The Oven Bird- Robert Frost

There is a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
He says the early petal-fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make of a diminished thing.

First Instinct

          After reading through the poem once, I have come to the conclusion that the poem is about a bird. Also the poem is written through the eyes of the bird. Throughout the poem, the birds talks about the different seasons. The bird mentions specific events that occur in each season that he lives through. The poem begins in the mid- summer and end in the winter. Finally, the poem begins in a happy tone however, it ends a depressed tone.

Paraphrasing

Everybody has heard this singer,
Loud, summer and wood bird,
Who has the ability to make a solid tree have sound.
Says the leave are old and flowers are new
Summer is to spring as one to ten.
The bird says the petal-falling is past
When pears and cherry blooms fall like showers
On sunny days a moment is cloudy;
And then comes the next season, fall.
He says the pollen is over all.
The bird would stop and be like other birds
But that he knows it is not time to sing.
The question that he surrounds in everything but words
Is what to make of lessened thing.

SWIFTT

Syntax/Word: Throughout the poem, Frost uses specific phrases that have to do with nature. The phrase “When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers” is used to describe how the petals are falling off the trees. This is significant because a shower is another word for rain; rain is part of nature. The lengthy sentences function as a way for the author to include specific details about each season the bird goes through. Also the sentence structure goes from long details sentences to short and to the point sentences. This could support the author’s purpose in representing the seasons. For example, summer is long and plenty of events occur during this time period. While the winter seems short and nothing occurs because everything is dead around the bird.

Imagery: throughout the poem, Frost uses seasonal imagery to keep the reader’s attention and support his purpose in writing the poem. The image of a mid-wood bird depicts a picture of a woodpecker because the readers envision a bird that is also half way up the tree making it seem like it has sound. This is significant because the whole poem is seen through the eyes of this specific bird. Another image is cherry blooms falling like showers depicts a sense of all the leaves fall at once like a shower because the readers envision a shower of cherry blooms falling. This is significant because in the poem is represents that time period before summer turns into fall. The final image in the poem is of highway dust all over, which depicts a picture of dust and pollen being everywhere that the bird looks. This is important because during falling, all the leaves are falling causes the pollen to travel through the air and be all over everything.

Figurative: In the poem, the bird is personified as possessing the human characteristic of knowledge. The author employs personification in order to all the readers to understand that bird has knowledge and understanding of the different seasons and what occurs in each season. Another form of figurative language that is used in the poems is metaphors. The subject of summer and spring is compared to a scale of one to ten. This fitting because according to the bird summer is extremely better than spring. The final example of a metaphor is the poem is when the cherry blooms falling compared to a shower. This is fitting because cheery blooms falling and showers share these characteristics: everything falls at once and while everything is falling they all fall at the same time. This is significant because it allows the readers to understand the point Frost is trying to make about the cherry blooms fall.

Tone: Once the readers have fully analyzed the poem by Frost, individuals can conclude that the tone of the poem is insightful. There is an insightful tone about the poem for plenty of reasons. First reason is that bird is aware of the events that are occurring around him. Second reason is that the bird is observant. As he continues to describe what is going on around him, he also realizes that time is passing by and changing.

Theme: The theme of poem that Frost was trying accomplish was the life is too short. Another aspect of the theme could be that since life is too short, always recognize the time passing you by and the events that are occurring around you.

Conclusion

After closely analyzing the poem “The Oven Bird” by Frost, I can conclude that my first reaction is similar to the actual meaning of the poem. The poem is actually written through the eyes of a wood pecker. One reaction that the got after closely analyzing the poem was that poem’s purpose was to teach the reader that life is too  short to being waiting around for something to happen. For example, the bird is constantly waiting for summer to arrive but once it does it goes by quickly. According to the bird it is important to make every moment count.