"Once by the Pacific"

The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last Put out the Light was spoken.

~ Robert Frost

What an amazing poem this is! The rhythm and meaning is ingenious, along with the use of weather throughout all the verses.

In "Once by the Pacific" by Robert Frost, weather was a vital component utilized to create the atmosphere of the poem. The entire event being described in the verse was a deadly storm over the ocean intending to destroy the shore. When reading this poem, one can hear the waves slapping the shore and see the sprays of mist jumping from the edges of the land. Furthermore, the clouds were also described to enhance the effect. The reader can picture the low, dark clouds over the raging waters, angry and malicious with scorn for the stability of the shore (Someone had better be prepared for rage). Robert Frost used a simile to show that these clouds were dangerous and ready to do something formidable (The clouds were low and hairy in the skies/ Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes). Moreover, the lightning of the storm is portrayed through the metaphor "the gleam of eyes." All of these traits of weather were discussed in Robert Frost's poem to create the aura of the storm.

Without a doubt, Robert Frost applied a thorough knowledge of the aspects of storms in this poem. It shows throughout the entire verse that this poet understood how storms looked and felt on the shores of the Pacific. For instance, he describes the low, treacherous clouds above the ocean, the deathly waves contemplating how they shall cause destruction on land (And thought of doing something to the shore/That water never did to land before), and even the mood of the evil night foreshadowing an ugly event (It looked as if a night of dark intent). What else would these details convey other than the familiarity Robert Frost has with stormy weather? Without all of these intricate features of weather put into the poem, the entire purpose of the work would not have made any sense. In other words, Mr. Frost hoped to show the tumultuous side of the ocean. If he had not added all these factors of a storm, the entire mood and theme would have been lost. Overall, weather was expertly embedded in the lines of "Once by the Pacific" to enhance the ambiance of the poem.