Nature in "Frost at Midnight"

       One of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poems that I found very interesting was his poem, “Frost at Midnight.” He wrote the poem in 1798 and it focuses heavily on the concept of nature. This is a conversational poem and the tone is very soothing for readers. He starts off the poem by taking about a “Frost (that) performs its secret ministry” (Coleridge 1650). When Coleridge describes the frost in the very opening line, he gives it human-like qualities. He characterizes the frost by saying it is performing its secret ministry, which signifies that the frost is more significant that what people normally think of it as. He then starts to describe other aspects of nature such as the winds lack of support and the cry of an owlet. Each thing he describes is made out to be very significant, which I find very unique. He spends a lot of effort in this poem pointing out the presence of different creatures. When describing the sea, hill, and wood around him, Coleridge shouts “This Populous village! With all the numberless goings on of life, inaudible as dreams!” (Coleridge 1650). This description of the tiny aspects of the universe is very powerful because it clues the reader in on the fact that his writing is more than meets the eye. There are tons of specimen that are inaudible as dreams, and his poem is also infested with miniscule thoughts that are more significant than one might think if he or she does not look with a close eye.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. Vol A. New York, NY: W.W. Norton& Company, Inc., 2006. 1609-1611. Print.