Laurie Lee Field Of Autumn Analysis

In the poem “Field of Autumn” Laurie Lee depicts the transition into and out of autumn as a metaphor for the end. This end, however is not defined. It can be the end of a year, one's life, or even just the world. There are many times in life when humans do not come to terms with “the end” but the poem shows that everyone and everything is aware that nothing is permanent.

The title and first stanza define a setting for the poem, noontime, in autumn, in a field. This stanza depicts a slow breakdown of the field to show the slow transition towards death. “The copper-coated hill” produces an image of a browning hillside as fall approaches and the grass dies and browns. The metaphor of “copper-coated” ties the browning of the hill into the rusting of metal which is a slow process. This statement, “the acid breath” and “bearded breast” create an image of a desolated industrial area rather than the beautiful look of a browning field. Lee does this to create a solemn mood rather. …show more content…
“The vulture-headed sun”, “Taking the village without sound.” Within the metaphor of a transition into fall, the sun leaving depicts an end to warmth and summer heat. However this statement is meant to show that the end approaches silently, like in real life, and without much warning. Similar to the first stanza, a color pallet of a sunset is created. Even just within this stanza there is a progression of the sunset. “The day hangs fire” is in reference to the colors surrounding the sun at the beginning of a sunset and “the violet ground” is another stage of a sunset, immediately before the entire sun dips below the