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Analysis and comments on The Onset by Robert Frost

Comment 4 of 4, added on June 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 PM.

"This is necessary. Life feeds on life feeds on life."

Things are driven to exist. The will to live will always prevail. Death
cannot end the cycles of the earth.

Julia from Canada
Comment 3 of 4, added on November 23rd, 2008 at 7:58 AM.

The main idea is - after winter always comes spring. No one can stop it.
The snow will melt. The cold will pass.But there is one more interesting
thing here - the WHITE colour. In Christianity as in many other religions
and just traditionally people accept white colour as the colour of light,
life, in contrast to the black, that aften symbolizes death. But snow is
white! And snow will disappear, does it mean that light/life will also
disappear? To make the point clear Frost says in the very end "Nothing
will be left white but birch and thete a clump of houses with a church".
Birch has white trunk, houses also often are painted in white... The
church itself is a symbol of light... here is the clue. the cold will pass,
snow disappear, but light/life will remain!

Larissa from Pakistan
Comment 2 of 4, added on October 16th, 2005 at 6:31 PM.

i have worked outside almost everyday for 35 years.each year when the first
snow falls and ''hisses on the yet uncovered ground''we stop for a moment
and listen and reflect upon the coming winter. to have frost give it
context hasmeant much to me.....a poet can only use an opening line
once....growing up as i did in new england, the words''always the
same''were a common saying usually spoken with a certain urgency,a sense of
foreboding tinged with resignation. it interests me greatly that frost
burned up those words to start this poem, my favorite of all his works.

george kiberd from United States
Comment 1 of 4, added on August 30th, 2005 at 9:21 AM.

Almost my favourite. Hear it read aloud and you'll see why.

Mike from United Kingdom



Information about The Onset

Poet: Robert Frost
Poem: 27. The Onset
Volume: New Hampshire
Year: 1923
Added: Feb 1 2004
Viewed: 5678 times
Poem of the Day: Dec 22 2001


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