Robert Frost

 Hello everyone, this blog is response to Megha Trivedi ma'am  thinking activity.In this blog i will discuss about  2 poem of Robert Frost.

Question:-Poem by Robert Frost

Poem:-1 "The Death of the Hired Man"

Introduction

           The Death of the Hired Man" is a poem by Robert Frost. Although it was first published in 1914 with other Frost poetry in the North of Boston collection, critic Harold Bloom notes that the poem was written in 1905 or 1906.

           A farm wife, Mary pleads with her husband, Warren, to take back a former farmhand who has always disappointed him. The farmhand, Silas, is very ill, and Mary is convinced that he has returned to the farm to die. Warren has not seen Silas in his ill state and, still angry over the contract that Silas broke when them in the past, does not want to have Silas on his property. Mary’s compassionate urging eventually convinces him, but when Warren goes to get Silas, he is already dead.

Analysis

           This poem contains many of the stereotypical characteristics of Frost’s poetry, particularly the rural environment, the everyday struggle of the farm couple over their relationship to the farmhand, and the colloquial dialogue. The blank verse form makes the text extremely clear, and Frost even breaks up the stanzas by employing dialogue.

            In the poem, Frost outlines the traditions of duty and hard work that he explores in many of his other poems. Silas returns to the farm so that he can fulfill his broken contract to Warren and die honorably, having fulfilled his duty to the family and to the community. Silas’ return to the farm also signals the importance of the work that he performed on the farm as a way to give his life meaning and satisfaction. Silas does not have any children or close family to provide a sense of fulfillment in his last hours; only the sense of duty and the satisfaction of hard work can provide him with comfort.

            Ironically, even after Silas’ attempt to die in the companionship of Mary and Warren, the people whom he views as family more than any others, he ultimately dies alone. Moreover, he dies without ever fulfilling his contract to ditch the meadow and clear the upper pasture. For all his attempts to fulfill his duty, achieve satisfaction through hard work, and find a sense of family, Silas’ efforts are unsuccessful. Even the way in which his death is introduced expresses its bleak isolation: Warren merely declares, “Dead.”

             The poem also creates a clear dichotomy between Mary and Warren, between Mary’s compassionate willingness to help Silas and Warren’s feelings of resentment over the broken contract. Mary follows the model of Christian forgiveness that expects her to help Silas because he needs it, not because he deserves it. Warren, on the other hand, does not believe that they owe anything to Silas and feels that they are not bound to help him.

            It is interesting to note that, of the two, only Mary actually sees Silas over the course of the poem. She finds him huddled against the barn and instantly recognizes the extent of his illness. As a result, she is automatically more willing to be compassionate toward him. Having not seen Silas in his current state, Warren takes the more rational view of the situation. Had Warren found Silas first, his treatment of the former farmhand would no doubt have been more compassionate.

Literary Devices in “The Death of the Hired Man”

          literary devices are tools that represent the writers’ ideas, feelings, and emotions. The writers use these devices to make their words appealing to the readers. Robert Frost has also used plenty of literary devices in this poem. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been given below.

Assonance:

 Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /e/ in “And set them on the porch, then drew him down” and the sound of /oo/ in “And nothing to look backward to with pride”.

Alliteration: 

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. There are plenty of alliterations in this narrative poem. For example, the sound of /w/ in “Waiting for Warren. When she heard his step”, the sound of /th/ in “When he begins like that, there’s someone at him” and the sound of /l/ “He studied Latin like the violin”.

Enjambment:

 It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“Silas has better claim on us you think

Than on his brother? Thirteen little miles

As the road winds would bring him to his door.”

Imagery:

 Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “She took the market things from Warren’s arms”, “Slipped to her side, caught up her hand and waited” and “I’ll sit and see if that small sailing cloud.”

Rhetorical Question:

 Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. For example, “‘Yes, what else but home?”, “‘Of course he did. What would you have him say?” and “That sounds like something you have heard before?”

Symbolism: 

Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. Death of the poor man symbolizes the dark aspect of human nature or lack of forgiveness by themselves or the other person.

Figurative language

 

simile -

 In "Death of a Hired man" the simile "well, those days trouble Silas like a dream". By Frost saying this he is comparing Silas past to a dream that he can not change. This simile represent his "family" or Warren and Mary that he can not make up too.

Iambic pentameter -

 In this poem Frost uses iambic pentameter to make the poem seem more like a conversation between Mary and Warren.

Themes

             Robert Frost is a great author who wrote many poems that hold much meaning. Poems such as a “The Road Not Taken” and “Fire and Ice” are just two examples of his literary works. In his poem, The Death of the Hired Man, he displays many themes. Themes such as holding a grudge or home is where you belong. One of the strongest themes that he beholds in his story is life is short, and should be lived to its fullest potential. Robert Frost displays this theme through the characters, and symbolism throughout the story. Characters play a major role in developing the theme of The Death of the Hired Man. Warren holds a grudge throughout the story, finding it difficult to accept Silas, an old friend back into his life. He argues with his wife that Silas …show more content… 

         When the moon came into the night, Mary confessed that Silas came home to die. The moon coming over the sky symbolizes that death was coming over Silas and his time was out. Later when Warren went inside and Mary was waiting to see if a cloud would hit the moon. It showed that all of those chances that Silas had to achieve his goals in life are over. The cloud achieve its goal of hitting the moon and dimming the moon’s light showing that death was upon Silas. After that three clouds were blocking the moon showing that people can use help to achieve goals. In the end, they all had made mistakes which ended the short …show more content… 

            Silas’ life was lived in the wrong way. He was earned money to buy tobacco, ditched his friend when he was in times of need, and was disowned by his family members. His life was hard and when he tried to fix it, everything was too late. He tried to make things right with his old friend Warren and when Warren tried to go and talk to him, he was dead. This symbolizes that Silas should have tried sooner rather than later because he was already on his death bed when he had any chance to make things right. If he would have realized that his life was shorter than expected he might have tried to help out more and lived life to the fullest. The tragedy also shows that Warren shouldn’t have argued so long with his wife Mary. If Warren would have gone to talk to Silas right as he had gotten home, he would have seen the state he was in and could have discussed his past with him. Even if Silas couldn’t have talked he could have spoken a few last words to him before he died.

 Poem 2:-Mending Wall

Introduction

              'Mending Wall' was written by the great American poet Robert Frost. It is a stimulating and interesting poem about human boundaries or limitations and their benefits in the society. It was first published in the year 1914. The poem revolves around the story of two neighbours who come across each other in spring every year to mend the stone wall that separates their farms. The poem demonstrates how good fences create good neighbours, and how people can preserve their long-lasting relations with neighbours by founding such walls. It has gained massive popularity due to its publication across the globe because of its simple yet thoughtful subject.

Analysis

'Mending Wall' as a Representative of Tradition:

        Mending wall poem focuses on the activity of mending a wall that the speaker and his neighbour make every year during springs. The speaker of the poem senses that there is no need for any boundary, as neither of them has anything treasurable to keep in lawns. They have just trees in their farm. According to the poet, mending the wall is an unreasonable activity. He then also sees the falling of stones from the wall and says that even nature is not in favour of this fence between the farms. But, since his neighbour is attached to his traditions, he tries to justify building it. He emphasizes on boundaries and distances that are important for relationships to work. However, the thing that captivates the reader is the message he delivers- which is that most relationships can work well with boundaries.

Major Themes in 'Mending Wall':

          The major themes of the poem are exploration, curiosity and the need for the gap that the poet found in the poem. The poem also presents a clash between the two neighbours. However, they meet every year in the spring to mend the wall, but the speaker is not able to understand the necessity of the wall between their farms. Out of curiosity, the poet questions the neighbour about establishing the wall. Still, he does not get any acceptable answer. Whenever his neighbour stresses on the need for separation, he is implying that good fences keep the relations affectionate and warm.

Analysis of Literary Devices in 'Mending Wall

Literary devices are used in the poem to convey the richness and clarity of the texts of the poem. The writers and poets of the masterpiece use these literary devices to make their poem or prose texts pleasing and expressive. Robert Frost has also used some literary devices to converse the prominence of the fence. The analysis of literary devices of the poem has been given below.

Assonance: 

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as /e/ sound in 'To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen'.

Enjambment: 

Enjambment refers to the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza such as,

Imagery:

 Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things with their five senses. Frost has used visual imagery in this poem such as, 'And some are loaves and some so nearly balls', 'He is all pine and I am apple orchard' and 'Not of woods only and the shade of trees.'

Consonance:

 Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as /n/ and /t/ sounds 'And set the wall between us once again'.

Symbolism: 

Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Similarly, 'fence' symbolizes 'gap' that one should maintain to establish long-lasting relationships and to maintain privacy. 'Nature' symbolizes the reunion of the two as the speaker meets his neighbour every year in spring to fix the fence.

Metaphor:

 It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. There is only one metaphor used in the poem. It is used in seventeenth line where it is stated as, 'And some are loaves and some so nearly balls.' He compares the stone blocks to loaves and balls.