【Abstract】In the Romantic Movement in English literature many poems， written by William Wordsworth， John Keats and some of the other poets in the Romantic period， reflect the main features of closeness to nature， spontaneity in thought， value of symbol and experience of imagery. They are not only pleasant to the ear and pregnant to the meaning but also， especially in Keats’ poetry， rich in imagery，， highly sensuous. This paper makes a brief study of the poetic imagery perceived in John Keats’ “To autumn”， leading us to a further and deeper understanding of both the poem and the poet.
　　【Key words】imagery； tactile imagery； visual imagery； auditory imagery
　　1. Keats’ “ To Autumn” and its Poetic Imagery
　　1.1 Poetic Imagery and Qualities of “ To Autumn”
　　“ To Autumn” is considered as Keats’ finest nature poem by many readers， which is typical of his writing in terms of imagery as well as some of the main qualities.
　　To Autumn Imagery and figures of speech
　　1
　　Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness，
　　— all senses， ‘ mists and mellow… of the maturing’，
　　Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun；
　　— alliteration； personification；
　　Conspiring with him how to load and bless
　　With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run；
　　— sight； ‘ the …that…the…thatch’， alliteration；
　　To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees，
　　— sight
　　And fill and fruit with ripeness to the core；
　　— sight； taste； ‘fill and fruit’， alliteration；
　　To swell the gourd， and plump the hazel shells
　　With a sweet kernel’ to set budding more，
　　— taste；
　　And still more， later flowers for the bees，
　　— sound ； scent
　　Until they think warm days will never cease，
　　Fore summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
　　— touch
　　2
　　Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store？
　　— sight
　　Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
　　Thee sitting careless on a granary floor，
　　— sight； personification；
　　Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind；
　　— a thresher（per）； ‘winnowing wind’（alli.）；
　　Or on a half-reap’d fume sound asleep，
　　Drows’d with the fume of poppies， while thy hook
　　— scent；
　　Spare the next swath and all its twined flowers：
　　— a reaper（ per）； ‘ Spare …swath’ （alli）；
　　And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
　　— a gleaner（per）；