The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide

The Frost Spirit

Read 'The Frost Spirit' by 'John Greenleaf Whittier' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

The Frost Spirit by John Greenleaf Whittier

 He comes, - he comes, - the Frost Spirit comes! 
You may trace his footsteps now 
On the naked woods and the blasted fields 
And the brown hill's withered brow. 
He has smitten the leaves of the gray old trees 
Where their pleasant green came forth, 
And the winds, which follow wherever he goes, 
Have shaken them down to earth. 

He comes, - he comes, - the Frost Spirit comes! 
From the frozen Labrador, 
From the icy bridge of the northern seas, 
Which the white bear wanders o'er, 
Where the fisherman's sail is stiff with ice, 
And the luckless forms below 
In the sunless cold of the lingering night 
Into marble statues grow! 

He comes, - he comes, - the Frost Spirit comes! 
On the rushing Northern blast, 
And the dark Norwegian pines have bowed 
As his fearful breath went past. 
With an unscorched wing he has hurried on, 
Where the fires of Hecla glow 
On the darkly beautiful sky above 
And the ancient ice below. 

He comes, - he comes, - the Frost Spirit comes! 
And the quiet lake shall feel 
The torpid touch of his glazing breath, 
And ring to the skater's heel; 
And the streams which danced on the broken rocks, 
Or sang to the leaning grass, 
Shall bow again to their winter chain, 
And in mournful silence pass. 

He comes, - he comes, - the Frost Spirit comes! 
Let us meet him as we may, 
And turn with the light of the parlor-fire 
His evil power away; 
And gather closer the circle 'round, 
When the firelight dances high, 
And laugh at the shriek of the baffled Fiend 
As his sounding wing goes by!

Form: Ballad Comments

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The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace