"To Autumn" is an ode written by John Keats on September 19, 1819. While walking near Winchester along a river, Keats was inspired to write the poem. The remainder of his other odes were completed in the spring of 1819. John died on February 23, 1921 at the age of 25, just a year after the release of "To Autumn." However, throughout his life he inspired many poets, most notably Percy Shelly. In mourning, he wrote the elegy “Adonais” for Keats. “To Autumn” is his last poem and many have said it is his best. Keat's use of imagery takes the reader on an adventure through the sights and sounds of autumn. He achieves this through his use of language, imagery, tone, and structure. It's also what sets the mood and therefore allows it to challenge the idea that music is usually associated with spring. So, in this essay, I will show how he challenges this belief, by examining his use of imagery, tone, and form. Additionally, I will examine what his influences were and the context in which he wrote the poem. Keats was inspired by spring to create his previous odes; this is because they were written in the spring of 1819. Spring is usually associated with inspirational music, as it represents a time of optimism and rebirth. “The speaker's mention of spring at the beginning of the third in Keats's poem signals that spring is associated with the rebirth of the sun and therefore youth, while autumn is associated with the setting of the sun and old age . » (Karadas 104) Thus we see the images in the third stanza, all are associated with darkness. This is achieved through the image of the blooming “barred clouds” and the “sweet dying day” (line 25). However, by focusing primarily on autumn and then implementing the idea of ​​spring in the last stanza; Keats cre...... middle of paper ...... is the speaker in the ode. So we see that he was inspired to write this song of praise in the fall. It shows that anything can inspire someone to write, not just the beauty of spring. Thus, we see the images used by Keats move from the scenic and joyous image depicted in the first stanza to the harvest time in the second and finally we are confronted with the melancholy images of the last stanza. We realize that Keats was inspired by many things to complete this ode. Thus we see influences from the pastoral period, Greek myth and nature. Keats challenges the idea that spring generally inspires music, by showing the reader all the different places we take inspiration from. So anything can inspire music or a musician if it allows it too. Furthermore, Keats believed that music should not only arouse feelings of joy, but that it was still music if it made one sad...