In November, the frost wakes us up in the morning, and we can smell the winter on its way. Yet, autumn is still there in the ground. The leaves, red and gold, lay covered in what will soon be snow. November may be a strange moth of transition, but many authors have tried to capture its wonder. With that said, Sara Teasdale’s poem, “November” perfectly encapsulates the month and captures the spirit rightly. This “November” by Sara Teasdale analysis discusses Novembers cold and kindness.
Summary
In this poem, Teasdale comforts a lost love by comparing it to the dying year. She tells us in the first two lines. She writes: “The world is tired, the year is old, / The fading leaves are glad to die.” The use of “tired” and “glad” here do not necessarily ring menacing, but rather undercuts the overall theme of comfort. That is to say, the season is happy to move on.
However, with transition in life comes the harsh reality that moving ahead can be painful. She writes in the final two lines of stanza one: “The wind goes shivering with cold / Where the brown reeds are dry.” This is evocative, as in “shivering with cold” we can see the season itself rubbing its arms together for warmth.
Toward the end of the second stanza, Teasdale reveals the truer nature of the poem. She states that, “Our love is dying like the grass, / And we who kissed grow coldly kind, / Half glad to see our old love pass / Like leaves along the wind.” That is to say, the love that has passed between two people, like seasons, can pass into coldness. Yet, inside of that love is a dormant kindness. It is a love that has distance but there is remembrance. Moreover, the ones we “kissed grow coldly kind” implies something deeper. Love is gone, but kindness remains in a state of “half glad” remembrance.
Conclusion
Teasdale poem gives us a good sense that autumn is alive in November, but it’s on its way out. Meanwhile, the weather, though cold and growing colder, has a memory of kindness and more autumnal days. In the end, Teasdale links November to love and cold kisses. She grants the reader a sense that love of the summer/fall is gone, but that people have a reverence for its passing. This “November” by Sara Teasdale analysis explains how November guides us to winter. Yet, its lasting imprint fuels our love and creativity.
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