"The Human Seasons" by John Keats.

This sonnet is an attempt by Keats to link the natural life cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth to the four seasons and from there to the nature of human existence. Taken literally, the poem is essentially a very eloquent description of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, applied to the "mind of man" or the human demeanor. If interpreted in a more metaphorical sense, the poem takes on a distinctly …

…man did not have his "Winter too of pale misfeature," the he would "forego his mortal nature". Thus Keats touches on a natural law. If man forgets his "Winter", his mortal nature then he will also forget the other "seasons" and will not experience the vigor and exuberance of Spring, the success and contemplation of summer or the contented idleness of Autumn. To truly be alive, man must experience all four of "The Human Seasons"