The organic unity of a poem defies analysis and reminds us
of Wordsworth’s famous line “we murder to dissect”. Still for practical
purposes we are often asked to dissect poems intellectually. However, such an
analysis remains harmless as long as we do not equate in with the poem itself.
With this qualification we attempt to analyze ‘Ode to Autumn”.
The poem consists of three stanzas, each having eleven
lines. The first recreates a panoramic vision of the plants, fruits and flowers
growing everywhere on the ‘Happy autumn fields’. Autumn is the bosom friend of
the maturing sun. The vines, creeping along the edges of thatched roof are
blessed with juicy grapes, in cottages moss-covered tress bend under the heavy
weight of too many apples, pumpkins are fully swollen, hazel shells are full of
the sweet kernel, innumerable flowers are in full bloom, bees are so merry that
they have mistaken autumn for summer. Thus a magnificent landscape rises before
our eyes. Surprisingly, this is made of commonplace things. Keats suggests that
the poetry of the earth is at our doorstep, if only we keep our eyes and ears
open.
The second stanza gives us four grand personifications of
Autumn. We visualize the season in the role of a delighted winnower who is
sitting carelessly on the granary floor.
While the wind blows away the chaff from the grain it also dallies with farmer’s
flowing hair. Next we see Autumn incarnated as a tired reaper who was fallen
asleep on half-reaped field with the smell of the opium bearing poppies.
The third picture shows the season as a gleaner who has made
a large bundle, collecting left out corns from the reaped field. With that load
on his head the gleaner is coming a brook. Finally, Autumn is personified as a
cyber-presser who carefully watches for hours together the drops of juice of
cracked apples falling from the machine.
The last stanza recreates the music of Autumn. Is has the
glorious sunset. While the evening is descending birds, insects are animated
with that abundant spirit of music. The small gnats mourn along the river
willows full grown lambs bleat from their hilly shelters. All these combine to
create the autumnal song.
