¶ … Robert Frost and "Waterfront" by Roo Borson truly do explore similar subject matter, yet in entirely distinct manners. The different approach that each author takes is apparent in their differing uses of tone, structure, imagery, language and point-of-view.
Robert Frost's poem "Neither Out Far Nor in Deep" has a distinctive rhythm which is contained and deliberate. The rhythm of the poem seeks to emulate the rhythmic slapping sounds of the ocean water and the waves. For example, this device is apparent in all the stanzas, though in particularly the following stanza: "As long as it takes to pass/A ship keeps raising its hull;/The wetter ground like glass/Reflects a standing gull" (Frost). The lines are neat and contained and there is a strong rhyme to the end of each line, creating a staccato effect.
The opposite is the case when it comes to the poem "Waterfront" by Roo Borson. The rhythm that pervades through this poem is much less contained and much more languorous. Consider the following lines of the poem: "They only care about fish. They yell to one another down the beach / as if this were their ocean. Meanwhile, / ignorant, the smelts plod onto the nets" (Borson, 461). There...
Robert Frost -- Life Issues and Parallels to My Life A Life Filled with Tragic Inspiration Robert Frost was a prolific American writer and poet whose work captured the difficulties some of the most challenging periods in modern American history as well as his personal trials and tribulations. Frost's work is known for the eloquence that he was able to express using the simple language of common colloquial speech (Holman & Snyder,
Robert Frost wrote, "I have written to keep the over curious out of the secret places in my mind both in my verse and in my letters." In a poem, he wrote, "I have been one acquainted with the night." Those unfamiliar with Robert Frost's life story might not realize the significance of those words. Frost was born in a nearly lawless city and grew up in a highly dysfunctional
Robert Frost's adulthood was also riddled with loss. He often felt jealous and resentful that the quality of his poetry was slow to be recognized. Unable to support his family with his writing, for many years he had to work at various jobs, often as a teacher until his grandfather finally gave him land to live on and an allowance with on which to live (Meyers, p. 52). In addition,
"He gives his harness bells a shake / to ask if there is some mistake." The horse's action portrays the tendency of people to question those choices they don't understand. This scene can be interpreted as the disapproving voice of society voicing its demands on those of a more sensitive bent. In much the same vein as the previous stanza, Frost shows a depth of human understanding (and misunderstanding). Our
Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" tells the story of a traveler making the decision to travel the road less traveled, but looking back upon the road not taken and wondering what might have been. On first glance the reader might assume that Frost is touting the benefits of taking the road less traveled, or the path in life that is perhaps most unclear. Too many people assume that the
Robert Frost treats several themes in his short lyrical poem, "The Road Not Taken." First, Frost focuses on the notion of choice and decision: the narrator is faced with a fork in the road and must choose which path to take. He momentarily wishes that he could travel both paths at once and still be "one traveler," (line 3). After hemming and hawing, the narrator chooses the path less trodden.
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