Discoveries often demand the re-evaluation of an individual’s outlook on life, a process in which reconsidering perspectives allows one to make sense of the world and come to terms with confronting realities. Two composers who’s work reflect this notion are Robert Frosts poems ‘Mending Wall’ and ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, and Lyndall Hough’s short story ‘The Shooting Kid’. Each text explores the varied emotionally and intellectually significant discoveries on individuals and their ability to allow for reconsideration of personal perspectives and understand their place in the world. Self-discovery is often accompanied by internal metacognitive dialogue due to its ability to allow individuals to re-evaluate their outlook on life and develop a better understanding of the world. Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods’, his 1922 lyric poem provides a pre-eminent example of an internal monologue. Use of first person present tense language allows for the reader to relish the quiet splendour of the dark woods and ponder, if only for a moment, the allure of escaping indefinitely from the exhausting world of people and promises. The confronting and emotionally significant discovery of the persona’s morbid attraction to oblivion is conveyed through the furtive tone in the first stanza “He will not see me stopping here/ to watch this wood fill up with snow” suggesting a feeling of delight that may be associated with the deep, dark woods. Potent connotations of the words ‘dark’,
Each author’s different points of views plays a roles in their experience. Dickenson assimilates the hesitation darkness brings to walking down a dark unfamiliar road. No light in this poem shows the novice nature of the explorer. “And sometimes hit a Tree, Directly in the Forehead…” can be seen as humorous and assist the reader in identifying with the explorer, who habitually has made the same misjudgments most people have experienced. Frost’s point of view acknowledges the he is a more
Robert Frost is an iconic poet in American literature today, and is seen as one of the most well known, popular, or respected twentieth century American poets. In his lifetime, Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, and the Congressional Gold Medal. However, Robert Frost’s life was not always full of fame and wealth; he had a very difficult life from the very beginning. At age 11, his father died of tuberculosis; fifteen years later, his mother died of cancer. Frost committed his younger sister to a mental hospital, and many years later, committed his own daughter to a mental hospital as well. Both Robert and his wife Elinor suffered from depression throughout their lives, but considering the premature deaths of three of their children and the suicide of another, both maintained sanity very well. (1)
Both Frost’s The Tuft of Flowers and Author’s Unseen reveal the inevitable process of discovery and its implications in creating renewed perceptions of oneself and the world. Contrastingly, Frost’s Home Burial emphasises the consequences of an inability to make a meaningful discovery. Each text demonstrates the multifaceted concept of discovery and in doing so, explores the different ideas concerning human condition and the surrounding
Robert Frost also shows his touch of imagery in the poem, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”.
Poetry is a literary medium which often resonates with the responder on a personal level, through the subject matter of the poem, and the techniques used to portray this. Robert Frost utilises many techniques to convey his respect for nature, which consequently makes much of his poetry relevant to the everyday person. The poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and “The mending wall” strongly illuminate Frost’s reverence to nature and deal with such matter that allows Frost to speak to ordinary people.
Generally, images of nature are thought to be beautiful, serene, romantic and typically desired for all these reasons. Frost however, creates a different idea and feeling about nature with his description of the surroundings. Critics of Frost’s poetry view him as a “skeptic who regarded nature as an antagonist (Liebman, 1996). With this criticism in mind, loneliness and a feeling of solitude is
The Use of Literary Devices in Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Ironically, darkness is also our light and through our darkness we discover our light, so I found it essential to employ a darker background to continue this idea of seeking polarised experiences through life’s dichotomies. Here, Frost also consistently prompts the notions of polarised experiences as a vehicle to extend ones discovery and growth processes. The silhouette of the figure that is gradually increasing in size is used to represent time as an abstract concept in which the salient figure of the man, under the void’s jurisdiction has liberated from life’s such irreconcilable differences. The woods are reflected here as a place for restoration of the spirit through unity with nature, the locus of deep and occasionally sinister spiritual forces, a happy hunting ground for analogies of the human condition, where both the perils and joys of isolation are portrayed. It is in this state of isolation that the letters surrounding the man retire back to Earth in which the notions of social contamination are obliterated in natures vacuum; one that is devoid of man’s corruption. “After Apple Pickings”, narrative iambic pentameter once again gives a sense of storytelling, but the poem is more a reflection. It is the idea of
Composers utilise their respective works to convey various aspects of revelation. Exploration of self and the wider world is a multifaceted component, manipulated to be found in all aspects of life. Composers such as Robert Frost and David Wilkie incorporate these notions into their literary works. Robert Frost dexterously composed the poems Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening and Mending Wall to reflect the ambiguous nature of man’s interpretive expeditions. Similarly, David Wilkie adapts Titan’s 16th century ‘Supper at Emmaus’ to his 19th Century painting Christopher Columbus at the convent of la Rabida to portray the ever relevant nature of expedition into the unknown. Frost analyses metaphysical exploration as a supporting factor
As time goes on, society becomes more and more disconnected from nature. With each year that passes new gadgets are put onto the market. Technology has recently released a device known as a virtual reality headset. This is for those who want to see the world without actually taking a step outside. Technology has become the forefront of people’s lives. In his eye opening poem, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowing Evening”, Robert Frost addresses the idea that nature is a blessing that should be appreciated, not ignored, and seen for its true beauty. In order to convey the meaning of his poem, Frost includes elements such as relaxing language, vivid imagery, and an appreciative tone.
Frost’s use of alliteration, personification, and imagery definitely conveyed the speaker’s attitude towards the woods. The reader believes Frost wrote about the woods to show how peaceful and calming it is in an isolated place such as the woods. Most people live in crowded neighborhoods or over-populated places, but living in a secluded area decreases the stress of others outside their household. Because of how isolated the woods are, they can worry about themselves compared to worrying and stressing on the outside
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost is a contemporary piece dealing with the typical human desire for escape. Whether this desire is manifested in avoidance of work, school or simply a relief from the mundane repetitiveness of everyday life this want is present in all humans. Throughout this poem Frost depicts and suggests that the "woods" are his means of escape from the "village", from society, and Frost conveys this by his respectful and almost wondrous diction when describing and referring to, the forest and the nature surrounding it. This poem also clearly
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “ The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.
Life and death are two things that we as humans must all face. The road from one to the other, from life to death, is a long and at times, both joyous and painful one. Robert Frost’s poems are a prime example of these times and trials. The poems I chose for this paper highlight them, and with Frost’s allegory, they present a sort of silver lining to the string of dark and dreary words he’s pieced together for these poems. The depressing tone to the poems “Acquainted with the Night”, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, and “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” could be attributed to the death of many of Frost’s family members, and how despite this he overcame it all, and at the end of his life, was a successful writer. These poems to not go
More times than none, authors write concealed meanings that they want the reader to discover. Like Norman N. Holland describes “literary criticism is about books and psychoanalysis is about minds” (Holland), psychoanalytical criticism focuses more on the mind of the reader and author, rather than the word for word meaning of the sentences. With Mending Walls, Robert Frost wrote it in an open style of poetry; not focusing on rhymes, but constructing each sentence with ten syllables. Nevertheless, Frost intents to catch the attention of the reader by intentionally making ten sentences throughout the poem into eleven syllables. This essay will intend to discover the hidden meaning that Robert Frost