"Bereft" Explication

               Bereft by Robert Frost contains powerful imagery and metaphors. The narrator describes a wind that is heard rather than felt. He describes the wind as like a “deeper roar” as if it were some sort of creature howling at him rather than just the wind rustling. Already, the reader can tell that the weather is harsher and perhaps a storm is coming soon or that the weather is just getting colder.  The speaker seems to be weary and nervous, especially as he stands near the door as, asking if holding the door will do anything to stop the roaring wind. He describes the door as being “restive” and the wind could be what is causing that.  It is as if he is trying to keep the destructive wind from entering the house. In the next few lines the reader has a clear image of what the season is like. He describes the shore as “frothy” and that summer has past and the day has past. The poem suddenly becomes a little eerie knowing that is colder in the year and that it also takes place in the evening. The next two lines exhibit personification when describing the clouds as “somber” and the porch as “sagging”. These words add to the glum and ghostly feeling that the Frost is evoking in his poem. In the next two lines, Frost uses metaphorical language when describing the wind. “Leaves got up in a coil and hissed, blindly struck at my knee and missed”. The wind is described as a snake getting ready to attack, meaning that the wind is so strong it is threatening. The speaker continues describing the wind as if it were talking to him. He describes the wind as having a sinister tone and told him that his “secret must be known”. The last four lines of the poem are poignant in describing his secret. The “secret” itself is not revealed but he mentions that he is alone and away from people and that it “must have gotten abroad” and delivered to other people. He makes it sound like wind was what was carrying his secret and now it is telling him he has nowhere to hide anymore. The last two lines are “Word I was in my life alone, word I had no one left but God.” Frost hints at the secret that he is all alone and has no one with him except God, but it is still mysterious as to why he is all alone and what did he do to be that way. Throughout the entire poem, the wind is a metaphor for the narrator. The secret may be compared to the wind and trying to get into his house that he has left for himself. The weather also illuminates his sadness and despair that he is currently feeling and certainly illuminates the title of the poem “Bereft” because the narrator does feel as though he is lacking something.