The English poet, John Keats wrote the poem On the Grasshopper and the Cricket as a response to a challenge by his good friend Leigh Hunt. John Keat was a pantheist who died at a young age of 25. During such a short period of life he composed astonishing amount of powerful poetry. This particular Petrarchan sonnet "On the Grasshopper and the cricket" was written whenhe was 21.
The speaker of this poem appreciates the poetry of nature in it's finest detail. The speaker's tone of admiration and the softness seems to emanate from the poem.
The poem has a cyclic nature overall. The themes are of the cyclic way in which nature evolves every year. By giving the poem cyclic themes it shows that wether rain or shine,hot or cold, the poetry persists. The nature's persisting due to it's persistance itself becomes the star of the poetry, without considering the insects. Though by capitalizing letters of their name Keats confirms the Grasshopper's and the Crickets authority within the poem.
The Cricket is also an appreciator of warmth. Though the nocturnal insect is referred in the "winter evenings", its appreciation is "never ceasing" which becomes the Volta. In an impossible to enjoy environment, one can still have poetry by making itself.
The first line "The poetry of earth is never dead" and the altered-Volta "The poetry of earthis ceasing never" show both poetry will be just as good. Even though the poetic energies appear to be dead, they're not.
The alliteration "new-mown mead" also has assonance in it. It helps create a calm and contemplated mood. It is contrasted with "wrought" and "frost" which emphasize a chilling sensation.
The poetry's rhyme scheme a,b,b,a a,b,b,a c,d,e c,d,e is a caudated form of sonnet developed by John Milton. This particular format eliminates the "sing-song" feel, which might detract from the subject.
The meter of the poem is virtually non-existent at times. Perhaps, this is a mechanism for the reader to feel a sense of enjoyment with words.
The Grasshopper and the Cricket are compared in the poem in which neither is superior.The Cricket enjoys the winter as much as the Grasshopper enjoys the summer.
