Justify the title of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

John Keats, in his sonnet ‘The Poetry of Earth’, unfolds the theme of never-ending poetry inherent in nature. This poetry of earth is expressed in the form of the songs of different creatures, big or small. In summer, when the unbearable heat silences the song-birds, the grasshopper keeps the song of earth going through its merry voice. Undaunted by the fury of summer, the grasshopper sings merrily from hedge to hedge. Then in winter, as the frost engulfs the earth and creates a contrasting environment of summer immersed in numbness and silence, the shrill voice of the cricket announces that the poetry of earth just can’t stop. There is always somebody or the other through the cycle of seasons to recite it in admiration and delight. So, the title of the poem is appropriate and accordant to the theme of it.

Write down the substance of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

This poem expresses Keats’ admiration and appreciation for nature in a powerful and observant way. He uses the Petrarchan form of the sonnet to depict the unceasing music of the nature. This very music of the earth overwhelms the poet, who reflects on the inherent beauty of nature in the octave where the poet draws a picture of the summer season. Exhausted by the scorching heat, when the birds seek respite under the cool shade of the trees, a voice’ is heard which breaks the spell of the dreary summer. This voice is that of the grasshopper who joyfully moves from hedge to hedge’, taking the lead ‘in summer luxury’. The chirping of the grasshopper fills the vacuum when all the birds are exhausted by the scorching heat of the sun. Nothing dampens its spirit and when tired, it rests beneath ‘some pleasant weed it gets.

The sestet describes ‘a lone winter evening,’ a picture of gloom and decadence. While the world lies motionless beneath the dense layers of frost, the eeriness of which is heightened by silence, from the warm stove, the cricket’s shrill song is heard. The shrill song of the cricket breaks the silence of the gloomy winter evening. The cricket’s song evokes memories of the grasshopper’s voice in the last line and takes the reader to the beginning of the poem again. The music of earth indeed never ceases. It is a continuous celebration through the cycle of seasons.

Write a short note on the central idea of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

‘A voice will run …’- Whose voice is referred to here? Where will the voice run? What is the significance of the voice?

“That is the Grasshopper”—What is referred to by ‘that’? What does the poet mean to say? Why does the poet use capital letter in Grasshopper?

“.. he takes the lead.” Who is ‘he’ here? When does ‘he’ take the lead? How?

“.. he has never done / With his delights’ – Who is ‘he’? What does ‘he’ do? What does the extract mean?

“He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.”-Who is ‘he’ here? Where does the rest? How does he enliven nature?

“And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,  The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.” What does the poet try to convey with these last two lines of the poem?

“On a lone winter evening”-How does the poet describe the loneliness and silence of winter?

How does Keats describe the poetry of summer season in this poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

Show, after Keats, that the poetry of earth never comes to an end.

What picture of summer is presented in ‘The Poetry of Earth’? How has it been carried onto the picture of winter?

How does Keats present winter in his sonnet?

How can we infer that the Grasshopper enjoys performing its duties in summer? Who steps in its shoes to carry on the poetry of earth? What effect does the latter create on a human being?

What concept do you get about Keats’ notion of beauty as revealed in the sonnet ‘The Poetry of Earth’

What does the poet assert in his poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’ and how?

Comment on the use of symbolism’ in this poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’

Why does Keats feel that the poetry of earth is never dead?

What pictures of the two seasons does Keats draw in ‘The Poetry of Earth? How are the two pictures related?

Identify the voices of poetry in the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’. How does Keats establish continuity through these voices?

Why does the poet choose the sonnet form for this poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’? Give reasons.