IB English
December 5th, 2012
December 5th, 2012
Commentary on "A late walk"
The poem “A late Walk” by Robert Frost consists of four
stanzas with each four lines, a structure which alludes to that there are four
seasons of the year; consequently, there are different stages throughout the
year – but not only there, also throughout life. The meter of the poem is very
noticeable: It varies from iambic lines to dactylic ones, hence creating a
rhythmic tempo for the reader.
In the first stanza, the narrator walks through a “mowing field” (line 1) and watches “the headless aftermath” (line 2), describing the garden that is obviously impacted by a heavy autumn. This impact becomes even more clear in the next stanzas: In the second one, the narrator hears “the whir” (line 6) of birds that is “sadder than any words” (line 8): The birds express their sadness although it is not clearly stated about what. In the third stanza, the narrator sees a bald tree with one brown leaf coming down at last. Lastly, in the fourth stanza, the narrator picks “the last remaining aster flower” and reveals that he wants to give it to “you”, addressing the lyrical “you”.
Frost uses a lot of imagery to enable the reader to be fully in the situation. It is possible to identify oneself with the narrator or to imagine one is walking like him through the garden and seeing what he sees. Imagery is found in line 3, the whole second stanza, lines 9-10 and 12, and line 14-16. Frost uses different ways to emphasize the nakedness and emptiness that is brought along with autumn. For example in line 9 he uses unusual syntax; instead of saying “a tree stands bare beside the wall” he says “a tree beside the wall stands bare” which emphasizes the bareness of the tree. Another way he creates emphasis is through the organization of the stanzas: Some lines are emphasized in particular by writing them solely in one line, such as line 2 (“the headless aftermath”), line 8 (“is sadder than any words”), line 12 (“comes softly rattling down”) and line 16 (“to carry again to you”). By isolating them, Frost adds a tragic, dramatic mood to these particular lines.
The poem can be interpreted as that the narrator has come to knowledge of a death and now walks through the present world with this depressing reality in mind. Maybe he takes a walk to ponder on this reality, processing the loss. The metaphor “headless aftermath” supports this interpretation as the narrator is looking on what has happened since the death. The fact that the poem describes an autumn setting hints on his struggle to accept or realize the death, because autumn is the transition between summer (representing joy, warmth, life, and positivity) and winter (coldness, emptiness, unhappiness, lifelessness). Although the narrator himself does not want to believe it, he has to accept the truth, which can be interpreted from lines 10 – 13: “A leaf that lingered brown (...) comes softly rattling down.” The leaf represents the death in this case, and it has fallen from a tree that is bleak or almost bleak already. Since the leaf is brown, it is dead; unlike the tree that is its origin, it will not revive again in spring; it will remain dead. The narrator assumes that he has caused the leaf to fall: “Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought” (line 11) so it can be interpreted that he feels guilty of the death of the person. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that this guilt is just a natural human guilt that everybody who is related to a dead person or victim of some kind experiences; it is quite usual that one searches for his or her own partial responsibility towards the problem or death and assumes that he or she might have contributed to it. The birds in the second stanza share the narrator’s depression: The noises their make sound sad in the ears of the narrator. Despite all of the sadness, the narrator finds a sign for hope on his way: “The last remaining aster flower” (line 15), although colored blue which suggests sadness again, could stand for life. Although everything around the narrator is dead in autumn, turns to an end and transitions into winter, he finds one single flower left alive. He picks it and wants to carry it “again to you”, probably addressing his loved one. From this verse it could be interpreted that the person that died was their son or daughter and that the flower should act as a kind of consolation or support.
In the first stanza, the narrator walks through a “mowing field” (line 1) and watches “the headless aftermath” (line 2), describing the garden that is obviously impacted by a heavy autumn. This impact becomes even more clear in the next stanzas: In the second one, the narrator hears “the whir” (line 6) of birds that is “sadder than any words” (line 8): The birds express their sadness although it is not clearly stated about what. In the third stanza, the narrator sees a bald tree with one brown leaf coming down at last. Lastly, in the fourth stanza, the narrator picks “the last remaining aster flower” and reveals that he wants to give it to “you”, addressing the lyrical “you”.
Frost uses a lot of imagery to enable the reader to be fully in the situation. It is possible to identify oneself with the narrator or to imagine one is walking like him through the garden and seeing what he sees. Imagery is found in line 3, the whole second stanza, lines 9-10 and 12, and line 14-16. Frost uses different ways to emphasize the nakedness and emptiness that is brought along with autumn. For example in line 9 he uses unusual syntax; instead of saying “a tree stands bare beside the wall” he says “a tree beside the wall stands bare” which emphasizes the bareness of the tree. Another way he creates emphasis is through the organization of the stanzas: Some lines are emphasized in particular by writing them solely in one line, such as line 2 (“the headless aftermath”), line 8 (“is sadder than any words”), line 12 (“comes softly rattling down”) and line 16 (“to carry again to you”). By isolating them, Frost adds a tragic, dramatic mood to these particular lines.
The poem can be interpreted as that the narrator has come to knowledge of a death and now walks through the present world with this depressing reality in mind. Maybe he takes a walk to ponder on this reality, processing the loss. The metaphor “headless aftermath” supports this interpretation as the narrator is looking on what has happened since the death. The fact that the poem describes an autumn setting hints on his struggle to accept or realize the death, because autumn is the transition between summer (representing joy, warmth, life, and positivity) and winter (coldness, emptiness, unhappiness, lifelessness). Although the narrator himself does not want to believe it, he has to accept the truth, which can be interpreted from lines 10 – 13: “A leaf that lingered brown (...) comes softly rattling down.” The leaf represents the death in this case, and it has fallen from a tree that is bleak or almost bleak already. Since the leaf is brown, it is dead; unlike the tree that is its origin, it will not revive again in spring; it will remain dead. The narrator assumes that he has caused the leaf to fall: “Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought” (line 11) so it can be interpreted that he feels guilty of the death of the person. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that this guilt is just a natural human guilt that everybody who is related to a dead person or victim of some kind experiences; it is quite usual that one searches for his or her own partial responsibility towards the problem or death and assumes that he or she might have contributed to it. The birds in the second stanza share the narrator’s depression: The noises their make sound sad in the ears of the narrator. Despite all of the sadness, the narrator finds a sign for hope on his way: “The last remaining aster flower” (line 15), although colored blue which suggests sadness again, could stand for life. Although everything around the narrator is dead in autumn, turns to an end and transitions into winter, he finds one single flower left alive. He picks it and wants to carry it “again to you”, probably addressing his loved one. From this verse it could be interpreted that the person that died was their son or daughter and that the flower should act as a kind of consolation or support.
No comments:
Post a Comment