On John Keats' "To Autumn"

1. How old was John Keats when he died? How old was John Keats when he coughed up a spot of blood that convinced him he would die soon? How old was John Keats when he wrote "To Autumn"?
2. What does the phrase "maturing sun" mean? Is the sun rising? Setting?
3. In line 3, who is the "him"? And who is "Conspiring with him"? And what are the connotations of the word "Conspiring"?
4. What does a "thatch-eve" look like?
5. What does a "hazel-shell" look like?
6. What do the bees' "clammy cells" look like?
7. What is the dominant kind of imagery in the first stanza? (Refer to the discussion of the kinds of imagery in the second paragraph of Chapter Four. Also, just because I keep asking what things look like does not necessarily mean that the dominant kind of imagery is visual.)
8. What is the progression of the imagery in the first stanza? (In other words, trace how the images build on one another to create a general impression.)
9. In the second stanza, what meaning of the word "store" is being used?
10. What is a granary?
11. What is winnowing? What does winnowing look like?
12. What's a "hook"?
13. What is a gleaner? What kind of motion is envisioned in the following: "thou dost keep / Steady thy laden head across a brook."
14. What is the dominant kind of imagery in the second stanza?
15. What are "barred clouds"?
16. What are "sallows"?
17. What is a "bourn"?
18. What is a "croft"?
19. Why are the swallows "gathering"?
20. What is the dominant kind of imagery in the third stanza?
21. What time of day is it in the first stanza? The second? The third?
22. What phase of autumn is portrayed in the first stanza? The second? The third?

1. What is your favorite season of the year?
2. What would be the best kind of death?