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Apocalypse in Frost's "Once by the Pacific"

The document summarizes Robert Frost's poem "Once by the Pacific" and analyzes how it conveys a theme of apocalypse through language features. Metaphors describe imminent doom represented by nature, imagery adds to an ominous mood, and allusions to the Bible suggest the poem refers to God ordering the end of the world by darkness. Overall, the analysis examines how Frost crafts a theme of apocalypse through his metaphorical, imagery-driven, and allusive language.

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Rafael Marco Manubay
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365 views1 page

Apocalypse in Frost's "Once by the Pacific"

The document summarizes Robert Frost's poem "Once by the Pacific" and analyzes how it conveys a theme of apocalypse through language features. Metaphors describe imminent doom represented by nature, imagery adds to an ominous mood, and allusions to the Bible suggest the poem refers to God ordering the end of the world by darkness. Overall, the analysis examines how Frost crafts a theme of apocalypse through his metaphorical, imagery-driven, and allusive language.

Uploaded by

Rafael Marco Manubay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Poem Analysis: Once by the Pacific

Manubay, R.M.C.

5I

In the poem, “Once by the Pacific” by Robert Frost, conveys the theme of apocalypse in the
darkness of the night. The author uses different language features like metaphor, imagery and
allusion to address the terror in the mind of the speaker.

The use of metaphor reveals the imminent doom to mankind by nature. A metaphor is seen in the
description of the clouds being “low and hairy in the skies” to obscure the vision of the great
waves coming to the shore and this connects to the line, ”You could not tell, and yet it looked as
if,” meaning that the speaker could almost feel that the end is closer that we suspect.

The use of imagery adds up to the apocalyptic and ominous mood of the poem. The description
of “shattered water made a misty din” portrays the violence of water and the loud sound it
produces as it goes towards the shore.

The poem alludes to the bible. God said in the beginning, "let there be light." From this reference
it could be understood that, ‘Put out the Light,’ refers to God ordering the end of the world by
sending it into eternal darkness. This idea ties back to the phrase, ‘a night of dark intent,’ the
night of dark intent is the night that signals the end of the world. However, in these last two lines
Frost states that if the end of the world was actually coming, there would be more signs than an
ocean storm, which is a common occurrence.

Robert Frost’s effective use of language features help create different effects and deeper
meanings which creates the theme of apocalypse in the darkness of the night.

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