Ode To Autumn by John Keats

Bihar Board Rainbow English Book Class 12 Solutions 
Poem 4 'Ode To Autumn by John Keats'

Text Book Questions and Answers

B. 1.1. Complete the following sentences on the basis of what you have studied -

(a) Autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.
(b) Autumn fills all fruits with ripeness.
(c) Thee sits carelessly on a granary floor.
(d) The ‘winnowing wind’ softly lifts the hair of the autumn season.
(e) Swallows twitter in the sky.

B. 1.2. Answer the following questions briefly -

1. Who are depicted as friends in the first two lines?
Ans: The sun and the autumn season are depicted as friends in the first two lines.

2. What happens in autumn?
Ans: All fruits ripe, flowers bloom and all the birds start to sing during the autumn season.

3. In what sense does the sun conspire with autumn?
Ans: The sun conspires with the autumn by offering fruits and flowers. Its ray makes the fruit fleshy and tasty.

4. How do the sun and summer help in the ripeness of fruits in autumn?
Ans: The sun and summer help in the ripeness of fruits by making them fleshy and tasty in autumn.

5. How are autumn and summer related to spring?
Ans: Autumn and summer are related to the spring season. It (spring) comes before the arrival of summer. Autumn starts with the departure of the summer season.

C. 1. Long Answer Questions -

1. What is the central idea of the poem?
Ans: The poet John Keats has written this poem ’Ode to Autumn’ which presents a very natural and beautiful picture of autumn. He narrated about the season of different kinds that happen in the world. All seasons are of different kinds and different nature. Every people like a different season. Summer brings hot and sweetest fruit. Some people like Autumn because it is a good season and people can do easily their work in this season.

2. What does Keats mean by the following -

‘T was here we loved in 

Summer day and greener.’

Ans: Keats was a nature poet. He found happiness, solace, and peace of mind in everything of nature. He loved the wind that blows in summer and helps the fruits to ripe and grows. He calls it a favorable wind. He finds the greenery in autumn very impressive and attractive. It gives him a positive aspect.

3. Does the poet convey his love for nature through such lines as given above? If yes, give examples.

Ans: Yes, the poet conveys his love of nature through these lines - 

“For summer has ‘O’er brimmed their clammy cells. 

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? 

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find.” 

4. Pick out the images related to different aspects of nature. Write a note on the use of images in the poem.
Ans: The poet says that Autumn spreads beauty and happiness everywhere. It seems like a carrier of harmony. In this poem, images have been well used which makes the poem and the idea present in it, quite clear. The images used are those of the blowing wind, ripening fruits and vegetables and flying birds.

5. What do autumn and spring symbolize in the poem? Explain.
Ans: Autumn and spring both seasons are good for fruits like mellow and plump. It fills all fruit with ripeness to the core to swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells. They symbolize prosperity, fruitfulness and fresh life.

6. Do you like this poem? Give two reasons?
Ans: Yes, I like this poem. It shows the good relationship between the two seasons and also shows how these seasons are dependent on each other.

7. What does the poet say about the music of autumn? Do you like music?
Ans: The poet says about the music of autumn that when it starts to sing the beautiful birds like Nightingale and cuckoo sing in a very beautiful and melodious voice. It makes everyone happy in their life. It makes a person perfect and the trees, when it listens to it, come out and grows rapidly. Yes, I like the music of autumn.

C. 3. Composition -

Write a paragraph in about 100 words on each of the following -

(a) Autumn -
Answer: Autumn is the third season of the year or the season between summer and winter often called the fall. In this season there is neither the heat of summer nor the bitter cold of winter. West wind is the breadth exhaled by Autumn. This means that the west wind blows in the Autumn season. The season is favorable for human beings and other creatures. In the Autumn season, the trees are laden with fruits. Autumn is also called the season of fog and sweet fruit. Autumn exhibits the principle of beauty in nature. The poet finds it highly impressive and inspiring as this season gives us emotion to go beyond imagination.

(b) The relation between seasons and human life -
Answer: Seasons have a great impact on human life. Different seasons depict the different moods of human beings as they pass through many stages in life. We have several seasons-spring, winter, autumn, summer, and rainy. Human beings also pass their life in the same way. Spring is associated with beauty and freshness. Winter is a cool and gloomy time. Rainy season brings beauty-greenness as well as destruction. Summer is the symbol of heat and struggle. As the seasons change, they bring an impact on the people. People get affected by the season and its effect.

D. Word Study -

D.1. Dictionary Use -

Ex. 1. Look up a dictionary and write two meanings of the following words - the one in which it is used in the lesson and the other which is more common -

Fruitfulness	Profitability
	Producing fruits (plants)
Bosom	Chest
	Close
Maturing	Growing
	Ripening (fruits)
Conspiring	Making secret plans
	Joining
Steady	Sensible
	Fixed
Plains	Grassland
	Simple
Sinking	Drowning
	Destroying
Swallows	A bird
	Consume

D. 2. Word-formation -

Read the following line carefully -

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

In the above line, ‘fruitfulness’ is derived from fruit. When ‘-full’ is added to fruit, it becomes fruitful, Again, when ‘-ness’ is added to fruitful, it becomes fruitfulness. Make words by adding ‘- ful-‘ or ‘-ness’ to the following words -

• happy — happiness
• beauty — beautiful
• kind — kindness
• bounty — bountiful
• joy — joyful
• duty — dutiful

D. 3. Word-meaning -

Ex. 1. Match the words in Column A with their meaning in Column B -

Column A	Column B
mist	fog
kernel	core
granary	storage for emissions
laden	loaded
oozing	emission
hue	colour

E. Grammar -

Ex. 1. Read the following sentences carefully -

‘Where are the songs of Spring ?’

‘Where’, in the above sentence is an interrogative substitute of an adverb.
Find out such interrogative substitutes of adverbs in the poem.

Ans: Where and who are the interrogative substitutes of adverbs in the poem.