A Hard Frost Cecil Day Lewis - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

A Hard Frost

Cecil Day LewisSlide2

A Hard Frost

A

frost came in the night and stole my worldAnd left this changeling for it - a precociousImage of spring, too brilliant to be true:

White lilac on the window-pane, each grass-bladeFurred like a catkin, maydrift loading the hedge.

The elms behind the house are elms no longerBut blossomers

in crystal, stems of the mist

That hangs yet in the valley below, amorphousAs the blind tissue whence creation formed.Slide3

The

sun looks out and the fields blaze with diamondsMockery spring, to lend this bridal gear

For a few hours to a raw country maid,Then leave her all disconsolate with old fairingsOf aconite and snowdrop! No, not here

Amid this flounce and filigree of deathIs the real transformation scene in progress,But deep below where frost

Worrying the stiff clods unclenches theirGrip on the seed and letsthe future breathe

.Slide4

Cecil Day-Lewis:

Born 27

April 1904, died on 22 May 1972.

He was an Anglo-Irish poet and the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972

. Day-Lewis was born in Ballintubbert

, 

Ireland. He was the son of Frank Day-Lewis and Kathleen

 After the death of his mother in 1906, Cecil was brought up in London by his

father. He was educated at Sherborne School and at Wadham College, Oxford. In

Oxford

.Slide5

Cecil Day-Lewis:

In 1928 he married Constance Mary King, the daughter of a Sherborne master (i.e. teacher), and

worked as a schoolmaster. 

During the 1940s he had a long and troubled love affair with the novelist Rosamond Lehmann.

His first marriage was dissolved in 1951, and he married actress Jill Balcon.

Cecil Day-Lewis died from pancreatic cancer on 22 May 1972, aged 68, at 

Lemmons. Slide6

Summary:

This poem

is describing the beautiful scene the poet saw one day he woke up in winter morning.

The most prominent imagery used is the frost and snow, likening them to brilliant white diamonds, which shine and reflect in the sunlight. These are

used to portray a beautiful scene of white snow spreading all over the forest. Usually the forest in Winter gave people a sense of cruelty, harshness and lifeless, but after having a white frost coating on the dead trees, mountains, everything seemed to become glamorous and

attractive

Besides portraying the stunning scenery, the poet also wanted to relate the transformation in nature to human life

cycle which lies beneath the cold and snow.Slide7

A

frost came in the

night and stole my world

And left this changeling for it - a

precociousImage of spring, too brilliant to be true

:

White lilac on the window-pane, each

grass-bladeFurred like a catkin

, maydrift loading the hedge.The elms behind the house are elms no longer

But

blossomers

in crystal

, stems of the

mist

That hangs yet in the valley

below,

amorphous

As the

blind tissue whence creation formed

.

A thin layer of ice that forms when the air becomes cold.

The image of the thief in the night who takes whilst the occupants are sleeping. His “world” has been transformed or “stolen” by the frost and is no longer the same.

A baby that is secretly left to replace another baby.

A child that has certain attributes of an adult at a very early age

In this case the day is sunny and bright and looks like it may be spring.

The white is unreal and the frost on the window panes creates patterns.

Having no form or shape, like the mist.

The mists and swamps of primordial ooze from which life is said to have emerged. Slide8

The

sun looks

out and the fields blaze with diamonds

Mockery spring, to lend this bridal gear

For a few hours to a raw country maid,Then leave her all disconsolate with old fairingsOf

aconite

and snowdrop! No, not hereAmid this

flounce and filigree of deathIs the real transformation scene in progress,But deep below where frost

Worrying the stiff clods unclenches theirGrip on the seed and letsthe future breathe

.

The sun and fields mock spring because nothing grows in winter.

The reflection of the sun on the ice looks like a field of sparkling diamonds

The frost is “new clothing” for the fields and it makes the plain country look like a newly adorned bride for a while until it melts.

A

poisonous root

A white flower

Exaggerated and ornamental. More for show than of real substance

Though the changes are noticeable above the ground the real changes are happening below.Slide9

Analysis:

This poem deals with the change that is seen in the morning after the frost has settled overnight:

The poet highlights the beauty and the purity of the scene and through a series of comparisons paints an evocative picture of the landscape.

Much of the language used in these comparisons is archaic or unfamiliar, so use of the note and a dictionary is vital to understand those unfamiliar descriptions.The first stanza ends with a description of the mist enshrouding a valley. The poet alludes to the primordial mists that covered the earth in the creation.Slide10

Analysis:

This introduces one of the major themes underpinning the poem, that of the transformation and rebirth that is part of the cyclical process of nature.

This is further developed in the last lines of the poem where the poet states that though the weather is bleak and harsh under the ground the seeds of summer are already preparing for their new lives.

In the middle of stanza two the poet likens the scenery in purity and beauty to a bride adorned for her wedding, however he is quick to point out that this is a fleeting transformation and the “bride” will soon return to ”a raw country maid” with the melting of the frost by the sun.Slide11

Analysis:

He ends the poem by saying that all the beauty and ornamentation of the ice, frost and snow is really meaningless.

This is because the real “work” of regeneration and procreation is happening under the frost and soil in the ground as the seedlings prepare for the summer.Slide12

Questions:

What is the tone of this poem? Give quotes to support your answer? (3)

What is the poet’s feelings towards the morning frost? Explain your answer. (4)

Discuss the imagery in the first stanza. Substantiate your response. (4)

Discuss the image of the the bride in the poem? (3)

What is the message in the last five lines of the poem? (3)