Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Intrinsic Elements Analysis: Diction and Imagery of "October" by Robert Frost
Intrinsic
Elements Analysis:
Diction
and Imagery in Robert Frost “October”
by Annisa Rahmi Pratiwi
Abstract
In
this presentation the author tried to analyze “October” by Robert Frost. The
purpose of this writing is to analyze the intrinsic elements of the poem. The
intrinsic elements of the poem that will be discussed further are its diction
and imagery. Theories that used are textual, contextual, and hypertextual by
close reading method.
Keywords: diction, imagery, Robert Frost
1.
Introduction
October
by Robert Frost is a poem about
the autumn in October. The narrator tells about the beauty of the fall or
autumn in October that will change into winter soon. The narrator did not want
October pass quickly. He wanted to enjoy it longer. “October” here is the
symbol of life that had an end and it would come anytime. The ripened leaves
that release from its tree is the symbol of human that will become old and pass
away one by one. The narrator who still wanted to enjoy his life was begging to
“October” to not pass quickly.
2. Methodology
a. To analyze the
usage of diction in the poem.
b. To analyze the
usage imagery in the poem
3.
Research Object
The objects of
research are sorted into a material and formal object.
4. Biography and Poetry
In this section will discuss the
biography of Robert Frost and the Paraphrase.
4.1 Biography of Robert Frost
Robert
Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, where his father, William
Prescott Frost Jr., and his mother, Isabelle Moodie, had moved from
Pennsylvania shortly after marrying.
In
1895, Frost married Elinor Miriam White, whom he’d shared valedictorian honors
with in high school and who was a major inspiration for his poetry until her
death in 1938. The couple moved to England in 1912, after they tried and failed
at farming in New Hampshire.
By
the time Frost returned to the United States in 1915, he had published two
full-length collections, A Boy’s Will (Henry Holt and Company, 1913) and North
of Boston (Henry Holt and Company, 1914), and his reputation was established.
By the 1920s, he was the most celebrated poet in America, and with each new
book—including New Hampshire (Henry Holt and Company, 1923), A Further Range
(Henry Holt and Company, 1936), Steeple Bush (Henry Holt and Company, 1947),
and In the Clearing (Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1962)—his fame and honors
(including four Pulitzer Prizes) increased.
Robert
Frost lived and taught for many years in Massachusetts and Vermont, and died in
Boston on January 29, 1963.
4.2 Poetic Paraphrase
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes' sake along the wall.
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes' sake along the wall.
-Robert Frost (1874-1963)-
This
poem is about the autumn in the October that symbolized a life that has an end.
5. Discussion
Discussion
of “Elements” is merely focus on the aspect of intrinsic elements.
5.1 Diction
Stanza 1 Line
2: Thy leaves have ripened to the fall
This line has
denotation meaning. The author represents the sudden changes in the trees when
autumn comes. In the autumn season, usually the leaves change its color into
reddish or brownish and then they fall.
Stanza 1 Line 3: Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
In this line, there is word “wild” that has connotation
meaning. The word “wild” means uncontrollable. Frost wants to explain about the
strong wind that can blow away the ripened leaves which already fall to the
ground, not an uncontrollable wind that can destroy.
Stanza 1 Line
4: Should waste them all
There are words “waste them all”. The word
“waste” refers to the word “wind” in the line before and the word “them” refers
to the word “leaves” in line 2. “Waste them all” have connotation meaning that
the wind would throw the ripened leaves away; it was not true. Wind cannot
throw away a thing. The wind only blows the ripened leaves away.
Stanza 1 Line 6: Tomorrow they may form and
go
The sentence in line 6 has denotation
meaning. The word “they” refers to the crows in the line before and the words
“may form and go” mean migration. October is in autumn season. Usually, birds
migrate to the warmer places when it comes to autumn or winter season. They
make a formation before migrating and then they go.
Stanza 1 Line 12: Release one leaf at break of
day
In this line,
there are words “at break of day”. “Break of day” has connotation meaning as
morning. The trees release one leaf in the morning. Connect to the line after,
the trees release another leaf at noon.
Stanza 1 Line
16: Enchant
the land with amethyst
The word
“amethyst” has connotation meaning. “Amethyst” means purple. The meaning of the
line before is the sun was still covered with haze. It means the sun began to
rise at dawn so the land was enchanted by the beauty of the purple dawn. So,
“amethyst” here represent the purple dawn.
Stanza 1 Line
20: Whose
clustered fruit must be lost
As for the words “clustered fruit”, it has
denotation meaning as grapes. In the line before, there are words “for the
grapes’ sake”. The words “clustered fruit” refers to grapes.
5.2
Imagery
Stanza 1 Line
2: Thy
leaves have ripened to the fall
This line uses
visual imagery because the reader can visualize the leaves that ripened and change
its color into reddish or brownish in the autumn which can be seen by the
reader’s eyes.
Stanza 1 Line
13: At
noon release another leaf
This line uses
visual imagery. Frost brings the reader to the vision of leaf that release from
its tree at noon.
Stanza 1 Line
5: The
crows above the forest call
This line uses
auditory imagery. From the word “call”, Frost makes the reader hear when the
crows twitter calling the other crows that fly above the forest.
Stanza 1 Line
1: O
hushed October morning mild
The words
“morning mild” here represents tactile imagery. The writer wants the reader to
feel the mild of October morning which is cold but not too cold, with fresh air
and the dew covered the leaves.
Stanza 1 Line
10: Hearts
not averse to being beguiled
This line uses
organic imagery. From the words “being beguiled”, the writer makes the reader
feel such internal sensation of being beguiled by someone or something. Or the
readers also can imagine the feeling of being beguiled.
Stanza 1 Line
6: Tomorrow
they may form and go
This line uses
kinesthetic imagery because “form and go” are movement. According to the line
before, “they” refers to the crows. “Form and go” means migration. To migrate,
the crows need a movement from their wings.
6. Conclusion
October by Robert
Frost is a poem about the autumn in October. The narrator tells about the
beauty of the fall or autumn in October that will change into winter soon. The
narrator did not want October pass quickly. He wanted to enjoy it longer.
“October” here is the symbol of life that had an end and it would come anytime.
The ripened leaves that release from its tree is the symbol of human that will
become old and pass away one by one. The narrator who still wanted to enjoy his
life was begging to “October” to not pass quickly.
As for literary element, Robert Frost uses
imagery and diction, including connotation and denotation to explain more about
“October” that he does not want to pass. He uses October to represent his life
that he wants to last longer. Frost also uses imagery in his poem so that the
reader can feely imagine the situation he wrote in the poem. Frost uses five
kinds of imagery; they are visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic and organic.
References:
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