Critical Reading Analysis on Robert Frost's A Late Walk

A Late Walk
Robert Frost

When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

I.Understanding the Elements
1. Give atleast 3 elements of poetry used by the poet and explain how this elements contribute into understanding the poem.
    a. Rhyming structure :ABCB. Rhyming structures are basically toola used for utilizing repeating patterns that brings rhythm or musicality in poem  and gives a specific purpose of rendering a pleasing effect to a poem which makes its recital an enjoyable experience.
    b.Imagery. The Imagery shown upon the poem suggests that the time of year is in autumn; “mowing” can refer to using a lawnmower, but it also refers to the fallen tips of grass blades that we now associate with using a lawnmower. “The headless aftermath” helps to confirm this; we can imagine a field that has been freshly harvested, the last grains taken from the field before winter comes to wither it all away. The path is half-blocked, the narrator notes, in an increasingly imagery-based style that completes the autumn image.
    c. Symbolism. (...blue aster flower)
Blue aster flower here is a sign of life; a faded blue daisy (as an “aster” is part of that family of plant), a final sign of beauty, the last flower that can be picked and kept as a treasure to be given to an anonymous individual — a lover.
2. Give 2 symbols used in the poem and explain why those symbols are being used for an analogy.

     a. Autumn season --"sober birds" ;the leaf that "Comes softly rattling down."
These are the things that are noticeable in this season and it seems so melancholic which is the feeling that was being highlighted in the piece.

     b. Love -- in the "faded blue of the aster", a flower that will signify life and renewal as the speaker returns to his love.  In the midst of death, there is yet life.  And, in human relationships, there is a like theme of renewal of love from the solitary, faded aster, the unconquerable spirit.

II. Analysis
Write a critical analysis based on your understanding of the literary type given. Use 350 words.

      A Late Walk is a poem that is about sadness, about finality, and about ephemeral inevitability.The narrator in the poem is certainly isolated and sad. He is spending time in a dying garden, searching for the last small bits of life before he'll be gone forever.

For most, autumn walks are nothing more than a pleasant — albeit less pleasant than in the summer — pastime. For the narrator of A Late Walk, they are commentaries on the fragility of life and the deep sadness that precedes a harsh winter.

The person taking A Late Walk is going through a field that has been harvested of its crop, so all that remains is the stubble that appears headless since its grain has been cut off. The remains lie smooth and thick, covering the path to the garden that is the speaker's destination.

Upon reaching the garden, the speaker disturbs a flock of birds that had been in and amongst the dried weeds in the garden. The last brown leaf falls from a tree near the entrance to the garden as the speaker passes by.

By focusing his setting on the transition from Autumn into Winter, Frost is able to make each line in his work about decay or unhappiness in some way, shape, or form. If I was to settle on one singular theme that informs the entire poem, I would probably say something to the effect of “endings are inevitable, but until we ourselves end, we must be able to endure them.” The narrator of the poem spends much of the work describing the various forms of death and decay that surround them, while subtly emphasizing that they themselves are still there, and still alive to witness it.

Taking the historic context of A Late Walk into consideration, it is easy to simply imagine Frost standing in a garden, or a forested area late in autumn, and watching the world as it dies once again, before returning home and writing down what he’d seen and felt — and discovering what what he felt “is sadder than any words.”

The aster flower has long been a symbol of love; however, the "last remaining aster flower" found by the speaker is "faded blue." The speaker picks the flower "to carry again to you" - this ritual has been carried out before. The entire poem is filled with symbols of death and dying. Could the speaker be preparing to carry that last flower to the grave of his/her beloved?

Whatever the case may have been for Robert Frost, the impression of his feeling is preserved well in A Late Walk. The poem is a strong analysis on an observation that many feel at some point in their life — when the days are short, the winds are cold, and the isolation felt, it can be difficult to describe, or even relate. At times like those, the poetry of Robert Frost can be a comfort, a kind sense of understanding so well-preserved and well-explained, even a full century later.