Keats’ To Autumn captures the beauty of the autumn through Keats’ eyes who gives the poem a classical touch that goes a long way in establishing the authenticity of the poem. Sticking to the traditional styles of poetry, Keats uses iambic pentameters to display the structure and style that is synonymous with the typical romantic poems. Looking at the landscape that is described by Keats, it’s easy to realize a typical rural English countryside. As a romantic poet, he uses nature as a tool for the promotion of his ideas. Several similarities and differences can be singled out from the two poems. First off is the fact that both poems focus on autumn, though to a varying degree, for Hughes, the autumn is given a negative connotation while Keats offers a more positive tone in his description, an element that can be associated with his romanticism context. For Hughes, the first line of the poem not only repeats the title of the pome but also conveys the intended message of the cycle of seasons. In other words, the reader is able to connect the progression of seasons from summer to autumn. He uses strong words such as wrung and plucked, indicating the seasonal transition to invoke strong imagery within the reader’s mind. This is proven in the quotation: “There came a day that caught the summer, Wrung its neck, Plucked it…..”

When compared to Keats’ “To Autumn” a striking difference can be found in the use of a sweeter and more appealing language, where Keats uses a more mellow voice in describing the same transition. For example; “Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;, Conspiring with him how to load and bless, With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run.” Additionally, both poems utilize personification as a way of creating an illusion with the changing seasons effectively. For Hughes, an example can be found in: “And what shall I do with the sun?, The day said, the day said. Roll him away till he´s cold and small’” and Keats example being; “And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; to swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells.”

While Keats’ poem offers the reader a more subtle, seamless and appealing transition from summer to autumn, for Hughes, the story of autumn can only be told through the violent events that indicate the death of summer. Assonance is another major similarity that springs up from both poems. Both poets utilize this style at the very end of each line in their poems, such as Hughes’; “Stuff them with apple and blackberry pie They´ll love me then till the day they die”, and in Keats’ poem: “And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease.” The beauty of autumn can still be appreciated in both poems, though with differing perspectives influenced by the context and setting the writers chose.

Link:

http://a-poem-a-day-project.blogspot.co.ke/2015/09/there-came-day-and-his-name-was-autumn.html