Intrinsic elements analysis: Diction and Imagery of October by Robert Frost

This presentation is for I-Learning for Literature

1. Intrinsic Elements Analysis: Diction and Imagery i n October by Robert Frost By: Annisa Rahmi Pratiwi

2. 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.

3. 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 . Methodology a .       To analyze the usage of diction in the poem. b .      To analyze the usage imagery in the poem Research Object The objects of research are sorted into a material and formal object.

4. Biography of the Poet 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.

5. The Poem 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.

6. Diction Denotation Denotation is the dictionary meaning or meanings of the word . (Sound and Sense, 38) Connotation Connotations are what it suggest beyond what it is expresses: its overtones of meaning. (Sound and Sense, 38)

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Imagery According to X. J. Kennedy in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1979: 464) “a word or sequence of words that refers to any sensory experience.” Imagery may be defined as the representation through language of sense experience. (Sound and Sense, 54)

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. References Perrine , Laurence. 1969. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry . Atlanta: Harcourt , Brace 7 World, Inc . Holt , Henry and Company. 1949. Complete Poems of Robert Frost . New York . Abrams , M. H. 1962. The Norton Anthology of English Literature . New York: W.W. Norton & Company . Thrall , William Flint and Addison. 1960. A Handbook to Literature . The Odyssey Press . Kennedy , X. J. 1966. LITERATURE, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/robert-frost (accessed on January, 2 nd 2016 ) http :// www.enotes.com/homework-help/please-explain-poem-october-by-robert-frost-289277 (accessed on January, 2 nd 2016 ) https://quizlet.com/368838/types-of-imagery-flash-cards/ (accessed on January, 2 nd 2016)