Robert Frost Anaylsis Essay, Research Paper

Five Poem Analyses

Robert Frost is a simple, yet unconventional poet. Frost did things his own way

and as a result took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his time. The main reason why I

chose Robert Frost is because his poems are relatively simple and fairly easy to

understand.

?Ghost House? is an extremely descriptive poem descriptive poem illustrating an

old haunted house. The imagery in this poem is marvelous. This poem allows the reader

to see the house as if they were standing on the front porch. You can picture an old

decrepit house, covered with vines and wild raspberries. There is a dying tree in the front

yard with only one live branch on it. Underneath the tree there are two gravestones so

covered in moss that the names cannot be deciphered. Right next to the gravestones is a

ghostly couple standing stalk still and absolutely silent. On the front porch the current

owner stands frozen, half by fear and half by curiosity.

The poem is told through the eyes of the current resident of the house. The owner

somewhat scared of his uninvited company. However, the owner?s opinion of the couple

seems to change towards the end of the poem. It almost sounds like he feels sorry for

them when he mentions how they stand together silently.

The theme of ?Ghost House? seems to be that love can survive anything, even

when the body does not. Although the couple has passed away they still remain together.

Another theme in this poem could be not to judge a book by its cover. At first the house?s

owner seems to fear the ghosts, but he eventually comes to respect the bond that they still

share.

This poem is filled to the brim with alliteration. For example: small dim summer

star, low-limbed tree, and mosses mar. Summer is said in the second line of the poem and

repeated in the second to last stanza. In the fourth stanza the word say is repeated three

times within two lines. The rhyme scheme of ?Ghost House? is AABBA CCDDC and that

pattern continues for every stanza. The alliteration and the rhyme scheme of this poem

make it flow very smoothly.

?A Considerable Speck? is a strange poem about Frost noticing a tiny speck on his

paper. Upon further observation Frost notices that the speck is actually a minuscule mite

struggling to avoid being squashed by Frost?s pen. Frost appreciates the insect?s struggle

to stay alive and leaves it be on his paper. Frost allows the mite to sleep on his paper

because he values any mind, even one that is as small as a bug?s.

This poem is told directly from Robert Frost?s mouth. It shows how much the

poet appreciates the little things in life. Regardless of size Frost understands that a life is a

life, and all lives are significant.

The imagery in the poem is not all that great because of the size of the mite.

However I can picture an old man trying to blow a piece of dirt of a paper. Then the dirt

starts moving and the old man almost has a heart attack as he sees what he believes is the

dot on an i scurry across the paper.

The theme of the poem is that there is no such thing as an insignificant speck.

Everything and everyone has a purpose for being here. The other theme is that noone has

the right to take away a life, whether it is another person?s or an animal?s.

Once again this poem is littered with alliteration. Some examples are: cunning

crept, tenderer-than-thou, and breathing blown. Mind is repeated three times in the final

stanza. Also there were two instances in which Frost used assonance room for and living

mite. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza of ?A Considerable Speck? is

AABBCCDADEEFGFGHH but there is no pattern throughout the poem.

?Fire and Ice? is a poem about how the world will end. Frost is debating with

himself as to whether the world will be destroyed by fire or ice. Frost seems like he is

deeply entrenched in thought about whether the earth will become a flaming ball or a giant

ice cube.

This poem is told directly by Robert Frost. It tells me that Frost analyzed every

thought that popped into his head. No wonder he graduated as co-valedictorian of his

class.

The imagery of this poem is in the destruction of the world. It takes a little

imagination but I can picture the earth as a new sun. I can also picture the earth totally

covered by a thick sheet of ice.

The theme of ?Fire and Ice? is that although nature can be beautiful, it can also be

quite destructive. Not only can it demolish a person?s house and all their possessions but

it can destroy the entire world.

Contrary to the previous two poems I can only find one alliteration in ?Fire and

Ice,? favor fire. There is also only one example of assonance, perish twice. The word say

is repeated three times throughout the poem. The words fire and ice are repeated twice

each. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAABCBCB. This poem is short, sweet and to

the point and it flows quite nicely.

?The Oven Bird? shows that although Frost usually analyzes everything, he is

capable of enjoying nature. Frost seems to have liked birds more than any other animal,

for they are the topic of several of his poems. Frost not only appreciates birds? ability to

sing but also their beauty when they remain silent.

The imagery of this poem is a small bird sitting peacefully on a branch on a hot

summer day. There is a young bird watcher observing its every move. The poem is told

by the bird watcher.

The theme of ?The Oven Bird? is that all things great and small should be accepted

as what they are. Frost expresses his belief that nature deserves attention and

appreciation.

Yet again this poem is chock full of alliteration. For example: has heard, for

flowers, and be as other birds. There are three examples of assonance: Diminished thing,

name the fall, and for flowers. The words mid-summer, bird, and sing are repeated

throughout the poem. The rhyme scheme of ?The Oven Bird? is AABCBDCDEEFCEF.

Finally, ?The Road Not Taken? is a poem about how Frost chose the road in

writing that few writers had dared to venture into. This poem is all about Frost?s

adventurous side, and how he is a leader not a follower. Frost obviously saw something

he did not like about the poetry of his time. This poem is basically the story of Robert

Frost?s life.

The speaker in this poem takes the form of a young traveler. The traveler seems

young and adventurous, and to traditionalists somewhat of a rebel. However, he only

wanted a change of scenery and therefore chose the path less traveled.

The imagery is that of a young hiker standing at a fork in the road, debating

whether to take the nice clear path or the wooded area. The young upstart has no desire

to follow the path of his predecessors and chooses the scenic route.

The theme of ?The Road Not Taken? is that it is always better to be a leader and

not a follower. Frost is basically telling the reader to follow his or her heart and do what

you feel is right. Don?t let anyone keep you from doing what you want to do.

There is only one example of alliteration this poem, wanted wear. I can also only

find one instance where Frost uses assonance, ages hence. The words wood and travel are

repeated in the first and the last stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB CDCCD etc.

Robert Frost?s life started out quite strangely. He never had formal schooling until

he was twelve years old. Not the way you would think a great writer would start off their

life. The even funnier thing is that he graduated Lawrence High School as

co-valedictorian of his class. What a turn around.

Robert Frost?s life took drastic changes and as a result of this his poetry varies

quite a bit. At the time he was writing his more depressing poems he was having trouble

getting his poems published, and he was doing oddball jobs to make ends meet. His more

upbeat poems were not created until after magazines such as The Independent began

printing his work.

Robert Frost is a simple yet powerful poet. He uses small, understandable words

which carry very strong meanings. The main reason why I appreciate Frost?s work is

because I can understand it, which is a lot more than I can say for the majority of poetry

that I have read.