Caroline Fairbank
AP Lit pd 3a
November 16, 2016
Poetry Explication
Robert Frost’s lyric poem “Reluctance” explores the inner conflict related to aging and death. Now home, it seems as though his journey through life is at its end. However, he refuses to simply accept his fate and expresses reluctance to go. Frost uses an extended metaphor, specific diction and parallelism to convey the speaker’s unwillingness to accept the continuity of life.
Throughout the first stanza the speaker recounts a life full of travel and adventure. The terms “fields” and “woods” suggest the wilderness; “fields,” “walls,” and “highway,” reflect civilization. This juxtaposition suggests that he has led a long life and has experienced all that life has to offer. …show more content…
There are many examples of consonance throughout this piece such as, “wended” and “descended;” “scraping” and “creeping;” “hither,” “thither,” and “wither;” and “treason” and “reason.” These examples of consonance emphasize these words and add to the overall dreary mood of the poem.
True to the fashion of a typical lyric poem, the ABCBDB rhyme scheme creates a very melodic rhythm that parallels both the nature of the leaves and the travels of the speaker. Leaves are often described as floating through the air; similarly, Frost makes the man’s travels very ____ (as seen by the lines, “I have climbed the hills of view/ And looked at the world, and descended.”) Frost paints a picture of the man traveling up and over the rounded hills, a very continuous, flowing image.
The unique meter also enhances the flow of this poem; the final line is shorter than all of the other lines in each stanza. In each stanza, five lines are in trimester with three beats per line and the final line is in dimeter with only two beats per line. Besides stressing these last lines, it creates a very methodical piece that contrasts the stark imagery. Instead of writing sharp lines, his smooth diction alludes to hope within this
AP Lit pd 3a
November 16, 2016
Poetry Explication
Robert Frost’s lyric poem “Reluctance” explores the inner conflict related to aging and death. Now home, it seems as though his journey through life is at its end. However, he refuses to simply accept his fate and expresses reluctance to go. Frost uses an extended metaphor, specific diction and parallelism to convey the speaker’s unwillingness to accept the continuity of life.
Throughout the first stanza the speaker recounts a life full of travel and adventure. The terms “fields” and “woods” suggest the wilderness; “fields,” “walls,” and “highway,” reflect civilization. This juxtaposition suggests that he has led a long life and has experienced all that life has to offer. …show more content…
There are many examples of consonance throughout this piece such as, “wended” and “descended;” “scraping” and “creeping;” “hither,” “thither,” and “wither;” and “treason” and “reason.” These examples of consonance emphasize these words and add to the overall dreary mood of the poem.
True to the fashion of a typical lyric poem, the ABCBDB rhyme scheme creates a very melodic rhythm that parallels both the nature of the leaves and the travels of the speaker. Leaves are often described as floating through the air; similarly, Frost makes the man’s travels very ____ (as seen by the lines, “I have climbed the hills of view/ And looked at the world, and descended.”) Frost paints a picture of the man traveling up and over the rounded hills, a very continuous, flowing image.
The unique meter also enhances the flow of this poem; the final line is shorter than all of the other lines in each stanza. In each stanza, five lines are in trimester with three beats per line and the final line is in dimeter with only two beats per line. Besides stressing these last lines, it creates a very methodical piece that contrasts the stark imagery. Instead of writing sharp lines, his smooth diction alludes to hope within this