherish it till the last leaf falls from the tree and the last fruit which ripens, ready to be eaten, with joy and happiness. One needs to recognize the hidden worth during stressful times and rekindle one’s life by observing nature closely. The beauty of nature is a praise of the nature’s work of art, which is so real to the senses that it can take one’s breath away in second. Other living things take a natural course as the bees take pleasure in “later flowers,” and the spring’s lambs are “full grown” and the harvest in collected from the field. All this is done with full vigor knowing that autumn is going to come to an end. The end of the season does not mean the end of life and the knowledge of this closure must not deprive one from availing the secrets it holds for us. The swallows ultimately migrate in winter and they are preparing themselves for this journey instead of sighing and being mournful about it. The girl whom I heard reading these poems aloud was fighting back cancer in real life. I learnt that she had enrolled herself in the art classes so that she could regain the colors in her life which would lose each time she had chemotherapy. She would read aloud to peter out the soreness she suffered in her illness and that changed my life. Works Cited Lawall, Sarah N, and Maynard Mack. “John Keats’ Ode to Autumn” from The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Volume E. New York: Norton, 2002. Print Read More