Wednesday, October 6, 2010

That time of year

In each of the three quatrains, there are three major images introduced. In the first, the speaker is referring to the end of fall "when yellow leaves" turn colors from green and fall to the ground. The beauty of fall eventually comes to an end, just like almost everything in life. The image in the second quatrain is one of twilight and then night. "After sunset fadeth in the west," night comes and ends the day. Once again, the speaker is emphasizing that almost everything in this world will end. The last quatrain was a little hard for me to figure out. I think the image is one of a funeral or someone dead. These lines, along with the others reinforce the ending of something. The couplet at the end of the poem, though, contradicts the rest of the lines. The speaker says that although almost everything ends, these things will only make the love between him and his lover stronger.

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