John keats

Background of John Keats

 Born in England in 1795 and died of tuberculosis

when he was 25 but he had written lots of poetry at
that age.
 During his time his poems were not appreciated by
the critics
 The poem is a clear allusion to the tale of the ant and
the grasshopper and is in the Petrarchan form with an
octave and a sestet.
Background of keats

 The poem was written in response to a sort of

competition between himself and his great
friend Leigh Hunt as to who could write the
best verse in the shortest time.
 It is a parallel to Aesop’s fable “The ant and
the grasshopper”.
The ant and the grasshopper
 In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about,
chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing
along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
 "Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of
toiling and moiling in that way?"
 "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and
recommend you to do the same."
 "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got
plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and
continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no
food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants
distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had
collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
 It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
On the Grasshopper and the Cricket
By John Keats
 The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
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,-he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
 Stanza 1
 The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;

Stanza 1 establishes the setting

for the poem, it’s summer and
everything is very much alive.
The grasshopper is enjoying
himself.
 Stanza 2
 That is the Grasshopper's-he takes the lead
In summer luxury,-he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

Part 2 introduces the grasshopper and

establishes an easy going mood
 Stanza 3
 The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there
shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

Nature is shown in its full force

Morale

 Through the grasshopper and the cricket John

Keats shows the repercussions of ones actions
 It also teaches that nature is a force which one
must take into account and never take it
lightly.
 Throughout the poem nature can be seen to be
compared to God.
Themes

 The eternity of nature parallels that of the

everlasting effect of poetry.
 The poetry and beauty of nature
 Reward and punishment
Essay Questions

 Which parts of The Flower Fed Buffaloes and

the Grasshopper and the Cricket are
particularly vivid for you in their portrayal of
Nature?
 Essay plan: Point, Proof, pertinence