"To Autumn" is part of a series of seasonal poems by the visionary English writer William Blake. In this poem, the speaker beckons a personified Autumn to "sit" for a while and sing a "lusty song of fruits and flowers." Autumn fulfills the request by singing about Spring and Summer, suggesting that his own season, with its harvest celebrations, is a culmination of what has come before. The poem celebrates the rhythm of the seasons and the bountiful beauty of the natural world. "To Autumn" first appeared in Blake's early collection Poetical Sketches.
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The Full Text of “To Autumn”
1O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
2With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
3Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayst rest,
4And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
5And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
6Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.
7"The narrow bud opens her beauties to
8The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
9Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
10Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
11Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
12And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.
13"The spirits of the air live in the smells
14Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
15The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
16Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
17Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
18Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.
The Full Text of “To Autumn”
1O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
2With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
3Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayst rest,
4And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
5And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
6Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.
7"The narrow bud opens her beauties to
8The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
9Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
10Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
11Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
12And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.
13"The spirits of the air live in the smells
14Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
15The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
16Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
17Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
18Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.
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“To Autumn” Summary
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“To Autumn” Themes
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The Beauty of Autumn
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “To Autumn”
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Lines 1-3
O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; -
Lines 3-6
there thou mayst rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers. -
Lines 7-8
"The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins; -
Lines 9-10
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve, -
Lines 11-15
Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.
"The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees." -
Lines 16-18
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.
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“To Autumn” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Juxtaposition
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Apostrophe
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Imagery
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Metaphor
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Personification
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“To Autumn” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Laden
- Pass not
- Mayst
- Thy
- Jolly
- Lusty
- Thrilling
- Flourish
- Clust'ring
- Strew
- Pinions
- Roves
- Girded
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “To Autumn”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“To Autumn” Speaker
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“To Autumn” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “To Autumn”
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More “To Autumn” Resources
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External Resources
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Blake's Radicalism — Watch an excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's radicalism.
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The Art of William Blake — Take a look at some of Blake's visionary paintings; he was a groundbreaking visual artist as well as a poet.
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Blake and Swedenborg — Read an article on the influence of the Swedish theologian on Blake's work and thought.
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Blake's Poetical Sketches — Explore the full text of the collection in which this poem appeared.
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Blake's Visions — Watch an excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's religious visions.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake
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