journal - 20

"Autumn" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is written in a figurative way. "Autumn" is a piece of Romanticism writing. I know this because the entire poem is about nature. The poem literally it is written about farmers and harvesting crops. The poem says,

"Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,

Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand
Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,

Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!"

The poem talks of an honorable king who stretches out his hand in benedictions to the farmers on his land. I think the "bridge of gold" could be referring to wheat that is so important to the farmers, which bridge the gap financially for the farmers. Also, when the poem refers to "thy royal hand", I think the author is referring to the literal king of the land and how he is the king over all of the farms. This great and noble king blesses all of the farmers through their harvesting season and gives them things to help keep them going throughout their season of harvest.

Literally, this poem makes much sense, it is about a king over a farming land. But figuratively, this poem has a whole different meaning. This poem is about the season autumn. This poem starts by stating "Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain". This means that Autumn comes in with the rain. Once you realize that this poem is actually about autumn, not a king, it changes things a little bit. Instead of a great king that the poem speaks of, it is speaking of a great season. Autumn is the one that stretches out its hand to the farmers. Autumn makes the farmers wealthy. Autumn is the one that brings blessing to the farmers, not a king. It is not a king that does all of these great and noble things, it is a season that is the hero for the farmers. It is Autumn that brings rain to yield the crops and that brings life to the harvest.

This poem is also very short and rolls off the tongue quite fluidly when read aloud. It is a neat little poem, that seems to bring the season of autumn to life.