The Runaway

The Runaway

by Robert Frost

 Once when the snow of the year was beginning to fall,
We stopped by a mountain pasture to say, ‘Whose colt?’
A little Morgan had one forefoot on the wall,
The other curled at his breast. He dipped his head
And snorted at us. And then he had to bolt.
We heard the miniature thunder where he fled,
And we saw him, or thought we saw him, dim and grey,
Like a shadow against the curtain of falling flakes.
‘I think the little fellow’s afraid of the snow.
He isn’t winter-broken. It isn’t play
With the little fellow at all. He’s running away.
I doubt if even his mother could tell him, “Sakes,
It’s only weather.” He’d think she didn’t know!
Where is his mother? He can’t be out alone.’
And now he comes again with a clatter of stone
And mounts the wall again with whited eyes
And all his tail that isn’t hair up straight.
He shudders his coat as if to throw off flies.
‘Whoever it is that leaves him out so late,
When other creatures have gone to stall and bin,
Ought to be told to come and take him in.’

Summary of The Runaway

  • Popularity of “The Runaway”: The poem ‘The Runaway’ was written by Robert Frost, a popular American poet laureate and personality. It is an interesting poem, which was published in his book of the same title published in 1923. Although Frost’s choice of subjects may be seen as unconventional, this poem reveals his deep understanding of horses and horse rearing. The poet’s ability to capture the essence of horse psychology is what makes the poem truly beautiful.
  • The Runaway” As a Representative of Nature and Horses: The poem with the surprise that they have come across a colt when it is about to snow. The place is a pasture by the mountainside. They are, the poet and his colleagues, think about the colt as whose it could be and then a little Morgan, a little horse, snorts at them. Then when they see it clearly, it runs away because of a little thunder. They see his shadow disappearing far away in the distance. The poet shares with his friend his belief that the colt is experiencing fear in the snow’s presence, and proposes that even his mother would not reassure him that it is merely weather and nothing more. Soon, they again spot him coming to them with white eyes and tail straight up and see that it shudders to show its excitement. The poet thinks about the owner or the mother of the colt to call him in and not let him play in this bad weather.
  • Major Themes in “The Runaway”: The horse psychology, the beauty of nature, and care for animals are three major themes of the poem. The poem reveals the poet and his friend’s knowledge of horse psychology, including the mother calling the colt during bad weather and the colt’s playful behavior. This is the beauty of nature that a small inkling could make animals alert as the cold becomes a point of alert after a little thunder. This beauty of nature shown through a colt and his reaction to the thunder makes the readers think about animal welfare, requirements, and issues.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used In The Runaway

literary devices aid poets in enhancing the depth, aesthetics, and fluidity of their poetic compositions. The few analysis of the literary devices in the poem are as follows.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “The other curled at his breast. He dipped his head” and the sound of /uh/ in “And now he comes again with a clatter of stone”.
  2. Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration in the shape of initial consonant sounds of the neighboring words, such as the sound of /h/ in “he had”.
  3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ and /l/ in “With the little fellow at all. He’s running away” and the sound of /t/ and /p/ in “We stopped by a mountain pasture to say, ‘Whose colt?”.
  4. Dialogue: The poem shows the use of dialogue as the poet asks about the colt, saying, “Whose colt?”
  5. 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,

He isn’t winter-broken. It isn’t play
With the little fellow at all. He’s running away.

  1. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Robert Frost used imagery in this poem such as “A little Morgan had one forefoot on the wall”, “We heard the miniature thunder where he fled” and “We other creatures have gone to stall and bin”.
  2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used the metaphor of miniature thunder to compare it with something frightening.
  3. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of symbols of nature such as snow, thunder, and flakes, to point out the affects of weather on animals.
  4. Simile: The poem shows the use of a simile such as “He shudders his coat as if to throw off flies” or “Like a shadow against the curtain of falling flakes”.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Runaway

Poetic devices polish structures and metrical patterns of the poetic output. Their analysis of the poetic devices used in this poem is as follows.

  1. Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of descriptive diction and a serious tone.
  2. Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the use of ABAB and sometimes no rhyme scheme.
  3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are no fixed stanzas in this poem. It has total 21 verses.
  4. Repetition: The poem also shows the use of repetition such as “we saw him” in the same sentence. It has been used to stress upon the idea of having seen the colt.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “The Runaway” are appropriate to quote when talking about the nature and care of animals.

He shudders his coat as if to throw off flies.
‘Whoever it is that leaves him out so late,
When other creatures have gone to stall and bin,
Ought to be told to come and take him in.’