For this week’s analysis, I would like to do a close reading
on “The Coming Night” by William Nauns Ricks.
Within this short poem I would like to focus on the third
stanza:
1. In turn, the sun more splendid,
2.
Bathes
land and sea in gold;
3.
A thousand
colors blended,
4.
Toward
the hills are rolled.
5.
There
amethyst and violet,
6.
Where
green and brown held sway
7.
With
scarlet, form a triolet
8. To deck the dying day.
Ricks uses this small section to paint
a scene of a beautiful sunset in a transition to night. He does this by utilizing imagery, rhyme, and rhythm,
which work cohesively to tie into the theme of the beauty of nature. While this
may seem like a mere fragment of an already short poem, the combination of
devices are used to show a significant transition between day and night and can
be described as the main event the narrator considers to be worth the walk up
the hill to experience.
In this stanza, the author uses
rhyme and rhythm. The rhyme scheme of which is A, B, A, B, C, D, C, D, and the rhythm
is made by keeping the consecutively paired lines the same number of syllables
(i.e. lines 1&3 have 7 syllables, and lines 6&8 have 6). The rhyme adds
euphony, making it feel tranquil and serene, and the rhythm makes it flow
smoothly, giving it an almost harmonious feel.
The narrator also describes the
scene with colour imagery. He talks of the land and sea turning golden and the
sky becoming a mix of colors. It is that reason that I can tell the narrator is
describing the sunset and that this is the focus of the entire poem. This stanza
was the most detailed as compared to the rest, and it is the final experience
before his trek back down the hill, implying that it is the event he was actually
waiting for.
This seemingly short passage holds a
lot of importance to the narrator. It is the scene he waits for on his trek up
the hill, and with the uses of rhyme, rhythm, and colour imagery, the author highlights
the beauty of nature and its processes.
Works Cited:
Hi April – I really liked reading your analysis. I truly enjoyed the imagery Ricks used to describe the way the setting sun and how it changes the setting of the land with the colors. I agree with your assessment on the stanza you chose as being the main focus of his poem. With just those 8 lines, you can visualize how changes as the sun sets and night is approaching. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi April!
ReplyDeleteReally nice analysis. I can tell you really analyzed this poem and described it very nicely. Everyone obviously views things differently and it's nice to read posts because we all see things in different forms, and I enjoyed reading yours very much.
I actually understood the poem that much more with your analysis. I re-read the poem a couple times and I can see what you mean when you say that narrator is describing the sunset in a variety of colors. I feel like I can picture it now.
Hi April, very unique analysis! I like how you broke down each line of the stanza, it really highlighted your appreciation for the literary devices you chose to talk about. I agree with you about the theme of the poem -- it definitely portrays the beauty of nature. I also like how you pointed out how such a small amount of writing can hold such high importance.
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