To Autumn

John Keats

To Autumn

John Keats
17 pages34-minute read
Fiction
Poem
Adult
Published in 1820

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Autumn is the personified season of harvest, transition, and gradual decay. She works intimately with her companion, the sun, to bring the world to its peak agricultural abundance, filling vines and swelling gourds. Once her labor is complete, she takes time to rest peacefully among her harvested treasures, sitting patiently in granaries or drowsing in poppy-filled fields.

Key Relationships

Close friend of The Sun

Sister of Spring

Provider for The Bees

Supporting Characters

The Sun is a maturing celestial entity and constant companion to Autumn. He actively collaborates with her to ripen the harvest, load the apple trees, and coax the late flowers into blooming. As he ages toward the winter solstice, he slowly begins to lose his heat, fading alongside the season itself.

Key Relationships

Close friend of Autumn

Spring is the sister season to Autumn, representing an earlier part of the year characterized by distinct, lively music. She serves as a point of comparison for Autumn, prompting brief moments of doubt regarding whose seasonal songs possess more beauty.

Key Relationships

Sister of Autumn

The Bees are busy insects who benefit directly from the late-blooming flowers provided by Autumn and the sun. They fill their hive cells to the brim with honey and happily assume the warmth and prosperity of the season will never end.

Key Relationships

Reliant on Autumn