On the Grasshopper and the Cricket

📝 Poem: On the Grasshopper and the Cricket

Poet: John Keats
Published: December 1816

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🌟 Central Theme

• The poem celebrates the everlasting beauty of nature, especially in the form of its music.

• Even when seasons change and nature seems silent (like in winter), its song continues through the grasshopper and the cricket.

• Nature’s poetry never dies — it simply changes voice.

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🧠 Line-by-Line Explanation

Lines 1–8 (Summer: The Grasshopper)

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 never dead”: Nature’s music never stops.

• During hot summer, birds become tired and go quiet.

• But the grasshopper continues the music by chirping from bushes near freshly cut grass.

• The grasshopper leads the music of summer and enjoys it so much he only rests when he’s tired, under a shady weed.

Lines 9–14 (Winter: The Cricket)

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.

• Even in cold winter, nature’s music continues — “ceasing never”.

• On a quiet, frosty evening, the cricket sings near the warm stove.

• Its song grows louder as it gets warmer.

• A sleepy person might imagine it’s the grasshopper’s voice from a summer field, showing the connection between seasons through sound.

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✨ Poetic Devices

1. Personification

   • Nature is said to have its own “poetry” or voice.

   • The grasshopper and cricket are given human-like qualities — they “take the lead”, “sing”, and “delight”.

2. Alliteration

   • “Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills”

3. Imagery

   • Vivid nature scenes: “new-mown mead” (fresh grass field), “lone winter evening”, “beneath some pleasant weed”

   • Appeals to sight, sound, and feeling.

4. Symbolism

   • Grasshopper = voice of summer and joy

   • Cricket = voice of winter and endurance

   • Together, they symbolize the unbroken song of nature.

5. Enjambment

   • Sentences continue across multiple lines without a full stop.

   • This creates a smooth and natural flow — like a continuous song.

6. Contrast

   • Summer vs. Winter

   • Hot vs. Cold

   • Daylight vs. Night

   • This contrast shows that nature’s music continues in all times.

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🔠 Form and Structure

• The poem is a sonnet (14 lines), written in Petrarchan/Italian form.

• It is divided into:

  • Octave (first 8 lines) – about the grasshopper (summer)

  • Sestet (last 6 lines) – about the cricket (winter)

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🎵 Rhyme Scheme

• ABBA ABBA CDCDEE

This rhyme scheme gives the poem a smooth and musical quality, supporting the theme of continuous music.

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🎼 Meter (Rhythm)

• The poem is written in iambic pentameter:

  • Each line has 10 syllables, with 5 pairs of unstressed + stressed beats (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM)

Example:

The po / e try / of earth / is ne / ver dead

This gives the poem a calm and steady rhythm, like the natural flow of music.

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💬 Tone and Mood

• Tone: Celebratory, calm, appreciative of nature

• Mood: Peaceful, hopeful, reflective

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📚 Themes

• Nature’s Eternal Voice: Nature always sings, no matter the season.

• Seasons and Change: Different voices represent different times — yet the song continues.

• Comfort in Nature: Even in the silence of winter, nature provides warmth and music.

• Beauty in Small Creatures: The poem honors even the tiny grasshopper and cricket as symbols of nature’s poetry.

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📌 Summary

• John Keats’ On the Grasshopper and the Cricket is a beautiful nature sonnet that shows how the music of nature never stops.

• In summer, the grasshopper sings joyfully.

• In winter, the cricket carries the tune.

• Together, they show that the earth’s poetry is eternal, present in all seasons and times.

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