"Going for Water"
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
Not loth to have excuse to go,
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.
We ran as if to meet the moon
That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze.
But once within the wood, we paused
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.
Each laid on other a staying hand
To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard, we knew we heard the brook.
A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fail that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.
This poem is simply about children going for water at their nearby brook. It has a happy and fun tone, because there is laughter in the air, and delight as the children head towards the woods where the brook is. Frost uses an alliteration of the letter "w" in lines 13 and 20 by saying, "But once within the wood, we paused" and also, "We heard, we knew we heard the brook". Line 20 sounds almost like a riddle. In line 9, there is also a hyperbole present, because you cannot really run to meet the moon because it's very far away. The running towards the moon also represents the feeling of happiness a person has that makes them believe that the impossible can be possible. The poem is about two children who must go get water from the brook because the well by their home is dry (line 1 & 2). They aren't sure if the brook is still running, but they go anyway, laughing and having fun. when they are running to meet the moon, they reach the woods and try to "hide" from it "like gnomes" do, (line 14). This poem represents togetherness and joy. The children aren't upset that they have to do their chores, instead they take it as an opportunity to get away from routine. They feel safe, because the woods are theirs (lines 7 & 8). Everything seems beautiful and suddenly, they hear the tinkling sound of running water mixed with their laughter, "Like pearls, and now a silver blade" (line 24). Frost also uses a simile to compare the water drops to pearls. A spontaneous adventure can lead to cheerfulness that can be enhanced by finding what you came to look for in the first place.
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It is a thorough analysis of this poem.
