THE POETRY OF EARTH

                THE POETRY OF EARTH

                                        John Keats 

1. Discuss the significance of the title of the poem 'The Poetry of the Earth'.

The poem ,'The Poetry of the Earth' is addressing the beauty of the Earth through the lyrics of Grasshopper and the Cricket's song. Here the Grasshopper behaves like a summer poet and sings the summer song.The grasshopper sings when the birds get tired and take shelter in the cool shade of the trees. 

"And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run    

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;    

That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead  In summer luxury,"

In winter, when the frost blankets the earth, the crickets are responsible for carrying nature's song along with shrill voice.

"On a lone winter evening, when the frost   Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills    

The Cricket’s song, "

Thus the poetry of the earth continues through the seasons. Hence the naming of this poem is meaningful and consistent with the main theme of the poem

2. How does keats presents summer and winter in 'The Poetry of Earth'?

Or. 'The Poetry of Earth' is about 'the continuous celebration through the cycle of seasons.' Justify. 

Keats has drawn a picture of Summer in Octave and a picture of winter in sestet in the poem 'The Poetry of Earth'. Being tired of the intense heat of the sun in summer, the birds take refuge in the cool shade of the trees and stop singing. In this moment of emptiness, the wind blows with the chirping of grasshoppers. When the grasshopper gets tired, it rests under a pleasant bush to sing with renewed vigor. On a cold winter's evening, the cricket sings and breaks the frosty silence that prevailed everywhere. A half-asleep person feels like a grasshopper singing from a distant mountain forest. 

Thus Nature's music continues with the seasons. 

3. "..... he has never done/With his delights" - - Who is 'he'? What does he do? What does the extract mean?

In this poem 'The poetry of Earth', 'he' is the grasshopper.

The intense heat of the summer sun makes song-birds tired. They become so exhausted that they cannot sing. This time the grasshopper comes forward and sing happily. He keeps nature's music alive. Grasshoppers express great joy in the comfort of the summer season. He becomes the poet of this season. When he gets tired of singing, he takes a nap under a pleasant weed only to start singing again with renewed vigor.

The quoted passage illustrates the grasshopper's tireless efforts to bring nature to life in his song.

His joy never ends, so that the poetry of the world goes on forever.