Keats’s “Ode to Autumn” can be seen as an extended metaphor for the cycle of life. In this cycle, autumn can be considered one stage of life—the stage of maturation and growth. Keats seems to be celebrating the point in the life cycle when the buds that formed in spring have attained a state of ripeness. He uses images such as ripened fruits ("mellow fruitfulness"), flowers in bloom (“later flowers”), and matured creatures (“full-grown lambs”) to further develop and emphasize this theme of growth and maturation.
Explanation:
Keats’s “Ode to Autumn” can be seen as an extended metaphor for the cycle of life. In this cycle, autumn can be considered one stage of life—the stage of maturation and growth. Keats seems to be celebrating the point in the life cycle when the buds that formed in spring have attained a state of ripeness. He uses images such as ripened fruits ("mellow fruitfulness"), flowers in bloom (“later flowers”), and matured creatures (“full-grown lambs”) to further develop and emphasize this theme of growth and maturation.
