An Analysis of To Autumn in New Criticism Perspective

馬曉 郭鴻雁

New Criticism，which firstly emerges in the 1920s，advocates the textual ontology by summing the traditional literary criticisms and focus on the text itself to figure out its intrinsic meanings.It emphasized close reading，particularly of poetry，to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained，self-referential aesthetic object.This essay is to analyze a well-known literary work written by John Keats，To Autumn，in New Criticism perspective and try to give interpretation to the theme and image by focusing on the words and figures of speech the poet uses in this poem.

Regarded as one of the most outstanding English poets，John Keats was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.To Autumn is one of his master works and also preferred by critics because of this artistic value.In To Autumn，John Keats creates an extremely beautiful picture by using vivid environment description.From static scenery to dynamic scenery，the poet not only expresses his love toward autumn，but also transfers dreadful death into a natural alternation.

This poem is written in iambic pentameter.According to rhyme and subject construction，each stanza can be divided into two parts.The first part is the first four lines with the same rhyme：ABAB，meaning the first and the third lines rhyme and the second and fourth lines rhyme.The second part is the remaining seven lines with different rhyme in different stanzas.The first stanza rhymes CDEDCCE while the second and the third stanzas rhyme CDECDDE.As we can see from the rhyme that the middle three lines are actually not rhymed which may make the poem reads strange.Moreover，in content，the middle three lines give readers a sense of unease by using some special verbs such as swell，plump，sinking.

In the first stanza，the poet use personification to construct a lively and prosperous harvest season.He personifies autumn and the sun to a pair of friends，but both of them have the power to ripen those fruits and crops.Though the poet intends to describe the autumn rich with fruit and grain，his choice of words reveals his inner thought that all the achievements the autumn has made are just their conspiracy.We have to wonder：does the poet really love autumn？Fruits would be picked after they are quite ripe；flowers would be withered after being in full blossom；honey would spill over after the honeycomb is filled up.All the nice things can turn into dissatisfaction after further consideration，from which we can feel the complex and entangled feeling in the poets heart.

In the second stanza，autumn also appears in the shape of a goddess.However，distinct from ordinary peasants who are busy gathering in the crops，autumn is so elegantly easy.From bustling about ripening fruits in the first stanza to just wander about quietly harvesting in the second stanza，we can feel the change of autumns mood.After fruits are picked and grains are reaped，the only things left on the ground are bare trees and desert land.These two stanzas form a contrast between life and death.Along with the disappearance of life in the world，the beauty of autumn also vanished.We can feel not only the disappointment and helplessness of autumn，but also the pity of the poet.

The third stanza describes the scenery at dusk after harvest.Autumn is the transition of summer and winter，as well as life and death.However，death does not mean everything comes to an end.As four seasons rotates，death means waiting for renaissance.So in this part，autumn tries to get rid of disappointment and helpless by decorates herself with“rosy hue”and directs animals and insects to play her own song.

To Autumn is not just a poem that describe the harvest scene and beautiful scenery of autumn，but also one that contains rich philosophical thoughts and implications.By presenting different scene at different time，the poet expresses his deep love toward autumn and at the same time reveals his complex feeling including helplessness to nature alteration and sorrow for the loss of life.

References

[1]Bressler Charles E.Literary Criticism：an introduction to theory and practice.Beijing：Higher Education Press，Pearson Education，2004.

[2]高月華，溫柔的死亡——新批評視角下的《秋頌》重釋[J].青年文學家，2011，（24）：83.