GOING FOR WATER

Summary
‘Going for Water’ by Robert Frost describes young characters running to retrieve water from a brook.
The poem begins with the speaker describing how when they looked outside, they saw that the well was empty.
This indicates that they need to fetch water from a nearby brook. They do so with joy, running with a
companion across their fields and into the woods. They find the brook and Frost describes it in a characteristic
lyrical verse.
Meaning:
The meaning of this poem is that anyone, no matter their situation in life or the work they’re engaged in, can
enjoy nature. Such is demonstrated by the young characters in this six-stanza poem as they joyfully run across a
field on an autumn evening to get water.
It’s unclear who the speaker is supposed to be in this poem. But, due to the joy the characters experience, the
use of figurative language and more, it feels likely that the speaker is a child.
Structure and Form:
‘Going for Water’ by Robert Frost is a six-stanza poem that is divided into sets of four lines, known as quatrains.
These quatrains follow a rhyme scheme of ABCB; changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. This pattern has
been traditionally associated with ballads or hymns.
The tone is light-hearted and excited. The speaker is thrilled to be outside the house, running across the field
and into the woods and hiding from the light of the moon. The characters, whether they are adults or children,
enjoy their task despite how inconvenient it is.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza 1 & 2
This narrative poem begins with a simple problem, the well beside the door was dry. In order to remedy this,
the characters in the poem have to go out of their way and a fairly long distance. But, the language suggests
that this was a fairly common occurrence and not a huge obstacle to overcome.
The poet uses the word “so” to indicate that the characters, described as “we” by a narrator, went out to get
water without much trouble. He walked across the field behind their home to a brook to see if it was still
running with water at this time of year.
The speaker describes in simple language how they weren’t troubled by the need to walk across the field. It was
a lovely autumn evening, though a little bit cold, it was worth it to spend some time outside.
Stanza 3 & 4
The speaker describes how they ran excitedly across the field, using a simile to depict their movements as filled
with energy. The moon was coming up behind the trees, and everything was quiet. There wasn’t a breeze, nor
were there birds.
The poet uses another simile at the beginning of the fourth stanza in which his speaker compares themselves to
“gnomes.” The trees hide them from the moon temporarily. But soon, they were caught in its light again.
Stanza 5
The speaker describes in the fifth stanza how they were silent for a moment, trying to see if they could hear the
rushing of the brook’s water. They heard it, knowing immediately that the brook was still running and that they
were able to retrieve the water they needed. The tone is still light-hearted and excited.
Stanza 6
The final stanza describes the brook as a “silver blade” lit by the moon and runs through the woods. The water
glows as it moves along its path, adding to the overall peaceful and beautiful atmosphere the poet has created.
The poem ends on this simple note, suggesting that from here, everything went to plan, and the characters
returned home with their water.
LITERARY DEVICES
Simile: A comparison between two things that uses “like” or “as.” For example, ‘We ran as if to meet the moon’,
‘Drops that floated on a pool/ like pearls and now a silver blade’, ‘Like gnomes hiding from the moon,’
Hyperbole: An intentionally exaggerated description. For example, the poet’s use of the above simile, “We ran
as if to meet the moon,” to describe how fast the characters moved and with how much energy.
"The fields were ours,/ and by the brook our woods were there." is a hyperbole because the woods are not
actually theirs, they are just exaggerating because they live near the woods.
Imagery: The use of particularly effective descriptions that should inspire the reader’s senses. For example,
“Now drops that floated on the pool / Like pearls, and now a silver blade.”, ‘Like gnomes hiding from the
moon,’(imagery because gnomes make us visualize little magical creatures flying about at night) [VISUAL]
‘A slender tinkling fall’ [AUDITORY]
Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. For example,
‘barren boughs’, ‘ready’ and ‘run’, ‘The well was dry’, ‘meet the moon’, ‘within the wood, we paused’ etc.
Personification: "To meet the moon" is personification because you can't actually go and meet the moon. The
moon is an inanimate object in the sky.
Repetition: Use of a word or phrase multiple times, in order to emphasize some point or to create an impact.
For example, ‘without the leaves,/ Without the birds, without the breeze’, ‘We heard, we knew we heard the
brook’ etc.
Enjambment: Enjambment is a literary device that describes a clause or sentence that continues from one line
to the next without a pause or punctuation. For example, ‘And so we went with pail and can/ Across the fields
behind the house/ To seek the brook if still it ran’, ‘Not loth to have excuse to go,/ Because the autumn eve was
fair’ etc.
QUESTION - ANSWER
a. Why did the people in the poem have to go out to get water? What has happened to their usual water
source?
Ans. The people in the poem had to go out to get water because the well beside their door had dried up.

b. What time of year is it?

Ans. It is autumn, and there is no water in their wells.

c. What time of day is it?

Ans. It is an evening of autumn.

d. Where is the brook?

Ans. The brook is across the fields, behind the house, in the woods.

e. What game do the people play with the moon?

Ans. The people seem to be playing a game of hide and seek with the moon.

f. What does the brook sound like?

Ans. The brook makes a tinkling sound like a bell.

g. What are the droplets of water with the moon's light on them compared to?
Ans. The droplets of water with the moon's light on them are compared to pearls and silver blade.

h. What images does the poet use to convey the idea that the water is precious?
Ans. The poet conveys the idea that the water is precious by comparing it to silver and pearls. These are
expensive materials.

i. What details from the poem make the people in the poem seem childlike?
Ans. The detail from the poem that makes the people in the poem seem childlike are: 'We ran as if to meet the
moon' - children are more likely to run spontaneously, "With laughter getting caught up in a game and laughing
would be more usual in children and playing hide and seek - game playing is most often associated with
children. The game of hide and seek and imagining the moon as a player taking part also make them seem
childlike. Frost does not say that the people are children - the people could be adults.

j. What details from the poem create a magical or mysterious atmosphere?

Ans. The setting - empty, moonlit woods, the mention of gnomes, the hush, and the personification of the moon
are some possible suggestions. Once they enter the wood, the children half believe that the moon will not able
to see them at least for some time. When the moon finds them, they run, laughing happily to a new hiding
place. The reference to gnomes adds to the magical quality of the evening.