IT Lesson 1: Figurative Language
Author: Mattheus,MrCarLover1A133 // Category:
A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
Blue - Hyperbole:
The hyperbole here is used in the form of "Oh, ...." and so on. The author uses it to describe the passion he feels for spring, and makes it sound like he is praying for the ability to be able to find pleasure in spring.
Red - Personification:
"And off a blossom in mid air stands still." The "meteor" standing still, takes after a human action. However, the true meaning to it is actually that the "meteor" stops moving.
Green - Metaphor:
"The meteor that thrusts in with its needle bill... "in this case, the meteor is the bird which is flying quickly through the air. The needle bill is, of course, its beak.
Purple - Simile:
The simile here is used by the author to describe the contrasting appearances of the orchard in light and darkness. "Like nothing else by day..." explains that the orchards are hardly noticed in the day due to their plain colour, however, turning extremely visible in the night due to their colour contrast with the dark: "like ghosts by night... "
Question 2:
I like this piece of poetry as the author describes the activity going on during spring in a very professional way, as if he is very close and familiar with the season. Perhaps it is because I have never experienced true spring in my country, and this poem reveals, in a detailed manner, how spring is like to its readers. Another reason is because I prefer poems which have rhyming ending words. And this poem fulfills this criteria.
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
Blue - Hyperbole:
The hyperbole here is used in the form of "Oh, ...." and so on. The author uses it to describe the passion he feels for spring, and makes it sound like he is praying for the ability to be able to find pleasure in spring.
Red - Personification:
"And off a blossom in mid air stands still." The "meteor" standing still, takes after a human action. However, the true meaning to it is actually that the "meteor" stops moving.
Green - Metaphor:
"The meteor that thrusts in with its needle bill... "in this case, the meteor is the bird which is flying quickly through the air. The needle bill is, of course, its beak.
Purple - Simile:
The simile here is used by the author to describe the contrasting appearances of the orchard in light and darkness. "Like nothing else by day..." explains that the orchards are hardly noticed in the day due to their plain colour, however, turning extremely visible in the night due to their colour contrast with the dark: "like ghosts by night... "
Question 2:
I like this piece of poetry as the author describes the activity going on during spring in a very professional way, as if he is very close and familiar with the season. Perhaps it is because I have never experienced true spring in my country, and this poem reveals, in a detailed manner, how spring is like to its readers. Another reason is because I prefer poems which have rhyming ending words. And this poem fulfills this criteria.
I think the word is "personal" and not professional way. Frost could actually commune with nature and that gave him an affinity with the natural world that allowed such a depth of feeling.