Poem #1: Autumn

THE POEM: Autumn

The rusty leaves crunch and crackle,
Blue haze hangs from the dimmed sky,
The fields are matted with sun-tanned stalks-
Winds rushes by.

The last red berries hang from the thorn-tree,
The last red leaves fall to the ground.
Bleakness, through the trees and brushes,
Comes without sound.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joan Mitchell was an abstract expressionist painter who was very talented. Her love for art and poetry brought her to both paint and write poems. Growing up in Chicago, she went to the Smith College, and worked her way up to her position. She spent most of her life in France, and later on, she got married to an American publisher in France. Joan Mitchell died at the year 1992 due to lung cancer, but she did have history of oral cancer, a dead jaw, smoking, and heavy drinking. However, she left series of valuable art pieces and wonderful poems.

PERSONAL RESPONSE
     The poem starts with the description of the coming of Autumn. It describes how the weather is changing by mentioning that the leaves fall, sky is higher, there are brown leaves on the ground, and the weather is cooler because of the wind. In the second stanza, the poet describes the coming of the Autumn to the poet. This is different from stanza one because stanza one was about the changing of the weather indicating the Autumn, when stanza two talks about how fast and silently the Autumn comes.

     I have several connections to this poem. First, my text to self connection would be the fact that autumn is my favorite season. When I saw the word “autumn” in the list of poems, I was excited. I especially love poems about nature and the seasons, and this poem was about the season that I favored among all four seasons. Second, My text to world connection would be the fact that the season autumn exists everywhere in the world. It may not be as direct like places like Korea or America, but people know when autumn comes. It may not be full of fallen leaves like what it said in the poem, but autumn is everywhere. Last, my text to text connection would be the fact that there is a poem named “Autumn” that was written by Emily Dickinson. I have tried reading them, but I prefer poem written by Joan Mitchell.

     Although the poem, “Autumn” is not as famous as other poems like “The Raven” or “Sonnet 130”, I personally love this poem. I love the detailed description with the appropriate adjectives. I admire how Joan Mitchell was able to convert her thoughts of autumn into a beautiful poetry

TP - CASTT

TITLE 
The title of this poem is short, but I think that this one word explains the whole content. I am guessing that the poem "Autumn" is going to be about how the autumn comes and the beauty of the season. I think the poet, Joan Mitchell was trying to make it very simple, and I like that.

PARAPHRASE
The leaves on the trees dry and fall,
The sky becomes much higher than before,
The brown veins of the trees are covering the grass,
And the wind is swiftly blows.

The berries are coming to an end,
The leaves are falling till the last,
Through the nature comes the bleakness,
Silently and silently.

CONNOTATION
1. Speaker: the person who is noticing autumn
2. Imagery: Sight (the blue haze, the sun-tanned stalks, red berries, red leaves), Touch (the swiftly blowing wind), Smell (none), Hear (crunching and cracking of the leaves), Taste (none)
3. Repetition: none
4. Rhyme Scheme: ABCB ABCB
5. Figurative language: none

ATTITUDE
The first stanza sounds a bit cheerful. The description of the nearing of autumn sounds as if the speaker is kind of excited about it. However, the second stanza sounds a bit sad because it talks about how the berries and the leaves fall, and also because it mentions that the depressing bleakness is coming without any sound.

SHIFTS
First quatrain (lines 1-4) : the speaker seems energetic and joyous about autumn
Second quatrain (lines 5-8) : the speaker seems to be depressed about autumn

TITLE
After reading the poem, I think that the poet was trying to tell people that there are two sides to everything. Even though I like autumn, just like first stanza, it does not mean that other people would like the autumn, too, just like the second stanza. I feel more obligated to consider other people's thoughts and their choices about certain things.

THEME
*Everything has those that love it and those that hate it.
*Everything changes.
*Nature is beautiful.
*All things that change is inevitable.
*All of our environment is beautiful.


APA-6 REFERENCE

Mitchell, J. (1992). Autumn. Website. Retrieved from  
     http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/245340