To Summer (William Blake)

O thou who passest thro' our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on

Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.

Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.

This ode by William Blake depicts the season as a mighty warrior, traveling through the country on "fierce steeds". With him he brings beauty for the land and joy for the people. The piece is suitable for my theme, "Seasons", as it portrays the arrival of summer as the emergence of happiness and well-being. An obvious literary device throughout the poem is personification, as the season is represented as a hero, blessing the land and its people. Apostrophe is used when the season is addressed directly: "thou, O Summer". Imagery is rampant within the poem, providing specific descriptions: "mossy valleys", "sprightly dance". Repetition is present: "oft" in the first verse; "our" in the third; "nor" at the end.
The coming of summer seems to completely enliven the Earth. Its land becomes rich and its people joyful. As this poem was written two centuries ago, this intense invigoration no longer seems evident today, when the change of seasons doesn't much affect the lives of the general public. With human's development (nurture), the effects of nature become less critical.