Appreciation:

‘Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cells.’

a) Who is being referred to as 'they'?

b) What do they think? Why?

c) What kind of effect is achieved with the use of words such as 'o'er brimmed' and 'clammy'?

d) What is the overall effect of this stanza?

e) Describe the images and word pictures in this stanza?

a) ‘they’ are being referred to as "Bees" here.

b) Bees think that the warm days (basically summer season) will never cease or end. As in summer season flowers are always blooming and the nectar (fluid by which bees make honey) on which the bees are being fed on will remain forever. Being unaware of the season changes, innocent bees are considering the summer season to stay forever so that they can take advantages of the small seeds inside the flowers for a very long time.

c) The word “o’er brimmed” means “overflow” or “to be filled to the saturation point” and “clammy” means “moist” or “sticky”. In these lines, the poet has described the flowers as clammy cells as these are moist cells (prison)consisting the fluid pollen grains in abundance (which are brimmed or over-full with honey) by which the bees are attracted and thus being captured inside it.

d) In this stanza, the poet describes the natural activities done in the autumn season. It begins with the fulfilment of crops and ripening of fruits with the help of sun which has been described as the “bloom friend” of autumn. It shows the importance of friendship in anyone’s life. Later he describes that the autumn season isn’t the season of only fallen leaves and brown crippled atmosphere but it also gives a platform to the growth of the flowers from the fallen seeds in the coming season of blooming. Further, he expresses the happiness and joy of the bees that are being fed on those flowers and thinking those days like these will never end for them. Overall the poet has described the imaginary senses i.e. sight, smell and touch of nature during the autumn season.

e) John Keats has used many images and words to personify the autumn season and other natural things. Starting from the image of friendship it describes the sun as the “bosom friend” of this season who seems to conspire the “mists” and “mellowness” i.e. the chills and productiveness of the season to reap fruits on the vines which are curled on the roofs of the cottage. He further highlights the image of the cottage by using “thatch” as it is made up of pastoral like straw and reeds (in very old times roofs are being made up of these components ). Again he describes the images of “bend-apples” which are bending towards the ground because of their weight and ripeness. By this sight, the poet highlights the generosity of the fruit which is grounded and calling the people to have a delicious bite of them. In the last lines of the stanza, the poet has highlighted the image of growing and fruitfulness. “Kernels” has been described as the seeds which are dropped on the ground and will become fruits in the coming spring season. These fruits will be “o’er-brimmed” (overfilled) with the “clammy-cells” (sticky nectar) which are attracted by bees in the hope that these flower in bloom will never end for them.