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On the grasshopper and cricket - John Keats
Summery:
The poem ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’ is a Petrarchan
Sonnet Keats uses to celebrate the beauty of nature. He
The poetry of earth is never dead: pays particular attention to the grasshopper and the cricket
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun by praising them for producing the music of nature. The
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run octave focuses on the grasshopper as an agent of summer
while the sestet looks into the role played by the cricket.
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
Both these insects survive the harshest weather to fly
That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead 5 around producing their buzzing sounds. Both the octave and
In summer luxury, - he has never done the sestet open with a declaration that poetry of the earth is
With his delights; for when tired out with fun not dead.
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never: TITLE:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost 10
The ‘On’ in the title tells us that this poem will be about a
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills grasshopper and a cricket.
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, Although these are two seemingly unimportant insects, they
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, contain within their song, the never-ending poetry of the world.
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills. There is never a time when the world is without beauty or song.
@Juffrou_Ansie
, 2
Line 1 With this sonnet, the speaker celebrates the continuous beauty of
By poetry of earth, the speaker refers to the sounds made by nature (i.e. nature. As a Romantic poet, Keats praises nature and its capacity to
vegetation and creatures). These sounds are always alive. Even in the most bring joy to people. He believes that love and nature are
terrible weather they do not die. The first line is metaphoric. Imagery ‘The interconnected. He feels that nature offers love and joy, and so
Poetry of earth’ (Line 1) Nature makes sounds. So, the earth is made up of humans must be receptive of that.
different sounds. These sounds come from calls of the birds and the buzz
of insects. These sounds are the voice of the earth, which is represented Octave (the first 8 lines)
as the poetry of the earth. The poetry of earth is never dead: a
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, b
The poetry of earth is never dead: And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run b
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; a
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run That is the Grasshopper’s — he takes the lead a
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead 5 In summer luxury,— he has never done b
In summer luxury, - he has never done With his delights; for when tired out with fun b
With his delights; for when tired out with fun He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. A
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost 10 Lines 1-8
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills In summer, when the sun is too hot, the birds find it difficult to keep
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, their routine (line 2) and will find comfort in shelter of the trees (line
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, 3). The grasshopper flies from one place to another (lines 3-4) and
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
one continuously hears a buzzing sound from all over the meadow
TYPE AND STRCTURE: (line 4). The grasshopper will not stop singing. When the
grasshopper is satisfied (‘when tired out with fun’), he rests at ease
• The poem is written in the form of an Italian or a
under the weeds.
Petrarchan sonnet, so it consists of 14 lines.
• It is divided into and octave of eight line, and a sestet of
six lines.
• The rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdecde.
• It is written in iambic pentameter.
• The octave presents the main idea of the poem, and the
sestet acts as a conclusion to and an elaboration on the
idea presented in the octave.
@Juffrou_Ansie
On the grasshopper and cricket - John Keats
Summery:
The poem ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’ is a Petrarchan
Sonnet Keats uses to celebrate the beauty of nature. He
The poetry of earth is never dead: pays particular attention to the grasshopper and the cricket
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun by praising them for producing the music of nature. The
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run octave focuses on the grasshopper as an agent of summer
while the sestet looks into the role played by the cricket.
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
Both these insects survive the harshest weather to fly
That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead 5 around producing their buzzing sounds. Both the octave and
In summer luxury, - he has never done the sestet open with a declaration that poetry of the earth is
With his delights; for when tired out with fun not dead.
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never: TITLE:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost 10
The ‘On’ in the title tells us that this poem will be about a
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills grasshopper and a cricket.
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, Although these are two seemingly unimportant insects, they
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, contain within their song, the never-ending poetry of the world.
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills. There is never a time when the world is without beauty or song.
@Juffrou_Ansie
, 2
Line 1 With this sonnet, the speaker celebrates the continuous beauty of
By poetry of earth, the speaker refers to the sounds made by nature (i.e. nature. As a Romantic poet, Keats praises nature and its capacity to
vegetation and creatures). These sounds are always alive. Even in the most bring joy to people. He believes that love and nature are
terrible weather they do not die. The first line is metaphoric. Imagery ‘The interconnected. He feels that nature offers love and joy, and so
Poetry of earth’ (Line 1) Nature makes sounds. So, the earth is made up of humans must be receptive of that.
different sounds. These sounds come from calls of the birds and the buzz
of insects. These sounds are the voice of the earth, which is represented Octave (the first 8 lines)
as the poetry of the earth. The poetry of earth is never dead: a
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, b
The poetry of earth is never dead: And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run b
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; a
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run That is the Grasshopper’s — he takes the lead a
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead 5 In summer luxury,— he has never done b
In summer luxury, - he has never done With his delights; for when tired out with fun b
With his delights; for when tired out with fun He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. A
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost 10 Lines 1-8
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills In summer, when the sun is too hot, the birds find it difficult to keep
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, their routine (line 2) and will find comfort in shelter of the trees (line
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, 3). The grasshopper flies from one place to another (lines 3-4) and
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
one continuously hears a buzzing sound from all over the meadow
TYPE AND STRCTURE: (line 4). The grasshopper will not stop singing. When the
grasshopper is satisfied (‘when tired out with fun’), he rests at ease
• The poem is written in the form of an Italian or a
under the weeds.
Petrarchan sonnet, so it consists of 14 lines.
• It is divided into and octave of eight line, and a sestet of
six lines.
• The rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdecde.
• It is written in iambic pentameter.
• The octave presents the main idea of the poem, and the
sestet acts as a conclusion to and an elaboration on the
idea presented in the octave.
@Juffrou_Ansie
