One by the Pacific
Robert Frost
Jaden Hendzel
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last Put out the Light was spoken.
Simile
"Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes" (6)
The locks of "hair" blowing give a clear indication of the violent winds produced from the storm. The author slowly begins to bring this poem into a dark, sorrowful side.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff, (7&8)
The "lucky shore" being backed by a cliff tells how the cliff is a support system for the shore. The violent waves crash against the cliff and give an even greater smash of water.
It looked as if a night of dark intent Was coming, and not only a night, an age. (10&11)
The dark of the night did not have a promising future, it seems as if the night will consume an age.
Rhyme
The shattered water made a misty "din". Great waves looked over others coming "in," (1&2)
The misty din and the great waves looking over others coming in, are prominent and stand out in the piece because of rhyming. You get a sense of importance from these words and they give you a clear mental picture of the shore.
The cliff in being backed by "continent"; It looked as if a night of dark "intent"
The darkness of the night is represented by dark rhyming words such as continent and intent. These words sound intense and deep, giving a sense of importance to these lines, relating back to the topic of an endless storm or sadness.
There would be more than ocean-water "broken" Before God's last Put out the Light was "spoken" (13&14)
The words broken and spoken summarize this poem and conclude well. The word broken is very intense and deep, hurtful even. The word spoken concludes with the last spoken line of the poem. This gives the aspect of sorrow and broken, like the author while writing this poem.
Imagery
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies, (5)
The clouds were not actually hairy, but the word gives you an idea of what they looked like. Summer clouds spread and blowing look almost fur like and allow you to create a clear mental picture of what the author is describing.
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes, (6)
The author is describing the violent winds and what they would do to a persons hair if they were to walk by through the arising storm. These words create a mental atmosphere and allow assumptions to be made.
Was coming, and not only a night, an age. (11)
This line takes a little more thought to process, when describing the night. Not only a night, an age, tells just how dark and mysterious the night sky appeared. The night looked as if it were to be endless or "an age." This allows a dark, gloomy, scary night to be created in the readers mind.
Translation
Jaden Hendzel