The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost relates on both a literal and metaphoric level to the concept of a journey.
Amanda Atlee The Road Not Taken The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost relates on both a literal and metaphoric level to the concept of a journey. The poem depicts one man's journey throughout his life, the choices he made and the road he travelled. The Road Not Taken is a poem with universal relevance about a journey that every person takes. Here is a first person narrative tale of a monumental moment in the speaker's life - Frost can be considered the speaker. Frost is faced between the choice of a moment and a lifetime manifested in his poem. Frost presents the idea of an individual facing the difficult unalterable predilection of a moment and a lifetime. This idea in Frost's poem is embodied in the fork in the road, the decision between the two paths, and the speaker's decision to select the road not taken. Frost effectively conveys his theme and meaning through the use of numerous techniques. These techniques include simple yet powerful imagery, word choice and rhyme and rhythm. Also vital in the effectiveness of this poem is the use of symbolism and the extended metaphor present. Literally this man is a traveller standing at the divergence of two roads. Metaphorically this man is in the 'autumn' of his life, suggested by the "yellow wood" and has come to the crossroads where decisions have to be made to determine the rest of his life. The subject chose "the road not
Write a critical appreciation of Mending Wall exploring how far you think that Frost uses his observations of a simple rural event to make a significant conclusion.
Write a critical appreciation of Mending Wall exploring how far you think that Frost uses his observations of a simple rural event to make a significant conclusion. In Mending Wall, Frost assumes the character of a farmer who has the task of rebuilding a wall which separates him and his neighbour. The poem can be viewed from two very different angles, both which raise very different conclusions. At first glance, the poem seems harmless and innocent, whereby Frost's character questions the need for a wall to be in place - a wall that he feels symbolises the barriers of communication that people put up around themselves and other people. This idea of innocence is repeated throughout the poem. He appears to see that repairing the wall as the labour of love, gaining no reward from his efforts, but continuing anyway. He begins by fantasizing about how the wall has become broken, creating naive images in his head, such as the idea of rabbits breaking it during the spring - the 'mischief in [him]', and gives the sense that he believes that repairing the wall is a game to him; in line 21, he states that it is "just another kind of outdoor game" and incorporates the childish idea of magic into his 'game' - claiming that he needs to use "a spell to make [the stones] balanced". In this simple and gentle view of rebuilding the wall, comes an element of sadness, when Frost must
Discuss Frosts use of language and setting in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and compare with Desert Places.
Discuss Frost's use of language and setting in 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' and compare with 'Desert Places'. 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' and 'Desert Places' both make use of language and setting to portray certain emotions and how the narrator feels towards these emotions. Both encompass the idea of loneliness and solitude, yet both deliver different ways of viewing such isolation. 'Stopping By' uses language to create an image of complete isolation within the snowy woods. The narrator talks about the setting fondly, speaking of "easy wind and downy flake". The use of 'easy' suggests a quiet and tranquil place, and with the introduction of the idea of 'easy wind', this suggestion is fortified. It could be said that the setting of the Woods is a reflection of his own feelings - whilst he is describing the place to be peaceful, we see that the narrator himself is at peace. Although we perceive the narrator to be alive at this point, there is evidence to suggest that the narrator may be dead, just a ghost floating through the memory of the woods - "between the woods and the frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year" - as if he is frozen in time to this one scenario. There are several other examples of his thoughts towards the Woods, and how he perceives the place to be peaceful, with a sense of great beauty and awe. He clearly states this in stanza 4;
"Birches" - critique.
Birches Essay In any life, one must endure hardship to enjoy the good times. According to Robert Frost, the author of "Birches", enduring life's hardships can be made easier by finding a sane balance between one's imagination and reality. The poem is divided into four parts: an introduction, a scientific analysis of the bending of birch trees, an imaginatively false analysis of the phenomenon involving a New England farm boy, and a reflective wish Frost makes, wanting to return to his childhood. All of these sections have strong underlying philosophical meanings. Personification, alliteration, and other sound devices support these meanings and themes. Frost supports the theme by using language to seem literal, yet if one visualizes the setting and relates it to life, the literal and figurative viewpoints can be nearly identical. Take this example: "Life is too much like a pathless wood". This simile describes how one can be brought down by the repetitive routine of day-to-day life, but only if one processes the barren, repetitive forest scene that Frost paints in that sentence. Sound devices also add to the effect of the poem. Frost gives the image of the morning after an ice storm, as the ice cracks on the birch trees: "They click upon themselves / As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored / As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. / Soon the sun's warmth makes them
A poem by Robert Frost called,
Jeff Dorschner English 235 Response #1 9-11-03 For my first response of the semester, I was quite intrigued with a poem by Robert Frost called, "Mending Wall." In this poem, the author tells a story about the relationship between him and his neighbor. He seems to be questioning the thought of a fence between their property line. What catches my attention right away in this poem is that the author sees the fence that is between the two of them to be dividing not only their land or property, but dividing a possible friendship. In the poem it says, "And on a day we meet to walk the line, and set the wall between us once again." It seems to me that the neighbor and the author tend to have a yearly routine come spring. The neighbors have a stone wall that separates their land. Each year, the wall needs to be fixed because boulders have fallen from the wall. So the two neighbors go and meet sometime in the spring and fix the wall together. In the poem, the neighbor says to the author, "Good fences make good neighbors." This confuses the author because throughout the duration of fixing the wall, he can't help but think why there has to be a wall between the two of them. Although the neighbor has pine trees in his yard and the author has apples in his yard, he tends to feel like they aren't suppose to share the apples or share the pine cones or even visit each
Compare the poems "Hard Frost" and "winter the Huntsman". Decide which poem paints the best picture.
Compare the poems "Hard Frost" and "winter the Huntsman". Decide which poem paints the best picture "Winter the Huntsman" and Hard Frost" are both poems which have the same settings, both are in the season of winter, Hard Frost (HF) was set at the end of winter and Winter the Huntsman (WTH) was set at the beginning of winter. "WTH" is set in a forest being captured by winter and "HF" is set in a rural, and near habitation. Also the image in hard frost is completely different to image portrayed in W.T.H. The image from H.F is that there is human habitation this is proven by this quote 'at every footstep a tiny brittle pane is broken'. With the idea of humans being able to live along side with frost gives me the effect a Christmas card feel to the poem. In W.T.H the image created by the poem is completely different. The image is a cruel and harsh. The theme is a huntsman hunting down all colour and life from summer. Differences in the poem are continued with the use of personification. In "HF" frost is depicted as a soldier of the army of winter, evidence of this is numerous. One particular piece from the poem describes it best, "Frost called to water "Halt!", this personifies frost as someone who would command like a sergeant in the army. More aspects of frost being humanlike is in the following quote 'interns poor fish'. This means that he has the power to lock away fish
Analyse The Woodpile and compare the language and themes to other Frosts poems.
Analyse The Woodpile and compare the language and themes to other Frosts poems. Frost writes a lot about the emotion of solitude and being isolated, either physically or mentally, and this poem is no different. The line, "I was just far from home", is a good example to show how isolated and unhappy the narrator is feeling as home is a place of comfort. Pathetic fallacy is used, as the images in this poem set up a bleak icy day that reflects these emotions, for example, "frozen swamp one grey day", the adjectives, "frozen" and "gray" emphasise this lonely feeling. Frost also gives the reader the impression of the horizon looking the same, emphasising how lost the narrator is feeling, "Too much alike to mark or name a place by". There are other poems that resemble the idea of being alone; two examples are Home Burial and The Tuft Of Flowers. Home Burial is, for me, the loneliest poem in this selection, as it says that even though you may be surrounded by people it is possible to feel alone emotionally. In the beginning of the poem The Tuft Of Flowers the narrator is feeling alone physically. However this poem questions whether or not people can ever be truly alone, and, as a contrast to most of Frost's poems like Home Burial, decides you can't. Many parallels can be drawn between Tuft Of Flowers and The Wood Pile, another being nature, in a way, leading the narrator to an
Look at Sarah Orne Jewett's description of a New England town in the passage 'The Country of the Pointed Firs.' What impression do you get of Dunnet Landing?
Look at Sarah Orne Jewett's description of a New England town in the passage 'The Country of the Pointed Firs.' What impression do you get of Dunnet Landing? Pay particular attention not only to the details about the village itself but to what Jewett says about Mrs Todd's garden. Consider also her portrait of individual characters. What special 'regional' elements is the author emphasising? Writing in the nineteenth century, Sarah Orne Jewett adopts one of the most contemporaneous literary devices in 'The Country of the Pointed Firs,' producing a realistic portrayal of American life, whilst setting her scene specifically in the New England town of Dunnet Landing. Various authors of this period embraced this variation of 'realism' known as 'regionalism' due to its potential for the exploration of particular social issues, matters which could not be portrayed as effectively without a physical setting to intensify their significance. Caroline Zilboorg outlines this literary movement as often including 'vivid depictions of particular experience' one which explores 'the meaning of age, race, class and gender as well as region.' Although undertaking this technique of regionalist writing, the landscape Jewett writes about is merely a small garden at the back of a New England village house, whereas the majority of authors engage in writing about significantly larger and more
Commentary on Robert Frosts'The Gift Outright
Commentary on Robert Frosts' The Gift Outright Rahim Ladhani 3S1 414791 English Ms. Mansoor 824 Words Robert Frost traces the development of American culture from colonial times to a more present perspective in his poem, The Gift Outright. Frost tells the American story of colonialism, freedom, westward expansion, and the quest to develop a specifically American culture. In doing this, he focuses on explaining ways in which Americans supported the growth and development of their country and culture. Frost suggests that Americans showed their allegiance to their developing country and culture in several ways: battlefield bravery, commitment of talents to the good of the country, and dedication to expanding the United States' land and power. His reflection on the past is also a call for action in the future. He acknowledges that American culture is still not fully developed and the continued dedication of Americans, like occurred in the past, is required for the United States to recognize her full potential. The 'belonging' discussed in line one immediately establishes that there is some type of relationship between the land and the people. Furthermore, the land is treated as something that is material and can be owned because "the land was ours"(Frost 1). The second half of this line, "we were the lands"(Frost 1) establishes that things happening in a certain definite
Commentary: 'Out Out' by Robert Frost
Commentary on Robert Frost's 'Out Out' 'Out Out' is a poem that tells the story of a young boy cutting his hand off while chopping wood and then dies, and how those around him cope with the death. This poem shows many techniques which are quite common in Frost's poems; such as imagery, ambiguity and it also has a universal theme to it. This poem can be perceived to have several themes, one of which may be the lives of those living in rural areas and how they have to get on with their lives when they have lost someone close, because there is nothing else they can do. Another theme to the poem could be that of child labour in rural areas, and although the poem is set in Vermont, this is a universal theme, as child labour is known to exist all over the world. The first line of the poem, 'The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard' does many things for the poem. For a start, the line sounds quite threatening to us and immediately we think that the saw will later become a problem or an issue. The line also personifies the saw, which further makes us believe that the saw will later play a major role in the poem. Frost also personifies the saw by using words like snarled and rattled which makes the saw seem beast-like. The word buzz is onomatopoeic which again personifies the saw. The next line, 'And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood' describes the saw's