My November Guest (Poem by Robert Lee Frost)

My November Guest

By Robert Lee Frost

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,

    Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

Are beautiful as days can be;

She loves the bare, the withered tree;

    She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.

    She talks and I am fain to list:

She's glad the birds are gone away,

She's glad her simple worsted grey

    Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,

    The faded earth, the heavy sky,

The beauties she so truly sees,

She thinks I have no eye for these,

    And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know

    The love of bare November days

Before the coming of the snow,

But it were vain to tell her so,

    And they are better for her praise.

Poem Analysis:

Robert Frost’s poem My November Guest explores themes of sorrow, nature, and the complex relationship between the poet and his emotions. Through vivid imagery and personification, Frost presents sorrow as a companion who finds beauty in the bleakness of autumn, while the speaker himself struggles to see things in the same way. The poem reflects the tension between acceptance and resistance, the inevitability of sorrow, and the transformative power of nature.

Themes

1. Sorrow as a Companion: The speaker’s sorrow is personified as a guest who visits during the dark days of autumn. This personification suggests that sorrow is not merely a feeling, but a tangible presence that influences the speaker's perception of the world. Sorrow takes on a dominant role, guiding the speaker’s experiences, especially during the fall season.
2. Nature’s Beauty and Desolation: The poem explores the contrast between the beauty that sorrow sees in the autumn landscape and the desolation the speaker feels. While the speaker is initially disconnected from the environment, sorrow finds beauty in the bare trees and the rainy weather, aspects that the speaker finds dreary and oppressive. Frost highlights the different ways people engage with nature, showing how sorrow transforms the perception of the natural world.
3. Acceptance vs. Resistance: The speaker's reluctance to embrace sorrow's perspective mirrors a broader theme of resistance to grief or unpleasant emotions. Sorrow sees beauty in what is withered and fading, but the speaker does not, at least not initially. There is a subtle tension between the speaker’s emotional state and sorrow’s insistence on finding value in what others might consider bleak or unremarkable.
4. The Passage of Time and Change: The poem also touches upon the passage of time, specifically the shift from autumn to winter. The “bare November days” are a metaphor for a period of transition or loss. Frost’s use of seasonal imagery emphasizes the cyclical nature of life and emotions, with each season representing a different emotional state or experience.

Literary Devices

1. Personification

• Sorrow is personified throughout the poem. She is not merely an abstract feeling but a character who "talks" and "vexes" the speaker. This personification allows Frost to explore the intimate, often contradictory relationship between the speaker and his emotions.
• "My Sorrow, when she's here with me," introduces sorrow as a constant, almost companionable presence. This personification gives sorrow a form, making it more real and tangible, yet also more difficult to escape.

2. Imagery

Frost uses vivid imagery to convey the bleakness and beauty of autumn:

• "The desolate, deserted trees," evokes a sense of abandonment and lifelessness.
• "The beauties she so truly sees," contrasts the bleakness with sorrow’s ability to find beauty in the natural world, even in the withered trees and overcast skies.
• "Her pleasure will not let me stay," uses the image of the sodden pasture lane to reflect the wet, dreary mood that accompanies sorrow.

3. Contrast and Juxtaposition

Frost juxtaposes the sorrowful speaker and the joyful sorrow, highlighting the tension between their different views of the world. This contrast creates a dynamic tension that drives the poem:

• "She loves the bare, the withered tree," contrasts with the speaker’s perception of the same tree as lifeless and unattractive.
• "She's glad the birds are gone away," juxtaposes the usual joy associated with birds and flight with the melancholy and stillness that sorrow finds in their absence.

4. Tone

The tone of the poem shifts between melancholy and reluctant acceptance. The speaker’s frustration with sorrow’s joyfulness is clear in lines like “And vexes me for reason why.” However, by the end of the poem, there is a sense of reluctant acceptance as the speaker acknowledges that sorrow's perspective might be the more valid one.

• "It were vain to tell her so, / And they are better for her praise," reveals that the speaker has come to accept that sorrow's perception of the world might indeed be the better one.

5. Symbolism

• The "bare, the withered tree" symbolizes loss and decay, representing the inevitable changes in life. However, it also symbolizes resilience, as it continues to stand despite its condition.
• The autumn rain is symbolic of sorrow, as rain often reflects sadness or melancholy, but it also has a cleansing, renewing aspect, which could indicate that sorrow has its own way of refreshing the soul, albeit through difficult emotions.

My November Guest by Robert Frost is a poignant exploration of sorrow's presence in the speaker's life and the tension between acceptance and resistance. Through the use of vivid imagery, personification, and contrast, Frost conveys the emotional complexity of dealing with grief and melancholy. The poem ultimately suggests that while sorrow can cloud the beauty of life, it also offers a deeper, albeit more difficult, appreciation of the world around us. The speaker’s reluctant acceptance of sorrow’s perspective reflects a broader theme of coming to terms with life’s inevitable sorrows and learning to find meaning in them.