Bereft Explication

     Frost opens the poem with a simple rhetorical question, suggesting his questioning of his current position.  The definition of Bereft is deprived which mirrors the narrator in this poem, for he deprived of the one he loves.  He compares his lover to summer and day which “was past” (6). This could also mean that the best times, or his youth is now behind him. The narrator has passed his peak of life and is headed “down hill”. The use of the words “somber” and “sagging” suggests that the narrator is displeased by this; not only is he alone but it’s almost as if he has no hope in finding a lover for he thinks he is too old. This leads to a depressing tone. Frost also alludes to other aspects of nature. The roaring wind echoes his loneliness and grief while the frothy shore is not ideal, as one would like to picture a shoreline.

 The rhyme scheme, AAAAABBACCDDDEDE, is very interesting. It is unconventional yet it flows nicely. In a sense, it mirrors the narrator; although he is upset about his loneliness, life goes on. Although he is alone, Frost uses personification to make it seem as though nature is stays by the narrator’s side. The leaves sound like a snake when he says, “leaves got up in a coil and hissed,/ blindly struck at my knee and missed” (9-10).  Nature is portrayed in a negative light, and the idea of a serpent is emphasized by the repeated “s” sounds. This is negative for perhaps, like King Lear, the narrator blames nature for his misfortune; his old age and loss of his love. The snake is portrayed as “sinister” (11) yet as company none the less. It is however, paradoxed with his belief that god is there for him. Believing in the powers of nature and the powers of god seem contrasting yet Frost puts them hand in hand, balancing each other out.