Here are some old notes....... :S
Frost at Midnight
Frost at Midnight describes the imaginative journey undertaken by the persona, who through his isolation and the extreme silentness is able to think profoundly without interruptions of the outside world. Through the comparison of his own memories of a lonely childhood to his baby who will grow up in a totally different situation to him, he realises the beautiful future it will have, experiencing the beauty of nature firsthand, able to roam with freedom and take joy in all of Gods creations. As the personas thoughts return to the real world, he looks upon his surroundings with a different perspective
Images
The images at the beginning of the poem are of the poets immediate surroundings, which he views as a restrictive environment, a barrier between him and the beauty of Nature, which is just outside the window. As his thoughts drifts, he relates the ash which fluttered on the grate to memories of his childhood, describing his trapped school years when he would dream of freedom. The images become richer as he relates these memories to his child upon realising the differences in their situations, as he describes in great deal the beautiful things his baby will be able to experience, taking great joy in the hopeful future his baby has ahead, almost compensating for his own lacking happiness in his childhood. His imaginative journey allows him to be able to relinquish possibly bitter memories of his childhood through the change in his perspective.
Mood/Tone
The mood and tone at the beginning of the poem reflect the isolation that the persona feels he is experiencing. However as he undertakes on his journey, through visiting childhood memories and relating them to his child, the mood changes from being almost resentful to unhappy then to joyful as he revels in the happiness his child will feel when it experiences that which the persona never had the chance to experience in his own childhood.
Accumulation of description
The description at the beginning is of the immediate surroundings, however as the journey begins, the persona reflects on his past when he was isolated from nature (and thus God), without change in his life. The description changes again as the persona realises that his child will not be isolated in growing up, and he richly describes what his baby will be able to see and do, exactly what he missed out on in his childhood.
and
Frost at Midnight by Coleridge describes the imaginative journey undertaken by an individual, who through his isolation is able to think profoundly without the interruptions of the outside world, allowing him to reminisce of childhood, and upon returning to the real world, relate his childhood to that which his baby will have, realizing that, unlike him, his child will be able to experience the beauty of nature firsthand and take joy in all of Gods creations. The catalyst for the imaginative journey is the personas isolation from the rest of the world, this view directly reflected in the imagery of the immediate environment being a barrier between the persona and nature. As the journey progresses the mood and tone changes from being resentful or unhappy as the persona idly surveys his surroundings, to being joyful about the future that his child will have, directly reflecting the change in perception of the persona. The description in the poem accumulates and becomes richer, with the persona, upon reentering the real world with a new perspective, luxuriously describes the promising future his child has ahead of it.
