Themes and message

The main themes of the poem “To Autumn” by John Keats are the passage of time, contentment (or resignation) and the natural world. The theme of the passage of time encompasses a couple of motifs such as transformations and mortality, while the theme of the natural world is enhanced by the motif of awe and amazement.

Passage of time

This theme pervades the entire poem’s composition. At the more evident level, each stanza marks a different autumn stage. The first stanza describes autumn in the beginning when it’s still warm, the fruits are ripe, late flowers still bloom, and seeds are sown. The second stanza describes the time of harvest which comes later on, while the third stanza focuses on the upcoming departure of migratory birds, closer to winter.

The poem further explores the idea of time passing by setting each stage in autumn at a different time of the day (stanza 1 is set in the morning, stanza 2 at noon and stanza 3 after the sunset). Furthermore, the poem also hints at the annual cycle of changing seasons from spring to summer and from summer to autumn.

At a deeper level, all these references to time which seem focused on the way i...