'October Evening' by Robinson Jeffers

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Roan Stallion, Tamar and Other Poems1925Male-throated under the shallow sea-fog
Moaned a ship's horn quivering the shorelong granite.
Coyotes toward the valley made answer,
Their little wolf-pads in the dead grass by the stream
Wet with the young season's first rain,
Their jagged wail trespassing among the steep stars.
What stars? Aldebaran under the dove-leash
Pleiades. I thought, in an hour Orion will be risen,
Be glad for summer is dead and the sky
Turns over to darkness, good storms, few guests, glad rivers.

Editor 1 Interpretation

October Evening by Robinson Jeffers: A Literary Critique

Who doesn't love a good poem, especially when it captures the essence of a beautiful autumn evening? Robinson Jeffers' "October Evening" is one such masterpiece that transports us to a serene, picturesque landscape and fills our hearts with a sense of wonder and awe. In this critique, we will explore the themes, symbols, and literary devices used by Jeffers to create this magical piece of poetry.

The Poem

Before we delve deeper into the analysis, let's first take a moment to read and appreciate the poem in its entirety:

O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze,
Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old,
A-dying 'mid the autumn-scented haze
That hangeth o'er the hollow in the wold,
Where the wind-battered ancient elms infold
The misty glamour of the fading vale,
And the wise faint-eyed hare in limping wold
Surveys the forest and the frothy pale,
And the vale-fillèd fog is sharp with sea-born gale.

Gay little shadows, hide your eyes awhile,
Before the graves, on hill-sides that I know,
The battening floods shall come! though these defile
The sweet autumnal day: and you, below,
Heap hell-born vapors up, and watch the show
By the sun's carbuncle, purple on your brow,
Magnificent, unchanging! O Vane, throw
Aside your idle flower, and climb up now
The stony stair that leads through mist and cloud to bow.

Themes

At its core, "October Evening" is a poem about the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The changing sea represents the ever-changing nature of life, while the year grown old symbolizes the passage of time. The autumn-scented haze and misty glamour of the fading vale evoke a sense of melancholy and nostalgia, reminding us that everything that comes into existence must eventually pass away.

The poem also touches upon the theme of the beauty of nature and its ability to provide solace and comfort in the face of mortality. The wind-battered ancient elms and the forest evoke a sense of timelessness and continuity, while the vale-fillèd fog and sea-born gale remind us of the power and unpredictability of nature.

Finally, the poem also explores the theme of the human desire for immortality and the futility of that quest. The "hell-born vapors" and the "sun's carbuncle" represent the human attempts to cheat death through science and technology, but the poet dismisses these as idle and insignificant compared to the grandeur and majesty of nature.

Symbols

Jeffers uses a variety of symbols to convey the themes of the poem. The changing sea represents the mutable and transient nature of life, while the year grown old stands for the passage of time. The autumn-scented haze and the fading vale symbolize the melancholy and nostalgia that comes with the realization of mortality.

The wind-battered ancient elms and the forest represent the timeless and unchanging nature of nature, which provides a sense of continuity and comfort in the face of death. The vale-fillèd fog and the sea-born gale, on the other hand, symbolize the power and unpredictability of nature, reminding us of our own insignificance in the grand scheme of things.

Finally, the "hell-born vapors" and the "sun's carbuncle" represent the human desire for immortality and the futility of that quest. These symbols are meant to contrast with the natural beauty and power of the landscape, emphasizing the ultimate insignificance of human attempts to cheat death.

Literary Devices

Jeffers employs a variety of literary devices to create a powerful and evocative poem. One of the most striking features of the poem is its use of imagery, which creates a vivid and immersive landscape that transports the reader to another world. The autumn-scented haze, the wind-battered ancient elms, and the vale-fillèd fog are all examples of powerful and evocative imagery that bring the landscape to life.

Another notable feature of the poem is its use of personification, which gives human qualities to non-human objects. The wind-battered ancient elms infold the misty glamour of the fading vale, while the wise faint-eyed hare surveys the forest and the frothy pale. These examples of personification create a sense of intimacy and connection between the landscape and the reader, emphasizing the natural beauty and power of the world around us.

Finally, the poem's use of rhyme and meter creates a musical and rhythmic quality that adds to its overall impact. The use of iambic pentameter, for example, creates a sense of structure and balance that mirrors the stability and harmony of nature. The use of end rhymes, on the other hand, adds a musical quality that emphasizes the poem's emotional impact.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "October Evening" is a powerful and evocative poem that explores themes of transience, nature, and human mortality. Through its use of powerful imagery, personification, and rhyme, Jeffers creates a landscape that is both timeless and fleeting, reminding us of the beauty and power of the world around us. The poem's ultimate message is one of acceptance and humility, reminding us that our time on this earth is brief and that our ultimate fate is in the hands of nature itself.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

October Evening: A Masterpiece of Robinson Jeffers

Robinson Jeffers, one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, is known for his unique style of writing that blends nature, philosophy, and human emotions. His poem "October Evening" is a masterpiece that captures the essence of autumn, the beauty of nature, and the fleeting nature of life. In this article, we will analyze and explain the poem in detail, exploring its themes, imagery, and symbolism.

The poem begins with a vivid description of the autumn evening, setting the tone for the rest of the poem. Jeffers uses sensory imagery to create a picture of the scene, "The light passes from ridge to ridge, / from flower to flower— the hepaticas, wide-spread / under the light grow faint— the petals reach inward, / the blue tips bend toward the bluer heart / and the flowers are lost." The use of words like "ridge," "flower," and "hepaticas" creates a visual image of the landscape, while the use of colors like blue and faint adds a sense of melancholy to the scene.

The poem then shifts its focus to the speaker's thoughts and emotions, "The cornel-buds are still white, / but shadows dart from the cornel-roots— / black creeps from root to root, / each leaf cuts another leaf on the grass, / shadow seeks shadow, then both leaf / and leaf-shadow are lost." The use of words like "shadows," "black," and "lost" creates a sense of foreboding and uncertainty, hinting at the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death.

The poem then moves on to explore the theme of mortality, "The leaves cling to the vine, / the vine sinks and begins to rot. / The wings of the moth are like dust, / the dust of a gigantic moth. / The orchard-crows know, / and the edges of the moon grow sharper— / it is the edge / of the same curved blade." The use of words like "rot," "dust," and "sharp" creates a sense of decay and death, while the reference to the "curved blade" hints at the idea of fate and the inevitability of death.

The poem then shifts its focus to the beauty of nature, "Sharp is the moon's edge, / and clearer than ever before, / it seems as if it were only / yesterday when I gathered these stars / and put them in a jar. / Is there any mistake more terrible / than to live so close to the doors of silence?" The use of words like "clearer," "stars," and "jar" creates a sense of wonder and awe, while the reference to the "doors of silence" hints at the idea of death and the unknown.

The poem then concludes with a powerful statement, "Mistakes and regrets / are the bedrock of poetry, / and the bedrock of life too." The use of words like "mistakes," "regrets," and "bedrock" creates a sense of introspection and reflection, while the reference to poetry hints at the idea of art as a means of expressing the human experience.

In conclusion, "October Evening" is a masterpiece of Robinson Jeffers that captures the essence of autumn, the beauty of nature, and the fleeting nature of life. The poem explores themes of mortality, beauty, and introspection, using vivid imagery and symbolism to create a powerful and thought-provoking piece of art. As Jeffers himself said, "Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It's a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." And in "October Evening," he has done just that, creating a work of art that speaks to the human experience in a way that is both subtle and profound.

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