Robert Frost's Poems Critical Analysis

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Critical Appreciation of Robert Frost’s Poems:

“Shahzad Ahmad”
Fire and Ice
Introduction:
Fire and Ice is one of Robert Frost's most popular poems. It was published in December
1920 in Harper's Magazine. It is the remarkable masterpiece of Robert Frost which offers in
the form of an epigram, the speculation about the end of the world. The title of the poem
suggests that the world will either ender in fire, (because of passions and desires) or in ice
(because of breakdown of relations, hate, jealousy etc).

Summary:
The poet says that according to some people, the world will end in fire, i.e (passions,
desires, lusty feelings and ideas) and the other people say that the world will end in ice when
there is breakdown of relations, jealousy, hate, rejection etc. The poet at firs says that he
favors those people who claim that the world will end in fire (passions and desires). On the
other hand, he says that if the world has to destroy two times, he will stand by those people
who say that the world will end in ice i.e hate, rejection and dejection, jealousy are enough to
destroy this world.

Critical Appreciation:
Fire and Ice is a compact poem of only 9 lines but it deals with a gigantic subject matter
that is the destruction of this world. The poem is highly philosophical and full in the
atmosphere of wisdom. The poet in very short lines gives a very serious theme in a sonorous
way. From the gossip of the common people, he comes to know that the world will end in fire.
Fire is here related to passions and lusty desires of the human beings. It is related to the
materialism, passions, superior feelings, craziness, lust of power, wealth and reputation. The
poet says that what he has observed about the desires of human beings, he stands with those
people who say that world will end in fire. Passions and desires make the man blind and insane
and he crosses the boundaries of humanity and loses all positive traits.

Desires are like burning flames which burn every delicate petal

of goodness in man’s character.


When people passionately run after their desires, they do not care for the others. They
are just crazy for the accumulation of money, for their great social status, for their superior
place in society. So they adopt every fair and foul mean. This kind of behavior of the people
destroys the peace of the world.

In the story “The Necklace” the central character Matilda passionately runs after her
desires despite of knowing her financial weaknesses, faces serious consequences at the end
that result in the destruction of her domestic peace.

“Thousands of desires are there, that I die on each,

I lost many of my comforts, but still less.”

Same in the story “Button Button” the central figure Norma also runs after her desire of
getting more money in order to enjoy the luxuries of life, also loses her husband at the end.
When she presses the button, her husband is pushed in front of a running train and he died.

In the famous tragedy of Shakespeare “Macbeth” the central character Macbeth having
a very decent position in the monarchy and he is very close to the King, when beguiled by his
wife, kills the king to get kingship, also meets death at the end of the drama.

“A person who crosses the circle of his needs, and becomes salve of his desires
Always faces some serious consequences in life”

On the other side, the poet expresses that some other people suggest that world will
end in ice (breakdown of relations). He then says that if this world has to destroy two times, he
favors those who claim that ice is also enough to destroy this world. Ice here is related to
coldness, frozen things which have no life, unfamiliarity, disintegration, jealous, prejudice,
hate, rejection and dejection and breakdown of the relations. When people living in a social
circle, do not actually know about one another, when they have hate for others in their heart,
when there is no mutual cooperation among them, then the society is just like a dead body.
When people have hypocritical nature, and they cheat others for their own sake, they just
destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the society and the world. When people are having
disintegrated and unfamiliar nature, they cannot share their feelings, thoughts, needs, sorrows
and pleasures with one another, so the whole society is just like ice which is lifeless. So there is
not vim and vigor hence the peace of the society is destroyed.
Same in the drama “Long day’s journey into night” atmosphere of disintegration
prevails everywhere in the drama; hence there is no peace in the home of Tyrone.

Stylistic Analysis:
 Theme: the poem contains a highly philosophical theme and that is the
destruction and end of this mortal world.
 Tone: The poem is Lyrical in its tone. There is a great rhythmic flow in the
lines of the poem.
 Diction: The language used by the poet is very simple and rustic. He has used
so simple words that a reader can easily understand what he has said.
The sentence structure is also very simple.
 Poetic Devices: The poet has used personification in the poem.
Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. In this poem,
“Fire” and “Ice” are capable of destruction. He personifies “Fire” as “human
passions and desires” and “Ice” as “human jealousy, hate, hypocrisy”.

Structural Analysis:
 Number of lines or stanzas: There are 9 lines in the poem.
 Rhyme Scheme: The rhyming scheme of the poem is ABA ABC BCB.

 Meters: the poem is following Iambic Tetrameter: It is a type of meter having


four iambs per line. The poem follows the iambic tetrameter such as,

“Some say the world will end in fire”.

Conclusion: The poem is a masterpiece of Robert frost dealing with a grand subject matter,
the end of this world. The poem is greatly philosophical. The diction of the poem is very simple
and understandable.
The Span of Life:
Introduction: The poem (The Span of Life) is a very short poem of two lines composed by
the titled Shakespeare of American literature Robert Frost. The poem is highly philosophical
and has the most sublime theme, beginning and ending of this mortal life. The poem shows
the artistic brilliance of Robert Frost that even in two lines; he has presented the whole
journey of life. The title of the poem suggests the short period and transitory nature of man’s
life.

Summary: The poet in the poem throws light on the mortal and short life of living things. The
poet says that he has seen a dog when it was just a pup, a small dog. It has the great energy, a
great passion, vim and vigor and it barks in a roar voice but now he is watching the same dog,
which has grown old and he has no so much power to stand and run. So he just barks
backward without standing.

Critical Appreciation:
The poem as much as small in its length, it is as much grand and large in its theme. It is
really a great masterpiece of Robert Frost. If we see the conciseness and shortness of the
poem, we see that the proverbial line of Shakespeare totally fits to it.

“Brevity is the soul of wit”

The poem has two lines so it deals with the two main great topics, i.e Starting of life and
Ending of life. The poet describes the shortness of life of living things. He directly talks about a
dog, which is now grown old and has loosen all his energies, charm and is sitting like a creeper.
It is the same dog which the poet had seen as a pup, when it was having great energy, it
jumped here and there, it barked like the lion roar. He had great defending power and no one
was able to come near to him. So he directly discusses the dog’s life but indirectly he points
out the shortness and mortal nature of man’s life.

The life process is the same for humans as for the dogs. Man has very short and moral
life. His life is just like a bubble of water which exists for sometimes and then bursts. Man’s life
period decreases as ice melts. Time passes very quickly and man’s life past just becomes a
dreamy memory. Just as the dog is in its early age, the same is the man. Man has great desires,
passions, emotions, dreams, ambitious mind, strong will, determined heart and mind, great
judgement, highly defending power, vim and vigor in his life. He allows no one to harm his
dignity and self-esteem. He considers himself the king of his own world. But as the dog grows
old, and loses all its qualities, same is with the man. As the man passes through his different
periods of life, he loses the charm and energy of his life. He is now weak and thin. He has now
lost all those qualities which he had in his childhood and in youthfulness. He is now has
become dependent on the others. He cannot defend himself in the way as he did in his youth.
So now he is shifted into the state of life, where he is now again an infant. The theme of the
poem is much related to the pomes of Shakespeare and John Keats, “All the World a Stage”
and “Human Season” sequentially. The poem on the base of its theme is also related to
another poem of the same poet “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. He says;

Then leaf subsides to leaf.


So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
The same concept of life in different stages, has presented by Shakespeare in his poem
“All the world a stage”. He has divided the man’s life into seven stages. The seven stages of
man’s life are infancy, school boy, lover, soldier, judge (justice), middle age (pantaloon) and
old age (second childhood). It also shows that one day all the colors of man’s life will get dark.
Shakespeare says at the end of the poem;

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;


Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
The very same concept of life is also presented by John Keats in his poem “The Human
Season”. Keats relates man’s life with four seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter
sequentially. Keats compares man’s life with winter when he has grown old and lost his all
charms and beauties.

He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,


Or else he would forego his mortal nature.
Stylistic Analysis:
 Theme: the poem has a great theme, beginning and ending of life.
 Tone: The poem is lyrical tone as the two lines end with same rhyme.
 Diction: The diction of the poem is very simple to understand.
 There are only two lines with rhyming scheme AB, and are written in iambic pentameter.

Conclusion: The poem is great masterpiece of Robert Frost dealing with a great theme. The
diction of the poem is simple.
The Road Not Taken:
Introduction:
"The Road Not Taken" is a well-known poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916
as the first poem in the collection Mountain Interval. Robert Frost wrote this poem to
highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who,
when out walking with Frost in England would often regret not having taken a different path.
The poet in the poem removes curtain from a very serious subject matter of life and that is the
choice of path. The Title suggests that man must be trend setter and not the trend follower.

Summary:
The poet tells us that once he was going into a forest and two roads were
leading to that forest, but he was unable to choose the both because he was the only one
traveler. So he keenly observed both the paths and saw that the both paths lead into depth of
the forest. So the poet adopted one claiming that it would have better features and benefits
and left the other. When he started travelling on the path, he observed that the path he had
left, was also equally travelled by the travelers. So there was no great matter of importance
between the both. Further he said that in that morning both the paths were equally laid, and
the leaves on those paths were still yellow and black which meant no one had still walked on
them. He thought that if he would have this chance to come back, he would travel on the
second path which he had left. Finally when he went on and on to the same path, he told his
readers with a sigh that years had passed and he was still on the same path, and could not
exercise the other, because the path he had chosen, have made all the differences.

Critical Appreciation:
The poem is simple but highly philosophical as it deals with the very serious
theme of life behind the curtain. The poem is symbolic in nature and it allows the reader to
think about choices in life, whether to go with the mainstream or to go alone. Consequently
the “Wood” is regarded as “Life” and two paths are regarded as “Evil” and “Good”. If life is a
journey, this poem highlights those times in life when a decision has to be made.

The poet while standing on the point where the two paths are diverged and lead
to the deep yellow wood, (life is taken as yellow wood as it is full with difficulties, pains,
trials discoveries, innovations and mysteries) , keenly observes the both paths. His keen
observation shows that he has no haste in making his decisions. He consciously thinks and
visualizes all the pros and cons with his all senses, and then he starts his journey on one path.
He chooses the one path claiming this that he is the only one traveler and leaves the other for
some other day. It also shows that the poet is very steadfast and determined and is not in a
trembling state when he has started his journey on the road he has chosen. He has now
overcome his first instinct and he is very clear in his vision, thoughts and ambitions. He is now
optimistic and hopeful about the path which he has adopted. He claims that the path will have
more fruits, more opportunities and benefits, more chances of learning and exploring, and the
path will lead him towards a huge world of innovations.

Now when he is walking on his path, he sees that in this morning there are leaves on the
both paths, which are still yellow and black which shows that no one has still walked on them.
It is the time of autumn. The poet in a very hopeful way claims that if he gets another choice in
his life, he will travel the second path. Here poet’s love of learning and exploring new facts is
shown that how much he is eager in discoveries. It also shows the shortness of man’s life as
well. He wishes that if life would permit him, and he completes his journey in one path, he will
surely travel on the second path.

In the final stanza of the poem, the poet is telling to his readers with a sigh, that since he
has started travelling on his chosen path, years and years have passed and he is still on the
same path finding many more things. So here he shows that once we have set a trend in our
life, and we are following that very trend, so it is now has absorbed in our veins and we cannot
leave it. We cannot adopt a new trend now because life is too short to live. We must be
content and patient and accept everything that life offers us. He again says that while standing
on the diverged roads, leading to a yellow wood (life is full with difficulties, pains, trials and
mysteries) he chose the less travelled path i.e he did not go with the flow of the traditions,
customs and trends of that very time, but he had set a new trend in his life, and this new
trend has made all the differences and the poet is now happy and content.

Stylistic Analysis:
 Theme: The theme of the poem is this that the man is free in his life to choose or set
the new trend in his life. He must be the trend setter and not the trend follower.
 Tone: the tone of the poem is meditative. One has to look at the two options, to
know the pros and cons in a quiet, studied manner. The situation demands a serious
approach.
 Atmosphere: The poem is totally surrounded by natural atmosphere. There is natural
scenery in the poem.
 Diction: The language used in the poem is very simple and the sentence structure is
also very simple and concise.
 Poetic devices: Frost has used many literary devices in the poem to make the
meanings real and colorful. He used metaphor, simile, imagery, symbols and rhythm
etc.

Example: He used simile in the following line

Then took the other, as just as fair,

Structural Analysis
 Number of stanzas: There are 4 stanzas in the poem.
 Lines in each stanza: Each stanza comprises 5 lines in it.
 Rhyme: The whole poem follows ABAAB rhyme scheme. There are four beats per
line, employing iambic tetrameter. The rhymes in “The Road Not Taken” are end
rhymes which are also perfect rhymes.

Conclusion:
This poem, though, seems a simple and innocent composition, points to the
reality of making decisions in complex situations. We must be the trend setter and not the
follower. In other words, our preferences in life make us different from others.
Mending Wall:
Introduction:
"Mending Wall" is a poem by Robert Frost. It opens Frost's second collection of poetry, North
of Boston, published in 1914. The poem is built up on several contradictions like man and
nature, tradition and modern etc. The title of the poem suggests that we should have some
boundaries and distances in our relations. There should be some secrets inside our personality
that the other may not harm us or get hatred from us.

Critical Appreciation:
The poem mending wall is built up on several contrasts and presents a sober
theme. It holds the philosophy that man must have some secrets, some distances from his
near ones and dear ones, in order to make good relations. The philosophy of modernism and
traditional approach is also presented in the poem. The poet is somehow modern in his
thoughts, innovative and a great discoverer while his neighbor is a person having a traditional
mindset. The poet gives him many arguments that there is no need of this wall between us but
his neighbor sticks to his point that good fences make good neighbors.

The poet while standing in his fields describes that there is a wall between my
farm and my neighbor’s farm. He says that there are some supernatural powers which do not
want to have this wall between our farms. These supernatural powers swell the ground and
the top stones of the wall fall down and make as much great holes that two persons can pass
at the same time from them. It shows that nature is working silently. Nature has great power.
These gaps are not created by the hunters. He says that he has come after his ancestors to
repair this wall, but he is surprised that they have not left any stone on other stone. Perhaps
they have hidden some rabbits inside the holes in order to please their hungry dogs.

He says that the gaps about which he is talking, no one knows when they are
made and how they are made, but he and his neighbor find them when they come to repair
this wall in spring. He calls his neighbor who lives beyond the hill and they meet on a day to
mend this wall again. He says that we are still walking having a wall between us, there are
stones, some are small and some are large, on both the sides. He says that the stones are so
irregular that we have to use some magic words in order to fix them in the wall, so that they
remain on their position until we return to our home. They have rough fingers now, as they
are lifting the stones in their hands, and they think it another outdoor game. He is walking on
his side and his neighbor is walking on his own side. Upon that the poet raises a question and
says that why they should have this wall between them. His neighbor has pine trees in his farm
and he has apple trees in his farm, so his apple trees would not go to his neighbor’s farm to
eat the cons of his neighbor’s pine trees. Upon that his neighbor replies,

“Good fences make good neighbors”

The poet then comes up with an idea that why good fences make good
neighbors. Fences should be there, where there are cows, but here, there are no cows, so
before repairing the wall, the poet asks to his neighbor that why he should mend this wall? to
whom he has to give offence? The poet still claims that there is supernatural power which
doesn’t love a wall and that always causes this wall to fall down. He thinks that they may be
elves but they are not. The poet sees his neighbor bringing stones in his hands holding so
firmly by his fingers. His neighbor is holding the stones in such a ways as in ancient times, the
army used stones the kill their enemies. The poet claims that his neighbor is still in darkness
which means he is still following old traditions and he has no reasoning-mind. His neighbor is a
blind follower. He is still following the old traditional sayings of his father and he is not going
to be modern in his thoughts and visions. His neighbor again says;

“Good fences make good neighbors”

Stylistic analysis:
 Theme: man and nature, traditional and modernism, innovation, need of some
boundaries and distance in relations are some of the themes of the poem.
Atmosphere: The poem is totally surrounded by the natural environment. There are
trees, grass, grounds and hills described in the poem.
Diction: There are very simple words used by the poet. The sentence structure is also
very simple.
Literary Devices: The poet has used many literary devices to convey the real meaning
of his choice. He uses imagery, metaphor, symbols etc in the poem.
Example. Imagery

“And some are loaves and some so nearly balls”


“He is all pine and I am apple orchard”
“Not of woods only and the shade of trees.”
Number of lines: The poem comprises 45 lines in it and is written in iambic pentameter.
Example: Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

Conclusion: The poem is highly philosophical and is simple in its diction.

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