Stephen Li
3/2/08
Period 5
The Rainy Day Analysis
The narrator in The Rainy Day tells us about a very depressing day which is one of many in his life. He later realizes that this is just a rough patch in his life and will soon pass. He is feeling gloomy because every day for him is "dark and dreary". He is depressed that the bad time in his life won't let up. Although he is depressed, he realizes that this is only a stage in his life and feels hope that it will soon be over. He understands that everyone has bad times in their life, not only him.
Stanza one describes the narrator's experience of a bad day. It is raining and the wind never tires but keeps on blowing. In stanza two the narrator tells us his whole life is gloomy. He still thinks of what he did in the past but has given up the dreams that he had when he was younger.
Grave of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at Mount Aubur...
English: American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ...
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on the Isle of Wight, E..."My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past/ But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast."(8/9) He feels hope in stanza three. He realizes that everybody goes through a rough patch in their life and now waits for it to be over.
The Rainy Day includes numerous examples of poetic terms. The poet uses imager on line 12 when he says "Behind the clouds is the sun still shining." It puts into our heads an image of the sun soaring high above the dark rain clouds below. He uses rhyme with the words "wall/fall" (4/5). These two words correspond in sound. The poet also uses a good example of satire. When he writes "Be still sad heart! and cease repining/Thy fate is the common fate of all" (12/13) he makes...