Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Analysis of Robert Frost's "After Apple Picking" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom,"- Robert Frost. This one simple quote highlights the foundation of Frost's poems. It hits the target. Each of Frost's poems indeed begin with "delight", a man picking apples, a man riding his horse or a man walking down a road. However, Frost is able to find the extraordinary in the most conventional situations, leaving the audience pondering and contemplating life's journeys. Frost explores the 'extraordinary' through the themes of mystery and human limitation. At the end of our lives, we will feel dissatisfaction and regret. After reading After Apple Picking, we may agree with this statement. However, Frost's ambiguous tone only hints at this morbid outcome, never truly confirming our suspicions. ...read more.

Middle

Seasonal imagery is also used to create mystery in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Extreme use of symbolism turns it into a very dangerous setting; "the darkest evening of the year." "The woods are lovely, dark and deep" and become enticing, a seductive tool to lure the persona away from the formal, systematised town. On the other hand, they may be a beautiful siren, nature serving as break from structured living. But his ambiguous tone and isolated setting forms the suspicion that the persona is considering suicide. However, the two lines of the poem "and miles to go before I sleep," shows that the persona still has his life ahead of him. Again, the outcome of the poem is indefinite. Frost criticises human limitation in After Apple Picking. ...read more.

Conclusion

This universal idea has made Frost's poem timeless, similar to the aphorisms explored in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. The horse's confusion shows the abnormality of the persona's sudden halt to view nature. "He gives his harness bells a shake; to ask is there is some mistake." The isolated settings in both poems use nature as a sphere of contemplation, something that is lacking in our own lives. Frost finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, and conveys this through his use of an ambiguous tone and his unique ideas about human limitation. His ideas remain relevant today and reading one of his poems forces the audience to reflect on life's journey. As Frost said, "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom," ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Robert Frost section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level Robert Frost essays

  1. Marked by a teacher

    Discuss Frosts use of language and setting in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy ...

    3 star(s)

    Whilst we can clearly see that the narrator speaks fondly of the secluded woods, the narrator's descriptions of the setting seem to deliver a constant undercurrent of a sense of unease, and the reader can begin to see an opposing view to the beauty of the woods.

  2. Stopping by the Woods On A Snowy Evening, Commentary

    'Darkest evening of the year' refers to winter solstice which normally occurs around mid-December. The persona and his horse are so isolated that nothing stands between them and the 'frozen lake'. The 'frozen lake' indicates the bitter cold and hardship they had had braved just so that the persona could revel in the tranquility of the woods for some time.

  1. The poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was written by Robert Frost

    The final literary device used in the poem is symbolism. This poem symbolizes one of life's simple journeys. The speaker has arrived in a woods and has a choice, whether to continue on his journey or continue being tempted and stay where he is.

  2. Critical analysis of "Out, Out--"

    figure of speech in which something closely related life is used for what is actually meant - blood.) It was all a nasty accident.

  1. Robert Frost Selected Poems - 'The Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping By Woods On ...

    However, with further readings and analysis, one can easily see that there is a much stronger, deeper meaning behind the smoothly woven words, common in many of Frost's poems. The poem's appeal lies in the extended metaphor and extended imagery, devices used very strongly to convey an important message about the twists and turns of life.

  2. Robert Frost

    Frost's ability to join pastoral and philosophical modes in lyrics of unforgettable beauty. ( Winnick 2). Robert Frost can be described as a strong man, whose life wasn't easy, but was able to work hard and accomplish many of his goals.

  1. After Apple Picking by Robert Frost

    ------------ In this poem, "After Apple-picking", Frost takes an ordinary experience about picking apples and turns it into contemplation on life. Life and death are common themes in poetry, but this poem focuses on what is in between, life's missed experiences and the regret that the persona is left with.

  2. Poetic methods used in 'After Apple Picking' -Robet Frost

    hearing the sound, because he?s grown used to hearing it so often. Moreover, Frost writes ?As of no worth, one can see what will trouble this sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is, were he not gone? this seems quite confusing because it seems as if he?s contradicting himself over

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work