Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poes Poetry Analysis Paper - Essay Example

Poetry Analysis Paper To learn to really appreciate poetry, one must often learn how to analyze it appropriately by looking at aspects such as rhyme, rhythm, word choice, intent and style. By looking at these individual elements, the reader can often develop a greater understanding of the author’s skill and a finer appreciation of how these elements are constructed to contribute to the final impact of the poem. To illustrate how this is done, both Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Haunted Palace” will be analyzed in terms of type, style, theme, literary elements, word choice, rhythm and structure. Robert Frost (1874-1963) wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” around 1923. It is a lyrical poem that exemplifies Frost’s ability to combine idyllic pastoral settings with philosophical commentary. When read aloud, the words of the poem produce a sing-song quality as can be seen in the lines from the first stanza: Whose woods these are I think I know, His house is in the village though. He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.(1-4) The loneliness of the scene presented within this first stanza sets a mournful tone for the rest of the poem, yet avoids touching on the elegiac with the final impression that the narrator has moved on to fulfill his obligations when he says “And miles to go before I sleep.” (16). Although on the surface, the poem can be viewed as a lovely pastoral piece capturing the beauty of a single moment in time, a closer reading of it indicates the theme of the poem is actually eternal rest, probably obtained by suicide. It isn’t until the final three lines of the final stanza that the reader is made aware of this possibility as the narrator says “But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep.” (14-16). The repetition of the last line brings the reader’s attention to the significance of the words and helps underscore the double meaning inherent in other sections of the poem. The idea that no one will see him stopping there mentioned in the first stanza, the fact that there is no farmhouse near mentioned in the second stanza and the only other sound being that of “the sweep of easy Wind and downy flake” (12) indicate how isolated the narrator feels while the reference to the “darkest evening of the year” (8) could as easily be referring to long winter’s night or the night the narrator almost acted on a desire to be done with life. The mournful tone of the poem is further emphasized by the cold nature of the words used within it. In describing the scene before him, the narrator gives no impression of warmth or life, even when describing his little horse who “must think it queer” (5), but who merely “gives his harness bells a shake” (9). The woods are filling up with snow as the narrator stops “Between the woods and frozen lake” (7). While the narrator describes the woods as “lovely, dark and deep” (13), again there is no sign of life within. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is written in iambic tetrameter meaning each line has four stressed syllables each in an unstressed, stressed syllabic “foot”. In addition, the poem is written in a unique closed form that is rarely, if ever, seen in English poetry. The rhyme scheme follows the following pattern: a, a, b, a b, c, b, b c, c, d, c d, d, d, d. Not quite fitting into the definition of lyrical, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Haunted Palace” can best be classified as an allegorical poem. Full of classic imagery and metaphors, the somewhat stuttering meter and language serve the author’s purpose in suggesting a man decaying into madness. Because of this slow decay and the lament of “the olden / Time long ago!” (11-12), the poem could almost be considered elegiac. Throughout the poem, Poe develops his theme of a brilliant, youthful mind lost to tragedy, decay and madness through a complex set of metaphors and imagery. “In the monarch Thought’s dominion” (5) suggests the palace of the mind while “Banners yellow, glorious, golden, / On its roof did float and flow” (9) is classic imagery used to describe a blonde-headed youth. That the mind in question was brilliant and good is suggested in: A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty Was but to sing, In voices of surpassing beauty, The wit and wisdom of their king. (29-32) Decay creeps in toward the end of the poem as “evil things in robes of sorrow” (33) that “old time entombed” (40). Images such as the “red-litten windows” (42) symbolizing red-rimmed eyes, “a ghastly rapid river” (45) and “a hideous throng” (47) symbolizing thoughts and ideas turned bad, work together to complete the horror of the poem. The formal nature of the word order helps to keep the reader’s mind on the subject being discussed and imparts some of the sovereign nature of the piece. Lines such as “And all with pearl and ruby glowing / Was the fair palace door” (25-26) help to indicate pomp and circumstance even while symbolizing bright white teeth and healthy red lips. Others, like “Vast forms, that move fantastically / To a discordant melody” (43-44) serve to inspire a dreadful awe while breaking some of the lyrical rhythm of the poem. Although the poem has a definite rhythm and structure, it is not easily found because Poe has taken the liberty of altering it slightly to reflect the fractured nature of his narrator. In addition, he uses the art of enjambment, or de-emphasizing rhyming lines by running the thought or the sentence through the next line, liberally throughout the piece. The use of trochees, or syllabic feet of stressed, unstressed syllables, gives the piece a minor tone. This tone is punctuated by the use of spondees or two-syllable feet where both syllables are stressed, helping to convey the idea that the writer’s thinking has lost its flow. Only through analysis does a reader gain the greater appreciation of Frost’s loneliness and despair in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or Poe’s mastery of his craft in “The Haunted Palace”. Without analysis of the type, style, theme, literary elements, word choice, rhythm and structure, it would be easy to mistake Frost’s poem for a simple pastoral lyrical piece and Poe’s poem for the creative writings of a madman. Through analysis, each poem gains significance and makes a statement altogether different than first glance might impart. Works Cited Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Robert Frost’s Poems. Ed. Louis Untermeyer. New York: Pocket Books, 1971. 195. Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Haunted Palace.” Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. S.T. Joshi. California: Aerie Publishing. 50-51. Read More