Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.:
(Cambridge, August 29, 1809 – Cambridge, October 7, 1894)
American physician, poet, professor, lecturer, and author. He was the father of jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
October, the extravagant sister.
This phrase ‘personifies October as a lavish, showy “sister” among the months’.
– “Extravagant” means rich, luxurious, lavish, or excessive.
– October is called extravagant because in many places it brings:
– brilliant autumn leaves 🍁
– rich harvest colors 🌾
– dramatic seasonal beauty
– a sense of abundance before winter
So the phrase means: ‘October is a beautifully lavish, colorful, and richly decorated month.’
It is ‘not really a common idiom’ in everyday English; it is more of a ‘literary metaphor/personification’.
✍️ Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 1809–1894
He was an American:
– physician
– poet
– essayist
– professor
⚠️ He should not be confused with Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., his son, who was a famous U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
📖 Origin / fuller quotation:
> “October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception.”
The line comes from Holmes’s 19th-century literary prose and is usually cited as one of his descriptions of autumn.
✅ In simple words:
“October, the extravagant sister” means:
> ‘October is like a rich, flamboyant sister who decorates the world with beautiful autumn colors.’
September is dressing herself in showy dahlias and splendid marigolds and starry zinnias.
This is ‘not really an idiom’; it is a ‘poetic/literary personification’.
– “September” is imagined as a woman “dressing herself.”
– Her “clothes” are the bright flowers that bloom in late summer and early autumn:
– “dahlias”
– “marigolds”
– “zinnias”
– The sentence means that ‘September is filled with vivid, colorful autumn flowers’, as if the month is adorning itself beautifully.
In simpler words:
> ‘September arrives wearing the bright flowers of late summer and early fall.’
🍂 Literary Effect:
The phrase uses:
– ‘Personification’ — September is treated like a person.
– ‘Imagery’ — the flowers create a colorful visual picture.
– ‘Seasonal symbolism’ — it suggests the transition from summer into autumn.
✍️ Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
> American physician, poet, essayist, and lecturer
> 1809–1894
This is ‘not’ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
📚 Origin:
The line appears in quotation collections and seasonal/literary quote lists as attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. However, it is best described as a ‘iterary quotation’, not a traditional idiom.
A precise original source—such as a specific poem, essay, or book—is not always clearly cited in modern quote references, so if you need it for academic work, it would be safest to write:
> “Commonly attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.”
The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there, a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.
Too young for love? Ah, say not so while daisies bloom and tulips glow! June soon will come with lengthened day to practice all love learned in May.
Core: you are not “too young” to feel love.
Figuration: love belongs to the season and nature (daisies/tulips bloom).
Time metaphor: May = learning/maturing love, June = practicing/developing love through “more daylight/time”.
🕰️ Origin:
The poem is included in: “The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes”
Volume 11: “Poems from the Teacups Series”
Online source: Project Gutenberg
👤 Author:
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (so: the father; not Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the famous Chief Justice)
June comes in with roses in her hand, but very often, with a thick shawl on her shoulders, and a bad cold in her head.
Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.
