C.+Cox


 * Robert Frost: Fire and Ice:[[image:fire-and-ice-by-zeda-2.jpg width="206" height="245" align="left"]]**

//Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.//

The poem first begins by simply stating that the world will end in either fire or ice. This is a very simple and straightforward couple of lines, seeing that it is there really isn’t any other way to interoperate this. Scientists believe that the world will end in one of the ways; either burn up from the sun, or die because the world is covered in ice. Throughout the poem, you get a feeling that there is a more personal connection than just a simply statement in lines one and two. You see this in line (3 & 4) when he states “From what I’ve tasted of desire. I hold with those who favor fire” At this point in the poem, he is getting much more ambiguous. The reader is beginning to understand that this is not about the end of the world, but rather; perhaps about the end of a relationship. The reader can infer that fire is represents desire, and ice represents hate. The last four lines of the poem exemplify to the reader how both of the emotions (desire and hate) are common in relationships, and both can destroy or end a relationship, which ties the poem back to lines one and two.

By using vivid imagery such as fire, ice, desire, perish, and destruction. His selection of diction allows the reader to paint an image of death and destruction throughout the poem. Another literary device that Frost uses is symbolism. There are three main symbols that he uses in this poem; the world, fire, and ice. The world represents a relationship between two people who love each other. Evidence of this is found later in the poem when the reader discovers that the author has strong emotional ties to the poem. Fire represents the desire that is felt between a loving couple. He characterizes lust as fire because in many ways these two seemingly unrelated notions are very similar. A fire is hot, burns out of control quickly, and spreads with wild abandon. Desire is very similar in that it happens quickly without much thought of the consequences. Ice represents hatred that is experienced in a relationship between a couple. The deeper meaning of this poem is that desire and hatred are equally detrimental to a relationship.

//The people along the sand All turn and look one way. They turn their back on the land. They look at the sea all day.
 * Robert Frost: Neither Out Far Nor In Deep**[[image:robert.jpg width="319" height="392" align="right"]]

As long as it takes to pass A ship keeps raising its hull; The wetter ground like glass Reflects a standing gull

The land may vary more; But wherever the truth may be-- The water comes ashore, And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far. They cannot look in deep. But when was that ever a bar To any watch they keep?//

The literal interpretation of this poem begins with people standing on a beach staring out unto the ocean, literally turning their backs upon the land. These people observe a sea gull, standing in the shallow part of the bay. It appears to them as if the sea gull is standing on water. The poem gets much more ambiguous by the third stanza by stating “the land may vary more; but wherever the truth may be—The water comes ashore, And the people look to see.” This is when the reader begins to get the notion that the Frost is not simply talking about people observing the natural beauty of the ocean. In fact, he is using metaphors to tell a story about a religious group waiting for their savior. He does this by using biblical allusions, and symbolism.

Frost uses biblical allusions throughout the poem to illustrate that the people standing in the sand are not your everyday people. In the 2nd stanza he refers to a sea gull standing on the water. This is clearly a biblical allusion to Jesus walking on water. He chose his diction carefully in order to illustrate this biblical allusion by stating “wetter ground like glass” and “reflects”. After understanding who the sea gull represents, line five (5) begins to make more sense. “As long as it takes to pass” refers to Jesus’s followers waiting for his return.

Frost also uses symbolism to extract deeper meaning from the poem. He uses the land and the ocean to demonstrate two completely different ideas. The land symbolizes modern civilization, science and life as we know it. Evidence of this is found in line nine (9), “The land may vary more”. Our ever day lives are always changing; there is nothing certain about what is going to happen tomorrow. Scientific laws change, people change, there is no consistency. The ocean represents the vast unknown of the heavens and God. People are always fascinated with the unknown, hoping to learn one day of its secrets. The ocean has not been conquered like land; people do not comprehend the vastness of the ocean, much like how they do not comprehend God. The last stanza is where the reader can derive all of the deeper meaning out of the poem. Frost refers to the people not being able to look out far into the ocean. This actually equates to people having a very limited view of heaven. Yet, even though people can’t completely comprehend God, they still devote lots of energy towards trying to understand him. The last two lines state “But when was that ever a bar To any watch they keep” Frost is trying to say, when has this lack of knowledge ever kept an individual from trying to understand the unfathomable. The deeper meaning of this poem is that people will wait for Jesus to return to them regardless of what is going on within society, even though they understand very little of God’s plan. [|Jesus Walks -- Kanye West] Robert Frost (1874 – 1963) considered himself a New Englander, even though he was born in California and lived there for most of his life. He earned the honor of being Valedictorian of his high school; he later married Elinor White in 1894. Frost struggled at first in life, finding difficulty in what he wanted to do. In 1912, he found his calling in New England, and began writing poetry. Frost is considered by many as an “ideological descendant of the nineteenth century American transcendentalists” because of his commitment to express the beauty of nature.

//I never lost so much but twice, And that was in the sod. Twice have I stood a beggar Before the door of God!
 * Emily Dickinson: [49]**

Angels -- twice descending Reimbursed my store -- Burglar! Banker -- Father! I am poor once more!//

Reading through this short poem, it seems as if Dickinson has lost two people dear to her in which dealt with the ground. It is as if these losses had made her poor and begged God for help. In the second stanza, she talks about angels, reimbursing her store, saying that she is poor once more. There isn’t much ambiguity to this poem, as it is very straight forward. In lines one and two “I never lost as much but twice- And that was in the sod.” Obviously deals with Dickinson losing two people she cared dearly for. These two people were most likely her mother and her father. Her diseased parents were then buried, thus contributing to her association with “sod”. In lines three and four, she paints a picture of her begging at a church for a miracle to save her loved ones. She wants God to heal her parents, so they will not die. Instead, God sends two angels as illustrated in line five (5) to take her parents away to heaven. Dickinson then cries out “Burglar! Banker – Father!” This portrays her disbelief and anguish in watching her parents die at the hands of God. She is actually calling God all three of those names. He is a burglar because he has stolen her loved ones away without notice. He is a banker, because her parents are “paying the price” to go to heaven. He is Father, obviously because that it a biblical reference to God. The last line in the poem shows the reader that the loss of her loved ones has taken a large sentimental, spiritual, and emotional toll on her. She is not talking about being fiscally poor, but rather; being fundamentally poor of love. Dickinson uses literary techniques such as diction, and rhyme to illustrate the deeper meaning of the poem. In line seven (7) “Burglar! Banker – Father!), Dickinson uses these nouns to describe her feelings towards God. By combining all three in one breath, it shows her respect for God, as well as her bitterness. Her use of diction here is extremely instrumental to the poem, or else the reader might not have picked up on what she wanted to say. One might have noticed in this poem that there isn’t a rhyme scheme involved anywhere throughout the poem. Dickinson does this because a rhyme is predictable; it lulls the reader into feeling comfortable. She wanted the poem to be ragged, and unpredictable; much like how death is unexpected and difficult.


 * Emily Dickinson [288]**

//I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you -- Nobody -- Too? Then there's a pair of us! Don't tell! they'd advertise -- you know!

How dreary -- to be -- Somebody! How public -- like a Frog -- To tell one's name -- the livelong June -- To an admiring Bog!//

This short poem by Dickinson does not have much deeper meaning, or spiritual enlightenment; but it does give a good lesson. The first stanza involves Dickinson stating that she is a “nobody” and she is meeting someone else of the same manner. She seems obviously thrilled to meet somebody who shares the same tendencies. She then states almost in a state of panic “Don’t tell! They’d advertise – you know!” In the second stanza, she claims how awful it would be to be a “somebody” you would just end up being like a frog. Dickinson wanted to be assertive in saying that it is ok to be passive and evasive. That she is happy with being herself, and not trying to impress people. In line four (4) “Don’t tell! They’d advertise – you know!” illustrates her opinion towards society. She felt that people would exploit you if they felt that you could bring them the spot light. In the second stanza, it gets a little cloudier as to how she explains herself. It is clear that she is denouncing publicity and the limelight, but she does it in such a way that does not quite make sense. She uses a simile to portray people who show off their talent in line six (6) “How public – like a Frog”. She also states that the people who admire these “celebrities” are no better than the celebrities themselves. She exemplifies this by calling these individuals’ Bog’s; which is clearly a derogatory reference to being boring. This poem displays Emily Dickinson’s character because she is being assertive and making a strong point without calling out for the spotlight. In fact, she made her case that people need to be themselves and not try to impress other people in a poem where she is making fun of herself.


 * Emily Dickinson: [1129]**

//Tell all the Truth but tell it slant -- Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind --//

The poem begins by saying that people should tell the truth in slanted manners, and that “success in circuit lies”. It appears at first as if Dickinson intended to support the use of lying, where in fact; that is not entirely true. The rest of the poem goes on to say how surprising the truth may be, and how children should be put at ease. It appears as if the truth be spoken, it will be like lightning, and frighten the children, and blind every man listening. The poem does not seem to make any sense until one looks at it from a different point of view. In line one (1), Dickinson believes that it is best to tell the truth, but don’t say it straight, say it in a slanted way. Do not reveal all of the information at once, slowly share each element of the story in order to piece together the bigger picture. In line two (2), she explains how one must literally “beat around the bush” in order to be successful because she chose the word “circuit” to describe how must the truth be told. In lines three (3) through eight (8), she explains how detrimental the truth can be if it is not told in the proper manner. She compares lightning to telling the truth and explains how it can scare children. In the next line “The truth must dazzle gradually”, she reiterates that the truth must be told in a soft calm manner or else it will scare people “blind”. Dickinson uses diction and syntax to make this poem powerful and rich with meaning. At first glance, it appears as if she condones lying and being half truthful because of her use of diction and syntax in lines one (1) and two (2). Had she not chosen the words “slant” or “circuit”, the meaning of this poem would be changed drastically. The deeper meaning to this poem is to tell the truth, but be careful in how you present it to your audience.


 * Emily Dickinson: [1624]**

//Apparently with no surprise To any happy Flower The Frost beheads it at its play -- In accidental power -- The blonde Assassin passes on -- The Sun proceeds unmoved To measure off another Day For an Approving God.//

The literal interpretation of this poem is that a flower is beheaded by cold weather, and the sun moves on without caring. The entire thing is rather ambiguous until one looks at the poem as an extended metaphor with strong symbolic ties. The extended metaphor Dickinson creates is comparing Mother Nature to human lives. She begins in line two (2) with the happy Flower who is at play, which she capitalizes the first letter in flower to personify the flower as a human being, more specifically; a child. In line three (3) “Frost” beheads the flower in “accidental power”. These two lines seem to contradict themselves because a “beheading” has a negative connotation to it, while “accidental power” seems much more innocent. Regardless, this gentle cold front came in and destroyed the flower’s life. The blonde assassin is a symbol for the sun, as it passes on, unmoving without flinching at the death of a flower. The last line “for an approving God” shows that God created the world for creatures to live and die every day. The deeper meaning to this poem is that God created the world to be a never ending cycle of life and death. Without death, life would have no meaning. There would be no importance of one’s life. It is this never ending cycle of life and death which makes the world go round. Evidence of this can actually be found within the structure of Dickinson’s poem. She wrote the poem in 8 lines, the number 8 represents infinity, or never ending. The deeper meaning of this poem is that there will always be deaths and tragedies in life, and God will be watching unflinching because that is how he intended life to be; an infinite circle of life and death.


 * Emily Dickinson Bio:**

Email Dickinson (1830 - 1886) was born in in Amherst Massachusetts. The Dickinson family was considered the brightest and most respectable family in all of Amherst. Dickinson is recognized as one of the most prominent American poetry writers of all time. She used such vivid imagry to express her feelings to the world which were normally filled with terror and anguish. An interesting fact about Dickinson is that she never left the roof of her family; she only lived one year of her life outside of her family household. Emily Dickinson will continue to shape poetry for centuries to come.