ludes to any mother of a young infant. It seems to indicate that the poet may not be speaking about her own child.
             The poem has regular rhyming of aabbcc in stanzas one to four, six to eight except for stanza five. The regular beat throughout the poem expresses a formal, regular quality to the verses. The punctuation at the end of each line, either comma, a semi-colon, dash, or a full stop helps to control the reading. Altogether, the balance, and proportion produces a monotonous effect that implies that the speaker does not hold much emotion for the child.
             Likewise, the image of 'frost' at the beginning and ending of Coleridge's poem creates a balance in recollecting the past and redeeming his unhappy past by giving a good future to his child. The poem begins with a perception in the present moment with a metaphoric use of 'frost' that 'performs' a hidden role, 'a secret ministry' (line 1). The latter may be contrasted to the open ministry of the 'Great Universal Teacher', that is God, who will 'mould' his son (line 63).
             The image of 'frost' has neither a positive or negative connotation as it conjures images of being cold, frozen, and white. The poet's expectations and aspirations of his son may or may not be realised.
             Similarly, the unidentified mother in Baillie's poem expresses doubt at the last line – 'Thou dost not heed my lay'. This reminds of her reluctance to sing to the child at the beginning of the poem. The mother sees the futility of singing to her baby because the child, at an older age, would be more preoccupied with his own play than taking care of her when she is 'weak and old' (line 44). In spite of the love she bestows upon the child, she is doubtful the grown-up child would care and be her 'hold' (line 43).
             In 'Frost at Midnight', the numerous repetiti...