Analysis on Frost Poetry.

The Wood Pile

Setting- Winter, Frozen Swamp

Characters- Narrator is an implied carpenter, bird

Tone- Questioning, bemused, calm

Language- Simple calm laconic language

Structure- Free verse

Destination- Revelation on the futility of human labour (and life to an extension)

Symbols- maple, setting

Themes- Exploration, review of the futility of life. 

On the surface this poem is literally about a pile of wood. However it is important to note that Frost said “saying one thing in terms of another, is the pleasure of ulteriority” and therefore one always needs to transcend beyond the surface of the poem to understand the works of Frost. Basically deep shit huh? So the narrator himself is a curious figure and would why he has no manifest direction and seems to take a walk of pleasure in a “frozen swamp” of all places. However this figure radiates a high sense of personal destiny, as he has both a fear and love for nature. This seems to be enforced when a guide in the guise of a “small bird” leads the protagonist onwards; in mythology this is a constant motif where it leads to revelations, understand and transformations. The wood pile is therefore the key to the poem. It’s an exploration of the wilderness and a discovery of self. The wood pile itself is quite notable, on the basis of its material; “Maple”. This material is actually quite expensive and is commonly used for furniture rather than burning. Therefore the poem could be a euphemism; it explains that the carpenter could have befell a unspoken tragedy and thus the woodpile becomes a decaying visual reminder of an unknown tragedy which slowly “decay”s to express the futility of life and human labour. This is all the more probable in the significance on Frosts life. However one could also argue that the narrator is duelled in a sense to the carpenter as they constantly seek “fresh tasks” ie leaving the little bird for the wood pile. The last two lines are the most significant as there’s a stark realisation of despair as it recognizes that all life turns to decay and recognises that the fruits of human labour all decay. Thus the poem expresses the futility of life and its pointlessness. This is further enforced in considering the narrator’s age- if we consider the setting (winter) to reflect the narrators age- this poem becomes even more depressing and dark as he realizes how futile his life is. 

The Road Not Taken.

Setting- Wood, Autumn

Characters- Narrator     

Tone- Fear or remorse/regret

Language- descriptive language, imagery

Structure- Iambic Tetrameters but departs a little from the norm (supposedly like the narrator)

Destination- Appears remorse is inevitable, depressed with life (Again)

Symbols- the paths create an archetypal dilemma

Themes- Satirical, exploration, free will vs fate, conflict. 

What’s important to note in this poem is the paths are equally taken. Okay so the poem itself creates an archetypal dilemma- something everyone faces at some point in their life either literally or metaphorically. This allows the reader to sympathies with the narrator, as the tone of the poem is infused with remorse or rather, the fear of regret. The age of the narrator is crucial in understanding as to why the poem is infused with such. Despite it being not explicitly said we can assume the narrators age reflects the setting of the “yellow wood”. Therefore the season of autumn or rather the middle years of the narrator makes it clear why he “doubted he could ever come back” and why he believes he will be telling this with a “sigh”. The word itself “yellow” has double meaning it is the colour of fear, foreshadowing the tone of the poem or refers to the stage of the protagonist’s life. Now the poem also has a rhythm and rhyme scheme but depart a little from the norm- supposedly like the protagonist who chooses his own path.  Alternatively the poem can be read at another level; a satire against non-conformists, as both paths “equally lay with no step trodden back” and they were “worn really about the same “ so therefore there isn’t any real difference but the narrator believes them to be different. And despite choosing a path that “made all the difference” it’s obvious regardless of what path he took he would have ended in the same destination; looking back with a “sigh”. Thus the poem can be seen as a satire against those who believe their paths to be “different” despite both paths are “really about the same”.  

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.

 Setting- Woods, Winter

Characters- Narrator, Horse

Tone- Temptation, calm, sleepy

Language- descriptive imagery

Structure- Iambic Tetrameters

Destination- shrugging off death wishes acknowledging the obligations

Symbols- Setting, Woods, Horse

Themes- Conflict, death wish, social obligations

this poem is about the narrator’s death wish as he/she seems to struggle between suicide and his/her obligations to society. Most crucial to understanding the poem is the destination of the poem summarised in the last two sentences. “and miles to go before I sleep” is repeated twice- thus breaking the form and rhythm of the iambic tetramers and seems to break the narrator out of his trance as he acknowledges not only his/her human sleep but death- another kind of sleep completely. For example the setting is within winter, and this is the season most associated with death. But interestingly the setting should be sinister, however the dark, the woods, the winter this all seems homely to the protagonist as the woods are described as “lovely dark and deep” and so conveys his/her death wish. This is further emphasised when the descriptive imagery is used the snow is described as “downy” flakes which gives the reader imagery of a blanket like snow that sets a peaceful and tempting atmosphere to rest in. This is again enforced as the woods are “lovely dark and deep” like oblivion. However, it’s important to note conflict is also significant in the poem as a theme as the horse is portrayed as an agent of civilisation and thus illustrates the conflict the narrator has in his/her death wish and his/her “promises to keep”. Note: Frost attempted to kill himself at 20 by walking into the great dismal swamp and never returning.

"Out, Out-“

Setting- Rural America, Sunset

Characters- unnamed boy, doctor, sister, other men

Tone- Sympathetic, shocking, realisation

Language- Personification, descriptive, sympathetic, sibilance

Structure- Free verse

Destination- tragedy, realisation of fragility of life

Symbols-  Buzz saw, sunset

Themes- Conflict, tragedy, labour.

This poem is a typical “dark Frost” poem, it emphasis the fragility of life and how it can change instantly. This is emphasized through the structure, freeverse, of the poem and its unpredictability which symbolises the shock of the events of the boy. The title itself is significant too; it’s a quote from Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth” which thus foreshadows the events of the poem. What’s interesting in this poem is the use of setting- the beautiful sublime setting of rural America sets it with odds with the events that take place making the tragedy all the more shocking. In the introduction of the poem there is a traditional form of sibilance as it foreshadows a dark event, this use of sibilance foreshadows the events as it sets a sinister tone directly before the description of the setting “five mountain…under the sunset far into Vermont”. This is broken by the buzz saw “snarl” and “rattle” which further emphasize the shock of events as it seems random due to the freeverse of the poem. In the narration Frost sympathizes with the boy allowing the reader to sympathise too, this also foreshadows a tragedy about to occur, throughout the poem the boy is exactly referred to as such which lays an emphasis on the tragedy. Frost also uses personification to make the events more shocking as the saw is described as animalistic in the context of “snarled”. Frost also uses onomatopoeia as the “rueful laugh” suggests he thinks it’s a small cut laying emphasis on how he think he will be okay, the wound is soon revealed to be fatal making the events more tragic. The boys young age is also emphasized and the motif comes to a full circle as repetition illustrates his fear and fragility of age; “young boy doing a man’s work” which lays an emphasis on the tragic events. The ending seems much displaced as the men seem not to care but this can lay an emphasis on Frost’s view of life “it goes on” and so illustrates how we should only look forward. 

The Draft Horse.

Setting- Dark wood (Grove)

Characters- Unnamed horse hater, horse and killer

Tone- Calm, accepting

Language- onomatopoeia, submissive

Structure- Iambic Tetrameter, regular rhyme scheme

Destination- Purgatory (?)

Symbols- Horse, buggy, murderer, grove

Themes- Duality, purgatory, journey of soul

note: this poem is ridiculously bizarre and this is my own interpretation in the context of frost being an old testament Christian and some aspects of philosophy.

The question and nature of death appear to be the theme of this poem. The “frail buggy” refers to the vehicle of the soul, the human form, the “too heavy a horse” refers to the soul which struggles to keep the body alive. The unnamed horse murderer could be an agent of death (EPA WONT BE HAPPY) - such as the angel of death which delivers the death blow to the human form to release the soul and place it on the next journey. This is shown as the horse “goes down” and the two begin to walk down the “limitless grove” which can appear to be purgatory. This view is enforced through the form of the poem as the even stanzas enhances the shock of the events yet the calm accepting tone and pace of the events that seem normal- thus the death of the “body” is expected by the pair and getting down and “walk the rest of the way” seem a norm convention to do so. 

After Apple Picking.

Setting- Winter, farm.

Characters- Narrator

Tone- sleepy, mesmerising, remorseful

Structure- Freeverse

Destination- Sleep

Symbols- Ladder, apples, barrels

Themes- futility of life, human labour opportunities and the futileness of it all.

With the rumination of the harvest, the coming of winter and ladder pointing to heaven the poem therefore harbour ulteriority. The ladder implies progression therefore the narrators destination is death, this can be reinforced by the last two lines “the sleep of the woodchuck” which shows the narrators weariness. If one considers the path not taken autumn refers to protagonists age, so following same concept protagonist here is and old ages, this is reinforced through the constant winter motifs, ie “winter sleep”. This is also enforced through the structure of the poem which is free verse with no rhyming scheme and thus creates a lulling pattern which emphasis the sleepiness of the narrator as he drifts in and out of consciousness, furthermore the tone is quite sleepy/hazy and the form is quite hazy. Therefore poem can relate to the apples acting as a metaphor for opportunity or labour the narrator didn’t complete and so the narrator is haunted by the apples he didn’t pick in his old age in retrospect of his life. However that being said only two or three barrels didn’t fill the narrator is thus satisfied which is reinforced by his accepting tone throughout the poem.  Thus the poem appears to explore the opportunities and labours of life and how react to what one has done in their life when they reach the end of it, the way you interpret it is up to you.