October
By Louise Glück
Is it winter again, is it cold again,
didn’t Frank just slip on the ice,
didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted
didn’t the night end,
didn’t the melting ice
flood the narrow gutters
wasn’t my body
rescued, wasn’t it safe
didn’t the scar form, invisible
above the injury
terror and cold,
didn’t they just end, wasn’t the back garden
harrowed and planted—
I remember how the earth felt, red and dense,
in stiff rows, weren’t the seeds planted,
didn’t vines climb the south wall
I can’t hear your voice
for the wind’s cries, whistling over the bare ground
I no longer care
what sound it makes
when was I silenced, when did it first seem
pointless to describe that sound
what it sounds like can’t change what it is—
didn’t the night end, wasn’t the earth
safe when it was planted
didn’t we plant the seeds,
weren’t we necessary to the earth,
the vines, were they harvested?
Summary of October
- Popularity of “October”: First published in 2004, “October” is a descriptive poem written by Louise Glück, an American Noble laureate. She expresses her sentiments about the changes the autumn season brings to the natural world. Louise wrote this poetic piece keeping in mind the effects the shift in weather casts on human beings. It, however, earns her fame due to the unique and factual representation of the changes the autumn season makes us experience.
- “October” As a Representative of Change: This poem presents the changes human beings witness during the winter season, focusing on the winter season. It begins when the speaker seems perplexed by seeing the change in weather. She appears to have been suffering or in pain for a long time. Therefore, the change seems illusionary to her. The burden of old scars has made her vulnerable to the extent that she cannot differentiate between illustration and reality.
In the next section, she talks about the physical changes the winter season brings to her garden. She notices that the seeds she planted have turned into sprouts and vines climbing on the southern wall of her garden. Although the change in weather seems odd for a moment, it helps a person come out of past pains and start life afresh. In the final stanza, the speaker accepts that change is an essential element of natural growth. It makes you walk away from the doom and enable you to carve new ways for yourself. - Major Themes in “October”: The poem’s major themes are human emotions, seasonal shifts, acceptance, and man versus nature. The poem presents two different things; one is how weather brings noticeable changes to the human world. Second, how changes in nature affect humans respectively. The speaker of the poem seems to be struggling under pain, so her perplexed mind hardly accepts the changes happening rapidly in the surroundings. The description of her mixed emotions and the condition of her ignored garden depict the tale of those whose life tensions impact the most. They become unable to behave normally in life. But, amid chaos, nature intervenes and helps them regain their lost spirits. The change in natural settings helps them come out of the dark circle and adore the blessings of these shifts in seasons.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in October
literary devices allow writers to choose their words to create styles in their poems. In fact, with the help of these devices, the poets convey their ideas, feelings, and emotions to the readers. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted” and the sound of /o/ in “pointless to describe that sound.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions, such as the sound of /s/ in “spring seeds.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of successive verses. Louise has repeated the word “didn’t the” in the first stanza of the poem to emphasize the point, such as;
“didn’t Frank just slip on the ice,
didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted
didn’t the night end,
didn’t the melting ice”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted” and the sound of /n/ in “didn’t they just end, wasn’t the back garden.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“didn’t the night end,
didn’t the melting ice
flood the narrow gutters
wasn’t my body
rescued, wasn’t it safe”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poem shows dramatic irony as things are actually changing in surroundings, but the speaker hangs between illusion and reality.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Louise used imagery in this poem, such as; “didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted” and “I remember how the earth felt, red and dense.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used to change as an extended metaphor to show how it casts a single shadow on nature and human beings.”
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. Louise posed rhetorical questions at the end of the poem to emphasize her point, such as, “weren’t we necessary to the earth/the vines, were they harvested?”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like stress, man versus nature, change, and acceptance to demonstrate the situation of the poet.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in October
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetorical devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are twelve stanzas in this poem with each comprising a different number of verses.
- Tone: It is the voice of the text. The poem shows a quizzical and perplexed tone at different places in the poem.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when describing the arrival of the winter season and the challenges it brings with it.
“Is it winter again, is it cold again,
didn’t Frank just slip on the ice,
didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted”