The Field

The poem relies on a dichotomy of two settings: the outdoors, which centers on the depiction of waving fields of grain, and the indoors. The field is a place of contradictions. In the summer, it is bright, fertile, and beautiful, under the “gilt plaits” of the sun’s rays (10). But this sensory bliss cannot last. As the autumn turns into the winter, the beauty and joy of the fields are destroyed by the harvest and the elements. The ears of grain must be cut down to store up food, and the wind and cold kill what is left. The outdoors is a place of great pleasure, but it is an uncertain one.

The Home

The changeable nature of the outdoors is contrasted against the steady and cozy pleasures of the home. In the poem, the two friends pass their winter huddled around the hearth, warmed by the...