An Old Man's Winter Night by Robert Frost

An Old Man's Winter Night by Robert Frost

1. Title- gives the reader an establishing point to predict what the poem may be about

   • Suggests that the poem might be about an old man enjoying a cozy winter night
   • Through out the poem Frost contradicts ones initial expectations about the poem, he turns it into a haunting narrative

2. Summary

   • Tells the story of an old man slowly dying alone during what is described to be a harsh winter night. As the poem goes on we find out that the old man has forgotten who he is, which is the source of his fear. He then is awaken by the sound of a shifting log, after which he drifts off into a much deeper slumber -death.

3. Structure

   • Does not have a traditional rhyme scheme, it follows a narrative style of writing-affective in story telling.

4. Techniques

   • Affective forms of alliteration (doors/darkly, beating/box, separate/stars, etc.), imagery (the lamed tilted near them in his hand.), and personification (All out of doors looked darkly in at him) - all of these techniques Frost uses in his poem help the reader better visualize the idea that he is trying to convey.

5. Tone

   • The speaker in the poem helps reinforce the isolation that the old man struggles with, a loss of memory of he once was, no recollection of thought of where he is and why he is there.

6. Isolation

   • Even though the old man is faced with complete isolation, physically and mentally, he continuous to fight by "clomping" to scare away the fears that surround him-not remembering precisely what he is scared of in the cellar or outside in the night. The sense of loneliness and fear is intensified by the noises all around him-the cracking of the branches, the roar of the trees, etc. However, the old man remains silent throughout the poem. Frost choice to keep the man silent and not giving him a voice, it gives the reader the same isolation that the old man is experiencing.