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ROBERT FROST ! (Theme 1: Aspects of Society/Human Relationships ("…
ROBERT FROST !
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Theme 3: Death
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"A Soldier"
- "Come dew, come rust." Repetition emphasizes the inevitability of death and the passage of time and represents how no one cares about the soldier, and as time passes he's more and more forgotten
- “He is that fallen lance that lies as hurled” - This extended metaphor of comparing the fallen soldier to his lance is used all throughout the poem. Even though he has died, the soldier is still true to his purpose and is forever pointing towards his target.
- "And tripped the body, shot the spirit on Further than the target ever showed or shone." The alliteration of the s sound and the end rhymes emphasize makes the line more dramatic so that it is memorable. Frost does this because he wants people to realize that we must praise those who made a huge sacrifice for "us" or society. The juxtaposition between "tripping" and "shooting" into the sky, as well as the contrast between "body" (the physical, tangible) and the "spirit" (beliefs, higher power), all go to show that soldiers have a motivation and higher purpose that is above the understanding of average people.
- The tone is somber, serious, and at times spiritual.
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Theme 4: Nature
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"Two Look at Two"
respecting boundaries b/w man & nature, earth will love us in return
- "To stretch a proffering hand -- and a spell-breaking.” This metaphor represents how the humans are tempted to reach over the wall, but do not do so since it would break the "spell" of harmony and peace that exists between them and nature. It would be an overstepping of nature’s boundaries.
- "Two had seen two, whichever side you spoke from.” The doe and buck symbolize the woman and man. This deepens their connection to nature and strengthens their relationship
- Two refrains: "Across the wall.." and "passed unscared along the wall" The repetition of walls throughout the poem signifies the duality of the wall and balance.
- tone is optimistic, loving, conflicting, harmonious
"Gathering Leaves"
- "And bags full of leaves Are light as balloons" - paradox as even though the speaker is filling more and more bags, they remain empty. His efforts are futile against nature.
- "But the mountains I raise Elude my embrace" - metaphor showing that even though humans might have temporary power, eventually nature will overtake them. Man cannot conquer nature.
- "I may load and unload Again and again Till I fill the whole shed" - repetition used to show the speaker's frustration with his monotonous and never-ending task.
- tone: negative, unsatisfied, monotonous, weary
Theme 5: Work/Labor
"After Apple-Picking"
- “barrel that I didn't fill.” The narrator feels unfulfilled. He claims the barrel is not filled but at the end he suggest that he picked too many apples. The barrel is a metaphor for himself
- Repetition of the word "sleep." The word "sleep" symbolizes death. The speaker is antagonized by the amount of monotonous work he has. He simply wants it to cease, hence the repetition of sleep and wanting to die.
- “Of apple-picking; I am overtired / Of the great harvest I myself desired.” Anaphora and end rhymes to convey that the speaker is exhausted even though he got what he asked for.
- tone: the poem begins with a gloomy, lugubrious tone, but ends with an almost blissful note as he fades to sleep. Frost condemns the sad, banal life of the speaker and suggests that that is not a way to live.
"Mowing"
- Alliteration of "s" sound to portray scythe's swishing and the mundane repetitive nature of mowing
- "scared a bright green snake" - Snakes allude to the Biblical story and thus symbolize sin. The snake could symbolize the sin of sloth/laziness that the worker feels.
- "My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make" - A form of "whisper" is repeated 4 times throughout the poem, personifying the scythe and giving it a life of its own as it wants to leave the work behind.
- tone: speaker is exhausted, drained, and does not want to continue mowing the grass. Realistic
“The Wood-Pile”
- Repetition of "gray." The connotation of the color gray is dying, or gloom. It symbolizes the loss of vitality. This is parallel to Frost's feelings to labor. He feels as if it makes life gray
- “It was ... cut and split / And piled -- and measured, four by four by eight.” Imagery serves to show just how meticulously the wood pile was cut and how much work had been put into it.
- Frost juxtaposes a tree that is prospering and growing with a stake that is about to fall. This could be a metaphor for life and death, or success and failure
- tone: contemplative, concerned. Frost's attitude is ironic and perhaps mocking of the speaker for being indecisive/changeable like the wood cutter.
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Theme 7: Technology
"The Ax-Helve"
the declining quality of things in the face of mass-production
- "Made on a machine." The speaker's neighbor is disappointed by the factory-made ax. This line establishes the theme of anti-industrialization and anti-modernization
- "Like Two-Strokes across a dollar sign." This sounds a bit passive aggressive. The simile elucidates Frost's hatred for consumerism and mass production by emphasizing that money does not necessarily buy quality.
- Frost mentions that the alder branches "interfere" with the ax. This personification shows that nature overpowers mankind and technology once again. This theme is common in several Frost poems such as "An Encounter"
- juxtaposition b/w "false curves" and "native lines" to emphasize the better quality of nature over technology. Baptiste is very passionate about making axes and thinks it is something to be admired and appreciated like a work of art, very unlike modern manufacturing.
- tone is suspicious/distrusting, ominous, and dark
"'Out, Out--'"
- Title alludes to "Macbeth" by Shakespeare. The "out" signifies the light of a candle being blown out. This is said to symbolize death.
- "The buzz saw snarled and rattled" - onomatopoeia to make the saw seem like a wild, dangerous beast
- Referring to the boy as "big boy" and "a child at heart" shows the narrator's disapproval of the fact that the young boy had to grow up so fast. He believes the young should not have been working with a buzz saw. The poem highlights consequences of technology such as speeding up the mental maturity of the youth.
- "Leaped out at the boy's hand ... Neither refused the meeting." Personification of the saw. The poem is dismissive of the incident and places the blame on both the boy and the saw, showing that this was not an uncommon incident. The doctors and workers at the end aren't even surprised. Frost portrays the use of technology as careless and dangerous.
- There is a very somber tone. It is dramatic, gruesome, but also somewhat detached.
"An Encounter"
- “He had halted too, / As if for fear of treading upon me. / I saw the strange position of his hands." Frost personifies the wooden pole to highlight the fact that it is a man-made construct born from the destruction of nature. It does not want to “tread” upon the narrator; meanwhile, humans show no such regard and don’t mind exploiting it.
- “Half looking for the orchid Calypso,” which symbolizes his search for undisturbed nature in a world that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find in.
- the narrator “paused and rested” on a hook that snagged his coat and had him “as good as seated.” Metaphor for the rapidly changing times, forcing the speaker to sit back and watch as the changes unfold and technology takes over.
- tone: speaker is overwhelmed, exasperated, and upset. Frost is snarky/cynical towards mankind and new technology in general, warning of the consequences it can have on nature.
Theme 2: Temptation
"The Cow in Apple Time"
- symbolism of apples (biblical allusion) -
"A cider syrup" allusion to garden of eden and eve w/ apple. Frost never specifically says the word apple
- "Her udder shrivels and the milk goes dry"-imagery and shift to negative consequences of indulging
- cow as a metaphor for gluttony; it's an animal that humans eat, and an animal that eats a lot (feeds all day)
- tone: sanctimonious and didactic- Frost's tone is sanctimonious because he conveys that he is morally superior to the cow because he does not sin. Warns of the consequences of giving in to indulgence
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Theme 6: Nostalgia
"Birches"
- "Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more." Trees are the symbolic connection between heaven and earth, and are the perfect happy medium for the speaker. The birches keep him both grounded while also allowing him to reach for the sky.
- The frost repeatedly mentions a boy. It is assumed that the boy parallels his younger self. The trees struck a sense of nostalgia
- “But I was going to say when Truth broke in / With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm.” The personification and capitalization of Truth emphasizes the importance of truth and reality in this poem. Much of the poem is a balance between the real and the surreal, what is currently happening and what the speaker wishes could be happening.
- “And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk." The juxtaposition between “black” and “white” symbolizes the contrast between and blending of reality and imagination as well as maturity and innocence.
- The tone of the poem is of longing, wistful, and introspective. He misses his infancy and wishes to regress to a simpler time, but he knows that is unrealistic.
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