Robert Frost Poem Analysis
Guiding Question: What do the speakers of Frost’s poems reveal about themselves through the stories they tell?
About
Repeated items (theme, diction)
Tone (through diction)
Words (genre, metaphor, simile, imagery, etc.)
Alliteration (sound created)
Rhyme (end rhyme- group ideas, internal rhyme- strengthen idea + emphasizes, masculine rhyme- rhyming syllables are stressed and feminine rhyme- rhyming syllables are unstressed) Rhythm
Structure
Prosody- technical aspects of a poem i.e. rhyme scheme, rhythmic pattern, meter, structural .
“Dust of Snow”
By Robert Frost published in 1923 New Hampshire
Diction: * Crow: symbol for death * Dust: when we die, we turn to dust * Hemlock: poisonous, also used by witches
Dark diction shows he had a bad day.
Setting: * Winter- dead season, supports dark diction. Snow is cold, and it also makes the setting more melancholic.
Dark season
Contrast and paradoxical nature contributing to a positive result (as we can see from the change as it transcends to the second stanza)
Plot twist in a poem: Volta
Structure: * 2 stanzas (quatrains) to show 2 different moods * 1 sentence to show that it is the same event, but separated into two stanzas to show the cause and effect. * 8 line poem: Octet
Tone: * Light, happy
Overall meaning:
Some bad things may lead to the good things.
What is negative could be perceived as positive.
Persona experiences seemingly negative effects with a positive outcome
“Much Madness is divinest Sense”
By Emily Dickinson 1924 The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
1830, Massachusetts. Often spent most of her time isolated. By 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost total physical isolation from the outside world.
About: What is often declared madness is actually the most profound kind of sanity. It is considered madness not by reason, but by what the majority thinks. If you agree with the majority, you are sane. If you disagree, you are crazy.
About
Repeated items (theme, diction)
Tone (through diction)
Words (genre, metaphor, simile, imagery, etc.)
Alliteration (sound created)
Rhyme (end rhyme- group ideas, internal rhyme- strengthen idea + emphasizes, masculine rhyme- rhyming syllables are stressed and feminine rhyme- rhyming syllables are unstressed) Rhythm
Structure
Prosody- technical aspects of a poem i.e. rhyme scheme, rhythmic pattern, meter, structural .
“Dust of Snow”
By Robert Frost published in 1923 New Hampshire
Diction: * Crow: symbol for death * Dust: when we die, we turn to dust * Hemlock: poisonous, also used by witches
Dark diction shows he had a bad day.
Setting: * Winter- dead season, supports dark diction. Snow is cold, and it also makes the setting more melancholic.
Dark season
Contrast and paradoxical nature contributing to a positive result (as we can see from the change as it transcends to the second stanza)
Plot twist in a poem: Volta
Structure: * 2 stanzas (quatrains) to show 2 different moods * 1 sentence to show that it is the same event, but separated into two stanzas to show the cause and effect. * 8 line poem: Octet
Tone: * Light, happy
Overall meaning:
Some bad things may lead to the good things.
What is negative could be perceived as positive.
Persona experiences seemingly negative effects with a positive outcome
“Much Madness is divinest Sense”
By Emily Dickinson 1924 The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
1830, Massachusetts. Often spent most of her time isolated. By 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost total physical isolation from the outside world.
About: What is often declared madness is actually the most profound kind of sanity. It is considered madness not by reason, but by what the majority thinks. If you agree with the majority, you are sane. If you disagree, you are crazy.