English 1102-265
April 19, 2010
Imagery in Robert Frost’s “Desert Places”
Robert Frost, an American poet of the late 19th century, used nature in many of his writings. One of the great examples is the poem “Desert Places” that express feelings of a speaker and the meaning of the entire poem through images of nature. The poem describes two different kinds of desert places and clearly emphasizes the most frightening one. To help readers understand the meaning of “Desert Places”, Frost uses variety of images to create the specific atmosphere and revile the theme.
In the first stanza, the narrator is traveling through the fields covered with snow without stopping. The images of coming evening and falling snow are masterly combined to
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For example, this line can represent Frost struggling as a poet. Therefore, the meaning of the entire poem is represented in this line. However, others may disagree. They may state that the first three stanzas describe death as a total state of loneliness and emptiness and the meaning of the poem is hidden in the forth stanza. Clearly, every reader can see this poem from the different perspective applying their own experiences for its better
Robert Frost's 'Desert Places' is a testament to the harrowing nature of solidarity. By subjecting the narrator to the final moments of daylight on a snowy evening, an understanding about the nature of blank spaces and emptiness becomes guratively
Frost?s poem delves deeper into the being and essence of life with his second set of lines. The first line states, ?Her early leaf?s a flower.? After the budding and sprouting, which is the birth of nature, is growth into a flower. This is the moment where noon turns to evening, where childhood turns into maturity, and where spring turns into summer. At this very moment is the ripe and prime age of things. The young flower stands straight up and basks in the sun, the now mature teenager runs playfully in the light, and the day and sunlight peak before descending ever so quickly into dusk. The second line of the second set states, ?But only so an hour,? which makes clear that yet again time is passing by and that a beginning will inevitably have an end.
In the poem, Frost is the narrator and he is speaking to the readers. The issue that Frost discusses is if the world will end in a blazing fire or in freezing ice. Based on the poem, Frost believes he would perish by fire because in verses 3 and 4 he wrote: From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But in verses 5, 6, 7, and 8 Frost wrote: But if it had to perish twice, I think I know
This poem brought me back to my home town and the wonders and beauty that it brings around winter time, and made me nostalgic with memories of past winters with my family and slightly saddened for those who have never seen the magical ability snow has. This poem reminded me that there are people who live in states where their change in seasons is not as noticeable, as the ones that I grew up with and have come to miss. Similar to many of the romantics, natures true beauty can transform the mundane into a work of art that would never have existed
Not only are metaphors utilized throughout the poem, but a literary device known as Imagery is as well. Imagery is alternative as important a device for it allows for the reader to have a clear picture of what the character in the poem is visualizing. Furthermore, it also helps covey the theme the author is aiming to represent to the reader. Imagery is made known in stanza two line three, which states, “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the readers the traveler is coming up with a reason for why one path could be more favorable over the other. The reader analyzes this line of imagery to obtain a clearer representation of the traveler’s decision-making process. Another line where the author uses imagery is in stanza two line five, which states, “Had worn them really about the same” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the reader that the paths are “worn” down, which informs the reader that both of his choices have been equally chosen by people before him. These examples help the reader begin to form the theme of self-justification in decision-making. After analyzing the metaphors and the imagery Frost uses in this poem, the reader can conclude so far that the theme the poet is conveying
In Robert Frost's poem. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” the speaker uses literary devices to show the reader the poem's meaning. Symbolism plays an important role in this poem. Robert Frost uses symbolism to show the correlation between the woods and village with heaven. Mythological symbolism is also found in this poem. when the speaker talks about the lake. it is a reference to Hel in Norse Mythology. The tone of the poem, and Robert Frost's syntax. portray a tranquil yet dark feeling throughout the poem. The observations made exhibit how the speaker views life and death. The personification of the horse shows how the horse is important
Robert Frost takes our imagination to a journey through wintertime with 
his two poems "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". These two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in the snow covered woods and awakens us to new feelings. Even though these poems both have winter settings they contain very different tones. One has a feeling of depressing loneliness and the other a feeling of welcome solitude. They show how the same setting can have totally different impacts on a person depending on 
their mindset at the time. These poems are both made up of simple stanzas and diction but they are not straightforward poems.
Imagery is used throughout the poem to emphasize the finite time humans have on the earth, and how every second should be appreciated. Lines two and three are the speaker’s first use of imagery. Diction in line two illustrates the speaker’s recognition of the phenomena, which is snow in October. The phrase “But this morning” (line 2) highlights that the meaning is not a mundane morning. Most people would be agitated that winter came early, but the speaker seems to be grateful. Furthermore, the speaker describes the snow in a pleasant tone, seen in this line “pale muslin/ stretched across the grass” (line 2-3). This emphasizes that the speaker appricates the early
Last stanza of the poem talks about the emptiness that is so overwhelming that even when Frost looks up to the sky, all that he could see or feel is still loneliness and emptiness. But then Frost mentions that the emptiness or loneliness that he fears the most isn’t the one that exist on
There are several likenesses and differences in these poems. They each have their own meaning; each represent a separate thing and each tell a different story. However, they are all indicative of Frost’s love of the outdoors, his true enjoyment of nature and his wistfulness at growing old. He seems to look back at youth with a sad longing.
In the second stanza it is the semantic field of cold: ‘winter’, ‘ice’, ‘naked’, ‘snow’. All these lexical items give us a feeling of cold which evokes loneliness, unknown, fear.
The poem has a balanced rhythm and the first line rhymes with the third and final line of each stanza until the final stanza. The final stanza completes the circle and repeats the initial line of the poem. In addition to the rhyming within each stanza, Frost wrote this poem to consistently throughout where each stanza had exactly ten syllables and every other word was stressed while reading. This poem also uses night as a metaphor. Throughout the poem, darkness is represented by the night. It doesn’t represent death, but it is more of a metaphor for depression or sadness. The poem tells of a man that is walking alone at night through a city. The narration of the poem not only uses night as a metaphor, it also uses imagery and symbolism to enhance the depth of the poem. In the poem, the man hears a cry “far away”(Frost 503) and he is said to have “outwalked the city light.”(Frost 503) This symbolism is used to depict the man as being alone and not around anything. He has walked away from all the lights of the city and is in the darkness of the night. No one else is around and people would have a hard time hearing him from where he is. When the man passed a watchman, he “dropped my eyes.”(Frost 503) He seemed shy and distant and refused to make any sort of contact with other individuals. In addition to the darkness, Frost writes that it is raining as the man is walking alone at night. The poet uses the dark setting, the
is saying, and Frosts personal pain that he is suffering from that he ingrains into this poem. The
The night symbolized death, and the walk was the person's journey to find their lost life. This poem was somewhat disturbing to me. I thought of a lost soul, thirsting to finish a mission that was not completed in life. Frost depicts death in a frightening manner with the contents of this piece of work.
Robert Frost’s nature poetry occupies a significant place in the poetic arts; however, it is likely Frost’s use of nature is the most misunderstood aspect of his poetry. While nature is always present in Frost’s writing, it is primarily used in a “pastoral sense” (Lynen 1). This makes sense as Frost did consider himself to be a shepherd.