New
New
Year 11
Eduqas
Analysing 'To Autumn' by John Keats
I can analyse how Keats presents his feelings towards autumn.
New
New
Year 11
Eduqas
Analysing 'To Autumn' by John Keats
I can analyse how Keats presents his feelings towards autumn.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- In the first stanza, Keats describes autumn as being almost fat or ripe with prosperity.
- Arguably, Keats presents autumn as an abundant season to show that the autumn of a person’s life can be fruitful too.
- The autumn of Keats’ life would have come much earlier than he had likely planned for.
- Keats shifts tone a few times in the poem as he progresses from feelings of optimism to nostalgia then to acceptance.
- The reference to a bountiful harvest could represent the abundance that autumn can bring.
Keywords
Abundance - having a lot of something
Prosperity - the condition or state of being successful and thriving
Tone - the way in which the poet expresses their feelings towards the subject matter
Monosyllabic - only containing one syllable
Mood - the atmosphere that is created by the tone
Common misconception
Students tend to confuse tone and mood. They are not the same thing.
Tone is the way in which the poet expresses their feelings towards the subject matter. Mood is the atmosphere that is created by the tone. Tone creates mood.
You could turn Task B in learning cycle 2 into an extended response if you would like your class to practise their critical writing -simply remove the discussion symbol and instruct them to write their response up instead. Students could then use Andeep's response to evaluate against their own.
Teacher tip
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the Eduqas poetry anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
In which century did Keats write 'To Autumn'?
17th century
18th century
20th century
Q2.
Which of the following is the first line of Keats' 'To Autumn'?
"Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?"
"Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;"
"Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?"
"And gathering swallows twitter in the skies."
Q3.
Which of the following is the last line of Keats' 'To Autumn'?
"The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;"
"Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours."
"For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."
Q4.
Complete the statement: 'To Autumn' is arguably a for human mortality - the passing of time in one’s life as one grows older and approaches death.
Q5.
Which of the following statements about Keats are true?
Keats was never educated.
Keats' brother died young from cancer.
Keats lived a long and prosperous life.
Q6.
What does Keats seem to miss in this line from 'To Autumn': "Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?"?
his deceased brother
the middle-ages of his life
his creative expression
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
is the way in which the poet expresses their feelings towards the subject matter.
Q2.
A writer's tone creates the of the piece.
Q3.
Which of the following words from Keats' 'To Autumn' does not suggest abundance?
"plump"
"swell"
"o’erbrimm'd"
Q4.
Which of the following makes great evidence in an argument?
as much evidence as you can find included
a few key bits of evidence from one stanza
less evidence made up of longer quotations
Q5.
Which of the following words are monosyllabic?
orange
duo
vegetable
Q6.
Which of the following sentences uses the word 'abundance' correctly?
He had collected stamps for years and had abundance of them.
There was only one house on the street; there was an abundance of houses.