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Anne Berg
Poetry
Dr. Robinson
21 April 2016
Frost Yourself

With the poems The Road Not Taken, Birches, and Neither Out Far Nor In

Deep, Robert Frost is able to create a sense of confidence in past life choices, nostalgia

for childhood, and an appreciation for the ways of the world. Frosts use of recurring

themes in his poems make the reader really think about the importance of childhood in

the development of the imagination and how vital it is to choose your own path in life.

And on top of making the reader think these things, Frost makes the reader feel just how

vast and all encompassing the world truly is. Frost is able to accomplish the imposition of

these thoughts and feelings on the reader through his use of rhyme, imagery, diction,

personification, allusion, and tone.

The Road Not Taken is all about choices, and how making the right, or wrong,

choice has the potential to change your life forever. So many readers can relate to this

theme because choices are at every crossroad in life. There are hard choices, but there are

also easy ones. And sometimes, there are hard choices that are disguised as easy ones.

Most people are so worried about making the right choice that they think too much and

make the wrong one. The truth is that life is not about making the right or wrong choices;

its about making the best of the choices available. Sometimes people make choices with

the thought that they will come back to the other option later, but its impossible to go

back. This is what Robert Frost is really trying to show the reader in this poem. Frost is
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saying that choices can only define a person if they let themselves be defined. As long as

one is confident in the choices they make, that confidence will transfer to happiness.

This idea of confidence equaling happiness is the overarching theme of The

Road Not Taken, however, this theme can only be accomplished through Frosts use of

rhyme, imagery, and diction. This poem is written in four stanzas, each of which contains

five lines. Each of the stanzas has the same rhyme scheme, which is abaab. This rhyme

scheme gives the poem a lyrical quality and makes the reader follow along in a specific

way. There is something awe-inspiring about making a poem rhyme in a specific way

while still making it hold so much meaning. The rhyme scheme makes the poem seem a

little silly on the surface but if the reader only digs a little deeper, it is easy to see that the

poem is actually bursting with thoughts and feelings that need to be expressed and felt.

Because Robert Frost does use a rhyme scheme in The Road Not Taken, he is able to

make the poem even more appealing and surprising to the reader.

Imagery also plays a very important role in this poem and its ability to hold the

readers focus. Frost does not bombard the reader with exaggerated images in the way

that some poets do. He knows that too many images take away from the readers ability

to think and feel on their own. Instead, he lightly sketches the woods and the paths, just

dark enough that the reader knows that the lines are there, but light enough that some of

them can be erased and new ones can be drawn if the reader feels the need. And looked

down one as far as I could/ To where it bent in the undergrowth;(4-5). Frost could have

said that he squinted down the path to a spot that seemed like it was miles away where

the path finally curved behind layers of impenetrable thorn bushes. But, he went the

simpler root and as a result the reader is able to place some new images over the ones that
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he has provided. This not only makes the poem more meaningful to the reader, but it also

makes the poem easier to understand because the reader is able to imagine what is

happening with only a gentle guiding hand.

The last technique that Frost employs in The Road Not Taken that has a major

effect on the reader is his use of colloquial diction. Because he uses everyday language

throughout his poem it is easy for the reader to notice when something really stands out.

For example, in lines 6 to 8 Then took the other, as just as fair Because it was grassy

and wanted wear; the words just as fair and wanted wear stand out to the reader.

Frost is talking about how he decides on the second path because it looks just as nice as

the first one, except that it wants to be walked on. In this instance he is using

personification to talk about the paths and how the second one is basically begging him to

choose it. It is because of his use of diction that this phrase really stands out to the reader.

And now the reader realizes that the narrator really did not choose which path to go down

at all, rather, the path chose for him. This idea brings the reader all the way back to the

theme of the poem and how its not the choice itself that changes the way life goes,

rather, it is what is done with a choice that is possibly made already.

The poem Birches is about the importance that childhood plays on the

imagination. Imagination is something that one discovers in childhood. When a child is

playing and they wish they were somewhere else they create a better scenario in their

minds and suddenly it really is happening. Suddenly they truly are sailing a boat across

the seven seas. Imagination is something that children use to make boredom go away, but

adults use it to make the frightening, unhappy parts of life go away. They use imagination

to go back to childhood when life was simpler, when life was brighter. Birches focuses
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on why childhood is so important to life as an adult. Without childhood experiences and

memories to shape them, adults would be living extremely colorless lives. It is these

memories of the imaginings of children that give the world its vibrant beauty, and no one

is more thankful for that beauty than those who have almost forgotten to see it.

The imagery used in Birches is much stronger than the imagery used in The

Road Not Taken; however, it actually works really well in this poem. In Birches the

reader needs the stronger imagery because the narrator is imagining a specific scene

rather than describing a scene he already saw. Everyone imagines certain scenes

differently, so if the reader were left to imagine the already imagined scene in Birches

then they would be left with a completely different scene than the one they were meant to

have. And this would result in the reader coming away from the poem with a completely

different meaning than Frost set out to provide. A very specific instance of imagery can

be seen in lines 10 through 13 when Frost writes, Soon the suns warmth Youd think

the inner dome of heaven had fallen. The reader would not be able to create this vivid of

an image in their mind without the help of Frost. But because he does offer up so many

awe-inspiring images the reader is able to focus on other aspects of the poem.

Besides his important use of imagery, Frost also ties several different allusions

into this poem as a way to bring meaning to the reader. He alludes to Heaven several

times throughout the poem and it is one of his most important allusions. The first time is

in the previously mentioned quote, but, at the end of the poem, lines 52 to 57, he says

Earths the right place for love:/ Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more, / but

dipped its top and set me back down again. Frosts allusions to Heaven make the reader

realize that not only does this poem focus on the past and childhood, but it also focuses
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on the future and life after death. Even though thinking about Heaven has to do with the

future it actually ties in more with the past than the reader originally realizes. The

narrator is imagining how he will make it to Heaven, and his imagination is a result of his

past and his childhood. Therefore, with his allusions to Heaven, Frost is showing that a

childlike imagination is an important quality to have in not only the past and the present,

but also the future.

One of the last techniques that is of great importance in Birches as it relates to

the theme, is the use of personification. This personification occurs in lines 21 to 27 when

the narrator is explaining the difference between the reality of the bent branches to what

his imagination wishes actually happened. He states But I was going to say when Truth

broke in Summer or winter, and could play alone. He talks about truth as if it is a

woman, possibly a mother, trying to tell him he is wrong about the bent branches. This

personification is important because it explains what happens sometimes when

imagination is used to explain the way that the world works. Imagination can sometimes

be overruled by the truth. And sometimes the truth can be harsh and not at all what the

world should be like. But this is also a part of growing up, the truth sometimes invades

the imagination and one has to decide which view is right and which is wrong. The

narrator decides to ignore the truth for a little bit longer, to focus on happier thoughts

from the past. To some people this seems like a childish act and it is, but childish does

not need to have such a negative connotation. Being childish can mean choosing to see

the world as a wonderful place rather than a place full of hardships. Being childish is

really the same as being optimistic and optimism is a good outlook to have in life. And so
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the personification of truth in Birches just once again shows the reader that holding on

to ones imagination from childhood is honestly a good thing.

In the last poem, Neither Out Far Nor In Deep, Frost really creates a sense of

appreciation for the world within the reader. As one grows up, the beauty of the world

slowly fades into the background. Instead, work, school, and chores take up the

immediate space and people just continue on their ways, never pausing to ask why they

do a certain thing. And they never pause to just appreciate everything around them.

Maybe it is because some people do not see a point in appreciating what is there day in

and day out. The sky is always there, but some days it is the brightest blue in the

spectrum and other days it is a dark stormy gray. The trees are always there, but their

leaves turn from green to red and then they disappear. And these are the things that can

only be truly noticed if the time is taken to look at them. In the poem, Neither Out Far

Nor In Deep the people are taking the time to appreciate the sea even though it is

constant and they cannot see a lot of it.

Frost also uses rhyme in this poem as a way of drawing out the theme and making

it obvious to the readers. This poem is also four stanzas, much like the first one, however,

each stanza is only four lines and they take on a rhyme scheme of abab. The use of a

rhyme scheme in the first poem made it seem lyrical, however, in this poem it makes it

sound like the beat of a drum. Or, more specifically, the crashing of waves on the shore.

This makes each line stand out more and as a result the theme becomes more evident.

Lines 9 through 12 really show how constant the sea is and how much people really do

depend on it always being there, sometimes without even realizing. Frost writes, The

land may vary more;/ And the people look at the sea. Sometimes the most amazing
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thing about the world is how certain things never fail to stay the same. And people

appreciate this constancy more than they may ever know. If it were to disappear on them,

they would be lost forever. Of course the reality is that things have already started to

disappear. Ice caps are retreating, species of animals and plants have gone extinct, maybe

one day the ocean will dry up. There is an uncertainty in the world that we cannot forget.

And so we need to remember to always appreciate everything in our surroundings. As

well as take the time to notice when something is no longer there.

The tone that Frost uses in this poem is also very important when it comes to the

overall theme. He could have treated the people constantly staring out to sea like they

were doing something ridiculous. After all, he even writes that there is more to look at on

land. Yet, he makes it obvious that he respects them for looking even though there is

never a change, and even though they can never see far in or far out. This can be

especially noted in lines 15 and 16 when he writes, But when was that ever a bar/ To

any watch they keep?. With these lines he points out that even though something has

always been a certain way, exploration into how and why is still always a possibility. It is

possible that Frost is not like these people and he is incapable of just gazing in wonder at

the world around him, and as a result he respects their ability to do so. But more likely,

he respects them because he is like them and he also stares at the endless, deep sea in

reverence. Whatever his reasoning for respecting these people, his tone towards them in

the poem shows the reader how important appreciation of the world really is.

The Road Not Taken, Birches, and Neither Out Far Nor In Deep all teach

the reader an important lesson about living life to the fullest. Whether this is

accomplished through the refusal to regret past decisions, the strength to hold on to
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childish imagination, or the skill to constantly appreciate the world, Frost is able to bring

an extremely important theme out in each of his poems. And as a result he is able to

completely connect with the reader. Frost is extremely proficient at knowing when to use

certain techniques and when not to use them in his poems. He knows when to let the

reader lead, and when to have them follow. This alone shows his skill as a poet. And

more than that, he writes about topics that seem mundane, but manages to show the

beauty in all of them. A fork in a road, a sagging birch, and the sea, these are all things

that have been seen before, but none in the way that Frost presented them. Robert Frost

is a great poet because he makes the reader notice everything that he or she never took

the time to observe, in a form that is completely unexpected and all together fascinating.