Like so many artists, Frost drew from his personal experiences as inspiration for his poetry. Frost is described by biographers as having “links between the events of Frost’s own life – a gothic chronicle of disasters – and the poetry”. (McQuade et al., 1999, p. 1901) Frost lost his father at a very early age. He was only 11 year old at the time of his father’s death. “But it was not only the early death of his father that convinced Frost of the evil in existence. His own first child died in infancy; his only son committed suicide; one daughter died after childbirth, and another was mentally ill; his embittered wife refused on her deathbed to admit him to her room”. (McQuade et al., 1999, p. 1901) Frost experienced a great deal of loss throughout his life and that loss is reflected in his work. That loss, however, is not always easily uncovered. Frost often masked the pain in his writings with symbolism and metaphors.…
For the reader there should be several different moods that take place. The first of which is loneliness being in the woods by yourself Frost describe this as “and be one traveler, long I stood”. The reader gets the feeling of…
Shurr. William; (2003) Once More to the “Woods”: A New Point of Entry into Frost’s Most Famous Poem. Published by: The New England Quarterly, Inc. 584-590.…
The speaker seems to search for solitude, as he rides through the woods in search of solitude he realizes his obligations to the things in his life. The speaker thinks of the man who owns the land and that “His house is in the village though” (2). This line highlights that Frost acknowledges that he knows the man who owns the place where he goes to escape. Frost has a sense of acceptance that the solitude he crafted for himself isn’t real. As much as Frost seeks escape he knows that it is illogical and his “horse must think it queer” that he has left society (5). The “horse” in this poem represents the speaker’s sensibilities, the speaker rides into the woods, yet his horse questions what he is doing. The horse questions stopping “without a farmhouse near” the horse is personified by the word “farmhouse” instead of a barn or stable. The horse, being part of the speaker knows it belongs inside and not in the woods. The speaker’s”horse” or in a literal sense his conscience, creates an internal struggle between the speaker’s want for solitude and his involvement in society. As much as the speaker wants to fulfill his self-prescribed solitude he knows that he has “promises to keep” (14). The speaker finds himself conflicted but ends up knowing that his allegiances lie with the world and other…
Poetry is subjective in its very nature, which is what makes it sometimes so beautiful. It can not be argued or reasoned with; it just is. There are, however, some very important technical parts to a poem. Theme is one of these parts. The theme of poetry is not always readily identifiable as the author may simply be trying to state feelings or memories of a certain idea or event. More times than not, though, present in poetry are multiple themes. Such is the case in Emily Dickenson’s “Crumbling is not an instant’s Act,” Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays,” and Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Theme is a distinct, recurring, and unifying quality or idea that is the subject of a particular composition and all three of the aforementioned poems have similar but distinct themes.…
The literary device that is being used is juxtaposition .In stanza 1 states,”To say...would suffice”. In the poem I realize more and more how their poem relates to how fire and ice are opposites but they both causes destruction. The author wanted to tell the reader about all regrets before it's too late . This how this poem uses literary devices such as juxtaposition.…
to themselves, Frost uses this to tell the story in ‘The Wood-Pile’ showing how this poem is moving forward it is an expedition. ‘The hard snow held me, save where now and then’ the words used here come across as very harsh as snow is normally soft not hard, this inflicts the change in the nature in the area of where the narrator is it always uses visual imagery so the picture of the woods is shown. ‘A small bird flew before me’ A technique that Frost uses is anthropomorphism which is used for the bird, as he shows him as if it is his "last stand".…
the night can be accustomed to, and it is not always so unknown. Yet, in Frost’s poem, the night…
Walking alone at night, for some, can seem like a peaceful thing to do, to help clear a person’s mind and let the day’s troubles disappear into the dark. For others, though, the night is when a person feels the most alone and must face their own demons. Robert Frost makes the night become that dark, grim and depressing time in which people reflect on themselves in his poem “Acquainted with the Night”. The first time reading the poem, one just simply thinks a person is taking a walk at night in the city, keeping to themself when meeting the watchman and listening to the sounds on the streets around, all the while keeping time by the moon in the sky as to when to head back home. But, when taking a closer look, the reader can begin to see the pain, grief and the foreboding feeling the speaker has about life itself, the feeling of being alone and wanting it to stay that way. It also shows that the speaker isn’t the only person with pain and grief on this night. The theme of Robert Frost’s poem “Acquainted with the Night” is depression and grief in the speakers’ personal life. Frost tells us this by using symbolism and tone in the lines of the poem.…
Robert Frost (1874- 1963). Robert Frost “was the most widely admired and highly honoured American poet of the 20th century (Eiermann).” Robert Frost was raised in rural New England where he grew a fond love for the outdoors and nature (Merriman). His love with nature elements has probably overwhelmed him so much that it has been reflected upon in many of his poems such as “The Tuft of Flowers,” “Reluctance,” and “Birches.” One of the nature imageries that have been used frequently by Robert Frost is the snow imagery. Although the snow imagery appears in many other poems by Frost we will be dealing with the poems “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Even though “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” share many qualities such as the common imagery of snow, the scene of the speaker travelling at night and the quantity of stanzas, they are as equally different or even more so. The speakers of the poems have different feelings towards the snow and on the area that they are in. As a consequence of the different feelings that the narrators have, the poems have different moods and themes. As a result the snow imagery in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” causes the mood and theme of each poem to be significantly different.…
Robert Frost’s “Acquainted With the Night” begins with the instantly recognizable scene of a man walking out into the raining night, without any apparent destination in mind. This cliche picture is almost universally seen as portraying someone who is depressed because they feel they have failed at something, or perhaps something horrible has happened to them, such as the loss of a family member. The speaker in this poem is afflicted with the first option. He writes of how he took a step back and looked at the world around him as an outsider. In doing so he feels as though he hasn’t made any satisfying impact with his life, and that his time is passing him by, and he is wasting it.…
In line one she starts off by saying “Mother tried to take her life”, in this quote she refers to her mom as Mother which is a very cold and distant way to refer to one’s mom (Honum 1). She also in the first four lines uses very short sentences that give the tone of someone who is acting distant. This cold and distance syntax is what gives this stanza it winter theme. In the next stanza it goes to spring which symbolizes rebirth and moving forward. The diction used in lines 7-8 are the best example of this, because they say “Birds flew from the woods fingertips” here the word choice of woods meaning something dark and scary, as well as the fact that the birds are escaping from the woods represents getting through a horrible set back in life(Honum). The next stanza uses words like fruit, grass, and daisies which are all things associated with summer. She also uses a much longer sentence. Fall comes last and it talks about how quick things come and go like summer. “Unless it doesn’t stop, like moonlight which has no pace to speak of falling through the cedar limbs, falling through the rock”, this means that like moonlight not all things last forever that everything will eventually slip away(Honum…
Robert Frost wrote many magnificent works of poetry within his lifetime. Two of his poems that were written within seven years of each other, “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, have such remarkable comparisons within each other. Frost plays on many aspects within each, while still keeping consistency of themes such as life, nature, and the emotions of the narrator and how they affect their lives and choices. With the undertone of life being a key component, one speaks of a choice to make and how it can affect the life from that moment forward, the other hints at a life lived and reflection.…
1. Does the horse think, or is the writer using this to postpone his thoughts…
During his life, Robert Frost, the icon of American literature, wrote many poems that limned the picturesque American Landscape. His mostly explicated poems “Birches” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” reflect his young manhood in the rural New England. Both of these poems are seemingly straightforward but in reality, they deal with a higher level of complexity and philosophy. Despite the difference in style and message, “Birches” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” are loaded with vivid imagery and symbolism that metaphorically depict the return to the nature and childhood, the struggle between reality and imagination, and also freedom and captivation.…