Cavanaugh

__Poems by Robert Frost__



Robert Frost (March 26, 1874-January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He had a very rough life, but through it all became a successful poet. He was honored and received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. 

__A Time to Talk__

When a friend calls to me from the road And slows his horse to a meaning walk, I don't stand still and look around On all the hills I haven't hoed, And shout from where I am, What is it? No, not as there is a time to talk. I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground, Blade-end up and five feet tall, And plod: I go up to the stone wall For a friendly visit.

 //The narrator of this poem is out on a hill in the fields working. As he is working, a friend calls to him from the road and begins to slow down while riding his horse. The narrator does not think twice about stopping to work. He immediately puts his hoe down and goes up to the stone wall to have a visit with his friend. The poetic devices that Frost uses in this poem is imagery. I can picture every single line of this poem as the narrator tells it and acts up on it. He describes the setting and gives details on every action that takes place. This poem is a friendly reminder of the meaning of having a friendship. Regardless of how hard the narrator is working, he takes a break to have an opportunity to catch up and chat with a friend. I think this shows how Frost views people and values the friendships he has. I know it makes me think about how much my friends matter and that it only takes a second to say hello to show that you care. It reminds me of the saying, "people may forget your name or what you did, but they won't forget how you treated them." Taking that time to treat someone kindly and show a friend that you care could mean the world to that person.//

=A Late Walk = When I go up through the mowing field, The headless aftermath, Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew, Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground, The whir of sober birds Up from the tangle of withered weeds Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare, But a leaf that lingered brown, Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought, Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth By picking the faded blue Of the last remaining aster flower To carry again to you.



The narrator is going through a field then comes to a garden ground. He hears birds that are coming up from dead weeds that are tangled together and he feels sadness that can not be described by any words. He looks up to see a tree that is bare, yet there is one brown leaf that lingers. He is not disturbed at first thought, then the leaf softly rattles down the tree. He continues to walk, but not much further. He picks the last remaining flower to bring to a special someone. The poetic devices used is this poem are rhyming and imagery. Frost uses every other line in each stanza to rhyme. I think this helps to keep the reader interested and dig in to what the poem really means. The imagery helps to picture exactly what the narrator sees and is doing on this walk he is taking through nature. This poem has sadness and loss in it. The sober birds aren't joyful, and the tree that is bare. Shows loss which brings about the feeling of sadness. The only hope or hint of joy that I feel in this poem is that the narrator takes the last flower to give to "someone special." With this thought and little bit of joy, the narrator does not bring this to himself but to another person, hoping to brighten their day. This is what makes me happy in this poem. Spreading joy to others even through loss. 


 * A Question

A voice said, Look me in the stars And tell me truly, men of earth, If all the soul-and-body scars Were not too much to pay for birth .**

//This poem really makes us think about our lives, about our meaning here on earth. It also makes us question everything we do in our lives and how we live each day. It really is a question that one must ponder as they read this poem. We need to take each day as it is and take time to think about certain decisions we make. The single stanza that Frost has written keeps things straight and to the point. Though with a poem like this, there is much thinking and analyzing to be done.//

__**In Neglect**__

//They leave us so to the way we took, As two in whom they were proved mistaken, That we sit sometimes in the wayside nook, With mischievous, vagrant, seraphic look, And try if we cannot feel forsaken.//



This poem brings about thoughts and feelings of what it is like to be neglected. The first line is being left. These two must have been mistaken for whatever reason that they were left. Sometimes when feeling neglected we sit in nooks or find ourselves completely on our own. Many looks are made, most being mischievous. With this he tries not to feel forsaken or left behind. There is a rhyme scheme in this poem. It is a little different though because the second and fourth line rhyme then the first, third, and fourth line rhyme. It is a little unusual and makes you wonder why Frost decided to rhyme in this manner. Though this poem is short, you find a lot of neglect being brought about. If you have ever felt neglected or left hung out to dry, you can relate to the words and feelings that Frost is portraying. Frost also uses words that relate to neglect such as, mistaken and forsaken. Which I now find interesting because those two words rhyme. But they really stuck out to me because I haven't ever felt completely neglected but I have felt mistaken and at times forsaken.

**The Vantage Point** // If tired of trees I seek again mankind, //

// Well I know where to hie me—in the dawn, //

// To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn, //

// There amid lolling juniper reclined, //

// Myself unseen, I see in white defined //

// Far off the homes of men, and farther still, //

// The graves of men on an opposing hill, //

// Living or dead, whichever are to mind. //

// And if by noon I have too much of these, //

// I have but to turn on my arm, and lo, //

// The sunburned hillside sets my face aglow, //

// My breathing shakes the bluet like a breeze, //

// I smell the earth, I smell the bruisèd plant, //

// I look into the crater of the ant. //



This poem really brings about Frosts' relationship that he shares with nature. Many of Frosts poems deal with nature or connect with nature in some way. This one really shows how special that relationship is to Frost. He seems to be closer with nature than with human. His relationship is stronger and has more of a connection with nature than that of mankind. His love is with nature which seems to matter most to him at this point, so when having contact with human it is from a distance while he surrounds himself in nature. The irony found in this poem is that as the poem goes on, Frost get closer to nature and loses that connection with people. He sees them from a far and is living that moment then and there with nature because it is what matters most to him. He finds that nature is most important.

