Analysis
A late walk by Robert Frost
Robert Frost’s “A late walk” is an expressive four stanza piece of poetry that reflects Frost’s yearning for the summer season. In this poem he uses expressive techniques such as similes and metaphors to represent seasons and feelings in a highly effective way. An example of this is in stanza 1 line 3: “Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew”. Also, Robert Frost uses personification to link human feelings to nature. This use of personification helps us create a very visual scene in our head as we can easily relate and understand how nature is similar and representative of our feelings. The strongest example of this technique is in stanza 3
“A tree beside the wall stands bare, But a leaf that lingered brown, Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought, Comes softly rattling down.”
Here we see Robert Frost using the term “a leaf that lingered brown”. He uses this to represent a person who is nearing the end of their life, using the term “Comes softly rattling down” creates a euphemism and hides the link between death and the change of seasons in a subtle manner.
Finally, Robert Frost uses alliteration to place an emphasis on the phrase “withered weeds” in stanza 2 line 3. This grabs our attention and makes us think about the implications of this language, this is another example of how he places human emotion into a natural landscape. With the illustration of withering weeds we are able to conclude that the human life that it is representing has passed its time of prosperity where it bore fruit and has now proceeded into the final stage of life.
Robert Frost’s “A late walk” is an expressive four stanza piece of poetry that reflects Frost’s yearning for the summer season. In this poem he uses expressive techniques such as similes and metaphors to represent seasons and feelings in a highly effective way. An example of this is in stanza 1 line 3: “Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew”. Also, Robert Frost uses personification to link human feelings to nature. This use of personification helps us create a very visual scene in our head as we can easily relate and understand how nature is similar and representative of our feelings. The strongest example of this technique is in stanza 3
“A tree beside the wall stands bare, But a leaf that lingered brown, Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought, Comes softly rattling down.”
Here we see Robert Frost using the term “a leaf that lingered brown”. He uses this to represent a person who is nearing the end of their life, using the term “Comes softly rattling down” creates a euphemism and hides the link between death and the change of seasons in a subtle manner.
Finally, Robert Frost uses alliteration to place an emphasis on the phrase “withered weeds” in stanza 2 line 3. This grabs our attention and makes us think about the implications of this language, this is another example of how he places human emotion into a natural landscape. With the illustration of withering weeds we are able to conclude that the human life that it is representing has passed its time of prosperity where it bore fruit and has now proceeded into the final stage of life.