...Robert Frost’s “Fire and Ice” In 1923, prolific poet Robert Frost wrote the poem entitled, “Fire and Ice”, which was his way of deciphering which way the world would end and cease to exist. He pondered through two solutions: fire and ice, which are two extremes on a spectrum. Through many of Robert Frost’s works, he discusses the existence of life and man’s response to life and nature that surrounds it, which is no surprise that he would focus his attention to the demise of the world. Frost’s unique use of imagery in “Fire and Ice,” brings this short poem to life as he gives us, as readers, a look into his thoughts of the fate of the world. As you read the title of the poem, “Fire and Ice,” there are many conclusions one can come up with that they would think the poem is about. Frost’s use of imagery causes us, as readers, to be drawn in immediately. The first line of the poem tells us what Frost recalls others to say how the world will end, and then he continues to give his personal account. He begins by saying, “From what I’ve tasted of desire/I hold with those who favor fire” (4-5). These two lines seem to describe the intense passions and desires, which can consume us and cause us to be destroyed if they are unhealthy. Because of our extreme passions with desires, Frost agrees with those who believe they world will end in fire. Frost continues by discussing the viewpoints of those who believe the world will end ice. He states: ...
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...holds. I. Introduction a. Thesis b. Connection Sentence II. Title c. Key to interpretation d. How the symbolism could be different if the name was changed III. Theme e. Choices f. Individualism IV. Setting g. ? h. ? V. Conclusion Running head: THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF “THE ROAD NOT TAKEN” The Symbolic Meaning of “The Road Not Taken Gabrielle Brown Liberty University Abstract The Symbolic Meaning of “The Road Not Taken” The poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, provides the reader with symbolic meaning; coaxing the reader to consider the idea there are choices to be made, and based on the verdict determines what the future holds. In order for the reader to gain a full understanding of the symbolic meaning of the poem it is vital for the reader to grasp the importance of the title, themes, and setting. The title of Robert Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken” is vital to the reader in their interpretation of the message. If the title had been changed to “The Road Never Traveled” or “The Road Less Traveled,” it could have changed the point that Frost was trying to get across and that was how the choices that we make in life can be rather difficult at times, but one must chose even if they do not know what the end result is going to be. When changing the title to “The Road Never Traveled”...
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...Poetry Essay “The Road Not Taken” By: Robert Frost English 102 In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, he creates a negative tone which reflects the difficult choices humans make in life. It is about taking chances with major life choices and the uncertainties that one may face in life. Some of the themes in “The Road Not Taken” are individualism. The speaker makes a choice to go his own way by taking the road that is less traveled. Another theme is caution. Before the speaker decides to the “the road less traveled” the speaker decides to take time to think about taking the other road. Commitment is another theme in “The Road Not Taken”. The speaker does not have second thoughts about the road he decides to take which is the “road less traveled”. The speaker also has accepted the decision he has made to take the road less traveled. The “Road Not Taken” does have some symbolism. It is about actual and figurative roads which represents the roads that we drive and walk on. As the speaker of the poem states “every road we take, there is a road we don’t take”. Even if we make a wrong turn and take a different road these decisions may make us have changes in our lives and we will always think about the roads we did not take. The identity of the narrator is unclear. The poem does not state who the speaker is or the physical appearance of the speaker. It is left up to our imagination on what the speaker’s physical appearance is. I would describe the speaker...
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...The Attraction of Woods on a Snowy Evening In Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, we follow what appears to be the traveler’s short journey through a beautiful snowy landscape. Words such as peaceful and serene come to mind. During the first few lines of this poem it seems as if this traveler has found an idyllic setting. However, upon closer examination, we have to ask the question of why this traveler has picked “the darkest evening of the year…to stop without a farmhouse near.” Does this traveler have other things on his mind beyond admiring the scenery? Let’s step into the setting of this poem and see what intentions this weary traveler had. Beginning with the title, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” the reader already knows that the traveler is stopping to admire the falling snow in this wintery land. Sounds pleasing enough, yet the very first line alerts the reader to the fact that the traveler is somewhat cognizant as to who’s woods he is journeying through. He goes onto mention that the owner of the woods won’t know he is there since the owner lives in the village. This seems to give some indication that maybe there is more going on in this traveler’s mind. Almost a hint that he is either trespassing on this land or maybe he just doesn’t want anyone to know what he is up to. The fourth line of this poem, “To watch his woods fill up with snow”, seems to be a turning point where the reader is taken from this idyllic setting to almost...
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...The Darkness in the life of Robert Frost 03 Aug 2012 Robert frost is one of the most well-known and enticing poets of the 20th century. His poems were full of metaphors, similes, symbolism, and onomatopoeias. He was a very descriptive and egocentric writer whose work is usually known for being rooted in realism with some dark undertones. What makes Robert frost’s works seem so dark? In this paper I will analyze his poetry, which may provides the answer to what made Robert frost one of the greatest, yet darkest poets in the 20th century. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, nine years after the end of the civil war. After the death of his father in 1885, the family moved to New England, where Robert would grow up spend the rest of his life. He was not a good student, but he took easily to writing. In high school, he graduated as Co-valedictorian with his future wife, Elinor Miriam White. After high school, Frost attended Dartmouth college and held many different odd jobs before he becoming a teacher. Most of Robert frost’s poetry was based in his native New England. He was a realist, which meant that most or all of his poems dealt within the real world. He was more of a traditional writer, although most of his poems are free verse. His poems focused on how or what man was thinking. Much of his poetry included features of the New England landscape. This type of writing was carefully tied together to create not only the surface of the...
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..."Nature's first green is gold" ......................Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost Frost's poem contains the perfect image of Vermont's spring landscape. The hardwoods lose their leaves in autumn and stay bare through the winter. In spring, the first green to appear is really gold as the buds break open. The willows and maples have this temporary gold hue. In only a few days, the leaves mature to green. Figurative Language Figurative language uses "figures of speech" - a way of saying something other than the literal meaning of the words. For example, "All the world's a stage" Frost often referred to them simply as "figures." Frost said, "Every poem I write is figurative in two senses. It will have figures in it, of course; but it's also a figure in itself - a figure for something, and it's made so that you can get more than one figure out of it." Cook Voices p235 Metaphor A figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two things essentially unalike. To Frost, metaphor is really what poetry is all about. He is notably a poet of metaphors more than anything else. This is so important, we should hear directly from the poet. Frost said," Poetry begins in trivial metaphors, pretty metaphors, 'grace metaphors,' and goes on to the profoundest thinking that we have. Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another. People say, 'Why don't you say what you mean?' We never do that, do we, being all of us too much poets. We like...
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...the life of Robert Frost will be explained along with some of his outstanding poetry. We will discuss who he was, how Frost started in writing his poetry, and how some of his poems relate to what is happening in today's world. Robert Frost was named after the Southern General, Robert E. Lee. He was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California. Because his parents were a teacher and a journalist, he was always around books. He studied literature from William Shakespeare and poems from Robert Burns and William Wordsworth. Robert excelled in many topics in school such as history, botany, Latin, and Greek. Frost also played football and graduated top of his high school class. Robert Frost started writing poems at an early age. His first poem, “La Noche Triste” was published in his high school newspaper. Frost later enrolled in an Ivy League college in Hanover, New Hampshire. Robert Frost was not fond of the campus life so he quit college and started teaching while he was writing poetry. Frost got his first break as a poet in 1894 when the New York Magazine, “Independent” published his poem, “My Butterfly” for only 15 dollars. Robert Frost later in 1895 married his lifelong sweetheart Elinor Miriam White and had six children together. Robert Frost later entered Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and even though he left because of illness, Harvard University was one of many institutions that would later award him an honorary degree. Robert Frost had to support...
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...American Poetry Interpretation Robert Frost, one of the most famous poets in American history, gave a whole new window to the world to view it through poetry. His poetry collection explores many different aspects of his writing. Though he was one of the finest poets in American history, his works were the subject of misinterpretation due to the figurative language used in his works. The publication of most of Frost’s successful poems occurred after he moved to New England in 1912. As a result, Frost used the scenery of New England’s surroundings, nature, and the speech of the countryside in many of his poems. Frost’s poems seem to explain the nature of living of people and seem to be self-explanatory on the surface, but his observations have an edge of skeptics and irony, which the reader discovers upon reading several of his poems. His poems are never as old-fashioned, easy or carefree as they might appear on the surface. Though Frost used the uncomplicated language of the New England countryside, the complicated and darker themes of his poems do not appear on the surface. Nature comes into play in the first live of the poem “The Road Not Taken” when Frost introduces two separate paths in the woods, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both” (Frost, 1999/1916, line 1-2). He has to make a choice during his journey in the woods regarding, which path he should choose to be same and happy at the end but is not able to decide the right path...
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...Among the five authors that I have chosen they all relate themselves to the material that they write. The authors that I have chosen are, the poets, Robert Frost and Robinson Jeffers, the prose writers, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and Willa Cather, and the dramatist, Eugene O’Neil. In all of their writings they have an autobiographical nature that tells the reader about the authors own life. Without the aspects of these authors’ lives their writing could differ. This aspect of revealing ones own life through writing can be seen in Robert Frost’s poems not because he portrays his own life, but quite the opposite. It is commonly known that Robert Frost life was filled with much depression. Because of this, Robert Frost tends to dwell on the surreal beauty of nature in life. It is seen in his poems such as “The Pasture” that Robert Frost puts what has fulfilled his life in his writing. Like these other authors, Robinson Jeffers also involves his life in his poetry. Throughout his life Jeffers religious intent shows him to be a pantheist whose God is the evolving universe. In his poem “Credo” he talks about how nothing is real except but what we make it. The idea that God is in our minds, and he creates the images that makes things real. The religious background of his life affected him to write the poems of the permanence of God. Similar to Jeffers deep appreciate of God, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman has a profound value for the culture of rural New England. In her story...
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...With four pulitzer prize awards, Robert Frost, though criticised of being monothematic, has held a message that has stood the test of time. Much of his success is credited towards the blank verse style of writing, within which he addresses the basic compound and detriment of human nature, a particular poem entitled, ‘The Wood-Pile’, showcases these themes. A single story is often told by his assorted works; to consciously move away from modernized society in order to find something worth understanding. That what can be sought in nature, away from the roles or responsibilities infringed upon man while immersed in a modern society, are of more depth and personal importance than otherwise found. In ‘The Wood-Pile’, Frost uses visual imagery to explore the themes of nature, death, and limitations, showing that man is responsible for his own constraints. The concept of nature within ‘The Wood-Pile’ takes on a separate reality of the subject’s mind. The speaker is able to both influence and react to the nature within the frozen swamp and understand that nature is a separate yet equal force which is actively syncopated with humans. This concept is demonstrated in lines 32, 33, and 34, where Frost writes, “What held it though on one side was a tree / Still growing, and on one a stake and prop / These latter about to fall.” The visual imagery of the stake close to uselessness can be seen as a reflection of nature’s natural tendency to undo what man has impressed upon it. Man...
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...“Miles to go before I sleep” Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, is a few lines describing a man’s horse ride through the woods, but it speaks to everyone who reads it about major questions concerning their lives. In Stanley Burnshaw’s Biography, “Robert Frost”, he said, “In the great short lyrics of New Hampshire (1923) and West-Running Brook (1928)—such as “Fire and Ice,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and the title poem of the latter book—a bleak outlook on life persuasively emerges from the combination of dramatic tension and nature imagery freighted with ambiguity”. Frost was a powerful poet who used metaphors and imagery in his writings; for that reason most of his written work is discussed at the academic level and his work can often be...
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...In the poem, “Wind and Window Flower” by Robert Frost, the conflict of unattainable love is dramatized through diction, personification, and imagery. The poem is about a winter breeze being in love with a flower though they never meet due to the window separating them. He repeatedly comes to the window at night just to catch a glimpse of her since the morning fog is preventing him. “He gave the sash a shake,” (18) shows the winter breeze trying to get the flower’s attention. “But the flower leaned aside /And thought of naught to say,” (25-26) portrays her unrealization of his affections. Then, the breeze had to move on shown “And the morning found the breeze / A hundred miles away” (27-28). This poem is very anthropomorphic because it portrays love not always having a happy ending, but eventually needing to move on, which is a common situation in youth. The diction of the poem emphasizes the separation of the breeze and the flower due to their differences. For example, “frosty window veil” (5) is a symbol of his inability to see her in the morning but “To come again at dark” (12) shows that he can only see her at night. “He was a winter wind / Concerned with ice and snow, / Dead weeds and unmated birds” (13-15) shows the differences between the...
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...Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” is a poem describing typically Sundays during the winter season. Hayden begins the poem with the father's getting up in the early morning making the necessary adjustment warming the house for his family to start the day after a long week of work. The element of figurative language that enriches imagery and sounding are an essential element of this poem contributing to the message of “Those Winter Sunday”. The element of figurative language with the use of metaphor and personification enriches the imagery of the temperature of the house. Hayden help illustrates the coldness of the house by stating: “fearing the chronic angers of that house, (2. 9). This metaphor helps explain the reason for the son of wanting to not leave his warm cozy room and he mentally not prepares to embrace the cold temperature of the rest of the house. The line also shows personification by giving the house, human characteristic in which also enhances the imagery. “Chronic angers” show's emphasis on the cold temperature of the house and conflict among the family....
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...“... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” (Frost, Robert). This excerpt taken from “The Road Not Taken”, shows the choices, and the consequences of those choices. These themes are present in both the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a story of a Southern white teenager, Huckleberry Finn is being “civilized” by the society's standards, taking place throughout the Mississippi River between 1835 and 1845, years before the American Civil War. While the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, takes place in the early 1900s, following a Southern African-American...
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...In both passages, the authors characterizes one or both characters as loyal, devoted and a little gullible, which ultimately conveys the theme. In “Mending Wall” two neighbors argue over whether to rebuild a wall between their properties or not. The neighbor who stubbornly believes the wall should not be built believes this because it is a tradition within his family. The opposite neighbor states he “will not go behind his father’s saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’” (Frost 43-45). In The Interlopers, generations of fighting and hatred between two families has escalated to the point where the heads of the families are out to kill each other and neither main character plans to break the tradition....
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