The Full Text of “The Human Seasons”
1Four seasons fill the measure of the year;
2 There are four seasons in the mind of man:
3He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
4 Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
5He has his Summer, when luxuriously
6 Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
7To ruminate, and by such dreaming nigh
8 His nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
9His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
10 He furleth close; contented so to look
11On mists in idleness—to let fair things
12 Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
13He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
14Or else he would forget his mortal nature.
The Full Text of “The Human Seasons”
1Four seasons fill the measure of the year;
2 There are four seasons in the mind of man:
3He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
4 Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
5He has his Summer, when luxuriously
6 Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
7To ruminate, and by such dreaming nigh
8 His nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
9His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
10 He furleth close; contented so to look
11On mists in idleness—to let fair things
12 Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
13He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
14Or else he would forget his mortal nature.
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“The Human Seasons” Introduction
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“The Human Seasons” Summary
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“The Human Seasons” Themes
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The Growth of the Human Mind
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Human Seasons”
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Lines 1-4
Four seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span: -
Lines 5-8
He has his Summer, when luxuriously
Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming nigh
His nearest unto heaven: -
Lines 8-12
quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness—to let fair things
Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook. -
Lines 13-14
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forget his mortal nature.
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“The Human Seasons” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Conceit
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Metaphor
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Simile
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Anaphora
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Alliteration
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“The Human Seasons” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Fill the measure of the year
- Fancy
- An easy span
- Honied cud
- Ruminate
- Nigh / His nearest unto heaven
- Coves
- His wings / He furleth close
- Unheeded
- Threshold brook
- Misfeature
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Human Seasons”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Human Seasons” Speaker
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“The Human Seasons” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Human Seasons”
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More “The Human Seasons” Resources
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External Resources
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Keats's Legacy — Admire a statue recently raised to mark Keats's birthplace in London.
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Portraits of Keats — See some images of Keats at London's National Portrait Gallery.
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The Keats Letters Project — Visit the Keats Letters Project to learn more about Keats's letters—some of the liveliest and most profound correspondence in English literature.
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Mapping Keats's Progress — Visit this website for a comprehensive overview of Keats's miraculously swift poetic development. The site traces the events of Keats's life and records how and when his poems were composed.
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A Brief Biography — Read the Poetry Foundation's short biography of Keats.
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An Appreciation of Keats — Read an article from the Paris Review reflecting on Keats's literary afterlife.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by John Keats
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