In "Frost at Midnight", why are Coleridge's thoughts not just mere musings? As a romantic poet, Coleridge explores man's relationship with nature and the effects of imagination
In "Frost at Midnight", why are Coleridge's thoughts not just mere musings? As a romantic poet, Coleridge explores man's relationship with nature and the effects of imagination on the human mind, but some of his ideas are more individual to himself. "Frost at Midnight" relies on a highly personal idiom to express its central themes. It not only states the author's thoughts, but also his concerns and his hopes towards the world and towards his son. Coleridge conveys his concerns to the reader from early in the poem. 'The frost performs its silent ministry.' The word "performs" subtly implies that the action has to be done, yet done in a solitary and lonely way. Also the word ministry has connotations of religious healing. The whole line is metaphorical to that fact that Coleridge is trying to change this alien world for the better, in a secret way. The diction in the first line carries an elusive resonance and enforces the idea that Coleridge has concerns for the world at that time. Coleridge wishes his 'babe' to have a different childhood than him. For he was raised up 'in the great city, pent mid' cloisters dim.' He wishes his child to enjoy what he was deprived of when he was a kid. He wants his son to 'wander like a breeze'. The juxtaposition of the dim city and the light freedom provides a very sharp contrast. The thou in 'but thou my babe' is italized further to add to
Discuss some of the major thematic concerns in the poetry of Frost and explore the means by which he puts these ideas across.
Discuss some of the major thematic concerns in the poetry of Frost and explore the means by which he puts these ideas across. Refer to at least 3 poems. Robert Frost, throughout his years writing poems, has always been examining various aspects of life which interests him. Even the most mundane event can be viewed by Frost in a new light, granting him new insights into the very cruz of human living, which would be the relationship of humanity and nature, the relationship between human beings, work and eventual death. These are the various themes which Frost spent time and effort understanding, and expressing his views in his poems. Often known as a pastoral poet, Frost writes many of his poems in a natural setting, but even so, Frost usually included people in his poetry. He explored how man and nature interacted and their differences. He usually begins a poem with an observation of something in nature and then moves toward a connection to some human situation or concern. One way Frost illustrated this relationship is his portrayal of man and nature in his poems. The description of how Frost meets the butterfly and later, "the butterfly and [him] had lit upon,/Nevertheless, a message from the dawn" in "The tuft of flowers", is Frost showing how he and the butterfly are able to come to a realisation together, a mutual understanding, which eventually leads him to the epiphany
Commentarty: Mending Wall by Robert Frost
Commentary on Robert Frost's 'Mending Wall' At first glance 'Mending Wall' is a simple, pleasant poem containing all the aspects of a lyric that is sweet to the ear and able to give the reader or listener a 'feel good' sensation. It has all the right elements that a good poem (as defined by the following, admittedly limited, criteria) should have, viz alliteration, assonance, rhythm, structure, tone and of course, the ubiquitous iambic pentameter. Is it really anymore than that? In this commentary I shall argue and try to demonstrate that 'Mending Wall' is in fact a very profound and thought-provoking piece of work. It not only provokes deep thought and argument but also makes the reader question his own values. When President John F Kennedy inspected the Berlin Wall he quoted the poem's first line: "Something there is that doesn't love a wall". This shows that the poem had quite a significant impact on the president, and that he perceived the poem to be about political walls and not just a wall between two farmers in rural New England. The Russians also saw this in Frost's poem, and we know this because when 'Mending Wall' was first published in Russia, they omitted the first line: "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." This shows that Frost's poem about a neighbour who insists on having a wall between his property and the next is simply a metaphor for the
Robert Frost Selected Poems - 'The Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening' - Analysis and Appreciation
Robert Frost Selected Poems 'The Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening' - Analysis and Appreciation Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on the 26th March 1874 and died on the 29th January 1963 in Boston. He was one of America's leading twentieth century poets and won many awards and honours, including four Pulitzer Prizes. When Frost was eleven, he moved to New England, where his interest in poetry came during his high school years at Lawrence, Massachusetts. He studied at Harvard from 1897 to 1899, although he did not get a formal degree. During his life, he went through many occupations such as working as a teacher and cobbler. He also managed a farm that his grandfather had bought him, but when this failed he decided to sell it and used the money to take his family to England, where he could devote his time to writing poetry. By the time he returned to the United States in 1915, he had written and published a number of collections and became one of America's most celebrated poets. With each new book - including 'Mountain Interval' (1916), 'New Hampshire' (1923) and 'Steeple Bush' (1947) - fame and publicity amplified. I do not read much poetry, although I particularly favour the writings of Robert Frost. Many of his poems including 'The Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening' focus on images and descriptions of the natural
The presentation of nature in Robert Frost's poetry
The presentation of nature in Robert Frost's poetry Many of Robert Frost's poems contain the vital ingredient of 'nature'. Frost uses nature as a metaphor, primarily, in his poems to express the intentions of his poems. He uses nature as a background metaphor in which he usually begins a poem with an observation of something in nature and then moves towards a connection to some human situation. He uses rural landscapes, homely farmers and the natural world to illustrate this human psychological struggle with everyday situations that we seem to experience. Frost uses blank verse in "The Wood-Pile" by using an iambic pentameter. This is very typical of Frost in his nature poetry. We get this use of iambic pentameter in "Mending Wall" and "After Apple-Picking". In "The Wood-Pile", some lines are blank verse, "To warm the frozen swamp as best it could" However, other lines present more stress and great irregularity, as in line 26, with its six stresses and spondaic emphasis on this year's snow, "No runner tracks in this year's snow looped near it." In "The Wood-Pile", the speaker sees a bird, which eventually leads him to the wood-pile. Frost then uses his sense of ambiguity, which he does to most of his poems. In "The Wood-Pile", the speaker is in effect taking nature (the bird) as personally communicating with him, as if nature were concerned with what decision he makes, go
Poets often use nature imagery to comment on the relationship between humans and the natural environment surrounding them.
Poets often use nature imagery to comment on the relationship between humans and the natural environment surrounding them. Traditionally, this relationship is portrayed in a positive manner as it places emphasis on the concept that nature is representative of beauty; consequently, embracing this representation will enlighten the human experience. The facets of that relationship are represented within Dylan Thomas' "Fern Hill" and Robert Frost's "Birches". Both poets invoke an image of nature that is picturesque, serene and innocent in order to convey a message that one can have a fulfilling life if they focus on the beauty that exists within the primary world. Conversely, Coleridge's "Dejection: An Ode" contains a different interpretation of what one's relationship with nature should involve. The speaker feels that a simple appreciation of beauty is insufficient; one must identify with that beauty through the soul in order to be enlightened. Despite the fact that "Fern Hill" and "Birches" initially appear to express satisfaction about the value of superficial human experiences, when analyzed in conjunction with "Dejection: An Ode", the meanings of these two poems are altered. Frost's "Birches", Thomas' "Fern Hill" and Coleridge's "Dejection: An Ode" all convey different levels of dejection upon initial examination; however, when contrasting the expressions of the
After Apple Picking by Robert Frost
Qn: Do a critical appreciation on the following poem 'After Apple Picking' by Robert Frost, paying special attention to the effectiveness of the poet's presentation of ideas. My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree Toward heaven still, And there's a barrel that I didn't fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn't pick upon some bough. But I am done with apple-picking now. Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off. I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough And held against the world of hoary grass. It melted, and I let it fall and break. But I was well Upon my way to sleep before it fell, And I could tell What form my dreaming was about to take. Magnified apples appear and disappear, Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear. My instep arch not only keeps the ache, It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round. I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend. And I keep hearing from the cellar bin The rumbling sound Of load on load of apples coming in. For I have had too much Of apple-picking: I am overtired Of the great harvest I myself desired. There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall. For all That struck the earth, No
First Ice First Frost These two English Translations of the Russian poem by Andrei Voznesenky are about a girl being rejected for the first time.
First Ice First Frost These two English Translations of the Russian poem by Andrei Voznesenky are about a girl being rejected for the first time. The young girl's feelings of hurt and rejection are described in terms of coldness throughout the poem. "The first ice of human hurt". The theme that is put across from the poem is of growing up, and the experience of loosing someone for the first time. Both of these poems are very similar, but they have both been translated in two different styles. This helps to alter the meaning a little from the original Russian version. The titles of the two Russian poems by Andrei Voznesenky 'First ice' and 'First Frost' differ in many ways. Examples of this are the word 'Ice' used in the first poem, ice I hard and takes a long time to melt. This suggests to me that it will take a long time for the girl to get over the special person who has hurt them so much. The writer of this poem probably used 'Ice' to show what the girl was feeling inside. Whereas 'Frost' in the second poem is softer and doesn't hang around for a long time, meaning it may not take as long for this person to get over there hurt and rejection from there lover. In the first poem the phrase 'A girl freezes' shows how the girl has become shocked, frozen to the spot. In poem two ' A girl freezing' tells us that she isn't frozen to the spot she is just freezing. This shows how
Stopping by the Woods On A Snowy Evening, Commentary
STOPPING BY THE WOOD ON A SNOWY EVENING This poem was composed by Robert frost in 1922. It is narrative in style and consists of four stanzas, each stanza having four lines. Each verse is constructed in the iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables - one stressed and one unstressed syllable, alternately. As the title suggests, the poem features a journey through the woods. Frost is said to have composed this after a long night of work on another poem, 'New Hampshire'. In the morning, when he stepped out of his cottage, it is said that he was so taken in by the scenic beauty of his surroundings that he was inspired to compose this poem there and then. Critics have marveled at the beauty of the poem, it required little thought and came to Frost in short bursts of revelation. He composed it in a matter of a few minutes. Though the language or diction used by Frost is simple, it suggests at an altogether deeper meaning. Frost's philosophy on life is reflected in this poem. The poem commences with an easy note and gives rise to wisdom later along. The persona and the author are clearly separated from each other into two different entities. The speaker is depicted at another time and place from that of the writer. The persona is a way-farer who journeys through the woods which offer him temptations which he wants to indulge in but ultimately resists. There is a mysterious quality
MENDING WALL
Mending Wall - Robert
