Lowell

=Robert Frost  =

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Background Information
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26th, 1874. He moved to the New England area after experiencing his father's death from tuberculosis at age 11. He married Elinor White three years after they graduated high school as co-valedictorians. Frost was at first rejected repeatedly when he began his writing career but enjoyed great success later in life. He wrote some of his best work while living in England then moved to New England once more and made a living writing and teaching. However, his personal life was scarred by tragedy, and these experiences had major influences on his writing. He and Elinor lost their first son named Elliot to cholera and two daughters, Marjorie and Elinor, to illness. Frost’s son Carol committed suicide, and his sister, Jeanie, had to be committed to a mental hospital. He also lost his wife, Elinor, after she developed breast cancer and experienced heart failure. Frost died in Boston on January 29th, 1963 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost).

And would suffice
(Norton Anthology 787).

====In this poem, there are only nine lines with 3 main statements. The speaker is thinking about the possible ways in which the world could come to an end. Some people think that the world may be destroyed by the sun or some other form of explosion, which could be natural or the result of nuclear war. Some people may think that the Earth could experience another ice age, ending the world in a deep freeze. He considers the option of the world ending in fire. He seems to favor this end, however, he also thinks about the possibility of the world ending in ice and decides that both would be equal. An interesting yet ambiguous aspect of this poem is the meaning of fire and ice. In a literal sense, they represent the manners of destruction for the planet. However, within the entire context of the poem, it is clear that there is also a deeper meaning. For example, in the line that says, “From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire,” it can be interpreted that the speaker is referring to fire as a symbol of another concept such as desire, greed or violence acting as the end to things. When discussing the possibility of an end from ice, the speaker also says, “I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice.” Here, he may be connecting the concepts of hate, insensitivity, or indifference to the symbol of ice. In this poem, the speaker is actually discussing the equal potential of both violence and indifference to cause destruction of not the Earth, but the human soul. Frost may have been influenced to write this particular poem as a result of his conservative political beliefs which led him to stay away from the activism of the day (Norton Anthology 776). Frost received much criticism for his decision to not be involved, and this criticism along with Frost’s personal experience with his sister’s mental illness and brother’s suicide may have given him a bitter taste of some negative elements in society and other human beings.====

With the slow smokeless burning of decay
(Norton Anthology 783).

====This poem is longer than “Fire and Ice” and tells more of a story. There is a speaker who is walking outside on a winter day near a frozen swamp. He notices that the surroundings all look the same and make it hard to distinguish exactly where he is or where he is going. He sees a bird who seems to think that the speaker wants to take a feather and flies behind a pile of wood in fear before the man can follow. The wood-pile appears to be very old and isolated from surroundings except for a tree. The speaker finds it odd that this pile of wood was left forgotten out in the woods where it cannot be in a fire but instead warms the woods without fire. It is unclear exactly where the speaker is or why he is there. He considers turning back but continues on to find the wood-pile. This poem, although simple as a literal story, has deeper meaning after further analysis. The speaker taking a walk in the snowy outdoors may be a symbol or representation of any human walking through the unknown territory of life, searching for any form of direction or reassurance. The appearance of the bird could be significant as a symbol of God. The bird thinks that the man wants to take his feather and flies away, which could represent the way our faith or trust in our own religious views can come and go with our doubt and fears. The bird leading the man to the wood-pile shows how God has led this person or people in general to sometimes confusing events. The speaker notices that the pile is all alone and very old. This idea that the product of so much labor has been forgotten and has never realized its potential could be a reflection of Frost’s personal tragedies. He had to struggle a lot in the start of his writing career in order to be noticed and respected, which must have been very frustrating for him. He also had experienced the death of a few children and both of his parents. This poem could be a reflection of how Frost may be questioning the ability of God to lead our lives. He wants to have faith in the power of religion but is afraid of the possibility that people could invest so much hard work into things that may never be accomplished in life.====

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 The woods around it have it- it is theirs. ======

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 To scare myself with my own desert places
(Norton Anthology 788).

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In this poem, we get less of a story plot and more of a description. It describes the image of the surroundings as well as a clear explanation of the speaker’s feelings and emotions at the time. There is snow falling and it is getting darker outside. There are some stray weeds here and there that can be seen. The woods and snow covers all the animals. The speaker expresses how the snow makes his loneliness far worse, and that the snow has no expression. As empty as the field appears, the speaker feels that it cannot compare to the loneliness within his own heart. There are a couple parts that are somewhat ambiguous such as line 5, where it says, “The woods around it have it- it is theirs.” It is not explicitly stated what “it” exactly is. Quite possibly, “it” is the field on which the snow is still falling, or it could be a symbol for life or a person’s identity or happiness. There is another part that does not have clear meaning in line 13 that says, “They cannot scare me with their empty spaces.” The reader cannot be sure who “they” are, but it could be the woods that surround and enclose the field and life. This poem clearly has a theme of loneliness. The speaker expresses the extent of his loneliness, and this can be connected with the real-life loneliness that Robert Frost may have felt in his life. At this time he had already lost not only both parents and a few children, but had also committed his sister to a mental institution, which must have been extremely difficult to do. He still had family with him, but as he was known to suffer from depression, this may not have made a lot of difference to his deeper frame of mind and emotional state. There were most likely times in which Frost felt he had no one to understand how he was feeling or what he had to go through in his life career and endeavors. ======


====Back out of all this now too much for us, Back in a time made simple by the loss Of detail, burned, dissolved, and broken off Like graveyard marble sculpture in the weather, There is a house that is no more a house Upon a farm that is no more a farm And in a town that is no more a town. The road there, if you’ll let a guide direct you Who only has at heart your getting lost, May seem as if it should have been a quarry— Great monolithic knees the former town Long since gave up pretense of keeping covered. And there’s a story in a book about it: Besides the wear of iron wagon wheels The ledges show lines ruled southeast-northwest, The chisel work of an enormous Glacier That braced his feet against the Arctic Pole. You must not mind a certain coolness from him Still said to haunt this side of Panther Mountain. Nor need you mind the serial ordeal Of being watched from forty cellar holes As if by eye pairs out of forty firkins. As for the woods’ excitement over you That sends light rustle rushes to their leaves, Charge that to upstart inexperience. Where were they all not twenty years ago? They think too much of having shaded out A few old pecker-fretted apple trees. Make yourself up a cheering song of how Someone’s road home from work this once was, Who may be just ahead of you on foot Or creaking with a buggy load of grain. The height of the adventure is the height Of country where two village cultures ====

====And if you’re lost enough to find yourself By now, pull in your ladder road behind you And put a sign up CLOSED to all but me. Then make yourself at home. The only field Now left’s no bigger than a harness gall. First there’s the children’s house of make-believe, Some shattered dishes underneath a pine, The playthings in the playhouse of the children. Weep for what little things could make them glad. Then for the house that is no more a house, But only a belilaced cellar hole, Now slowly closing like a dent in dough. This was no playhouse but a house in earnest. Your destination and your destiny’s A brook that was the water of the house, Cold as a spring as yet so near its source, Too lofty and original to rage. (We know the valley streams that ====

when aroused Will leave their tatters hung on barb and thorn.) I have kept
====hidden in the instep arch Of an old cedar at the waterside A broken drinking goblet like the Grail Under a spell so the wrong ones can’t find it, So can’t get saved, as Saint Mark says they mustn’t. (I stole the goblet from the children’s playhouse.) Here are your waters and your watering place. Drink and be whole again beyond confusion ==== (Norton Anthology 789).

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====This poem is very different than the other Robert Frost poems that have been examined. The speaker begins by seeming to describe a situation where there is too much to deal with to continue on. There has been some sort of loss, and it has affected every element of life. The house, town, and farm are no longer what they once were. There is a looming presence in the town and it is marked by the events of the past. The speaker says that people should not let the trees scare or intimidate them and that people have most likely gone down this road before and may not be far ahead. The poem comes to a close with a reference to the Grail and the promise that a drink from it will bring wholeness. This poem has many literary elements throughout, including a simile in line 4: “Like graveyard marble sculpture in the weather,” relating to the effect of loss. There is even an instance of personification, where in line 16, a Glacier “braced his feet against the Arctic Pole.” These literary elements contribute a lot to the poem in that they make the imagery that much more vivid and poetic. The entire poem contains ambiguity, however, this functions as a way for the reader to get individual and personal meaning out of it. For example, the very beginning of the poem describes a vague situation, and in line 1 says, “Back out of all this now too much for us…” It is not clear what “this” exactly means, but it could stand for the situation or effects of loss. In line 2 it says, “Back in a time made simple by the loss,” however, the reader is not given any information on who this speaker is or what exactly they have lost, which could be any number of things. This poem, being later than many of his other popular works, seems to make many references to other Frost poems such as "The Road Not Taken," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and "After Apple Picking." Overall, the poem seems to be describing the experience of loss. In the beginning, nothing is the same and the person is unable to find guidance or direction anywhere, which is illustrated in the poem in lines 9 and 10: “The road there, if you’ll let a guide direst you who only has at heart your getting lost…” As the poem progresses, so do the speaker and audience. The part about the road that others have traveled on gives one reassurance and hope that people have gone through loss for many years and have still survived and lived life. By drinking the “Grail” people are looking back with happiness on the memories left behind, such as a “children’s playhouse,” and creating new life and meaning in the hole that the loss originally left. Frost wrote this after suffering the loss of three children, his son’s suicide, and the death of his wife. He manages to see hope in his situation and tries to be a voice of encouragement not only to himself but others who know loss.====

=== Design <span style="background-color: #008000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <span style="background-color: #008000; color: #008000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> ===

<span style="background-color: #008000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
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<span style="background-color: #008000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If design govern in a thing so small
(Norton Anthology 788).

The poem “Design” is a short poem that is told like a story along with the thoughts of the speaker. A person sees a white spider on a white flower who has caught a white moth for its food. This person who is amazed by this scene questions how it came to be that this particular spider found its way on top of this particular flower, and why it had to be this particular moth to get caught in the spider’s trap. He states that only a plan of darkness could bring such an occurrence; either that or it simply happened, like everything else, with no plan at all. Some literary elements in this poem are uses of simile. One example is in line 3, where the moth is described to be “like a white piece of rigid satin cloth,” and line 8, where the moth is simply “dead wings carried like a paper kite.” These descriptions serve to make the moth seem even more innocent than the color white implies. The “satin cloth” makes one think of something like a wedding dress material, which is both beautiful and represents purity. The image of the “paper kite” also illustrates innocence, but from a youthful and playful perspective, which makes the tragedy of the moth’s death even worse. To have been killed on a white flower also could mean that the surroundings of the tragedy, which might be beautiful and innocence, are forever changed and affected by the event. The speaker in this poem is essentially contemplating the ramifications of a world where God plans such horrible things to happen. However, he also wonders whether living in a world ruled by chaos alone is any better. He seems to be torn between these ideas and that is how many people who have experienced tragedy would feel. Frost had experienced great tragedies in his life that would cause him to question the intentions of God. It may have been hard to believe that God could possibly allow such things as the loss of a child, especially more than one, or the tragedy of mental illness in the family, to happen to him. Frost probably wanted to have faith that God had a purpose for him, even though these terrible things happened to him, because losing family or experiencing any form of tragedy can only be made worse if the ones left behind feel that they have no purpose or worth in existing. <span style="color: #d41111; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> "I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering. "
-Robert Frost

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-Robert Frost

<span style="color: #dc3232; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> "To be a poet is a condition, not a profession. "
-Robert Frost