Frost's Metaphors

Metaphors can be Meta-free-phor-alls! The word metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. It makes the meaning that the author wants to tell more interesting and more understandable. Born in 1874, lived through many historical events, Robert Frost was one of America’s most distinguished poets, much of his poetry talk centered on the importance of metaphor. As we read, the first task is to identify the literal meaning of the poem. Then, unlock the metaphor which lies beneath the surface and the meaning Frost expresses will be understood. In several of frost’s poems, images such as a stubborn cow, a flower that blossoms in spring, a decision between two roads, …show more content…
In the poem, it states that “to make… Then fools” (Frost). The “cow” treating “a wall” like “an open gate” serves as a metaphor. The literal meaning of this image is that there is a stubborn cow that keeps getting out of the pasture because it loves the taste juice from the ripe apples. She refuses to eat the grass in the pasture and always breaks out to eat the half rotten apples from the ground that the wind has blown off the trees. The cow is so stubborn and arrogant that she doesn't care that the gate builders need to keep building and rebuilding the gate when she breaks through it, 'thinking them as fools' because she's going to do what she wants. "She scorns the pasture withering to the root" shows that the cow is spoiled and will not eat the grass, too stubborn and occupied breaking out of the fence and eating the apples. Just like the cow, people do have a strong tendency to get ourselves into trouble with our mischievous nature and everyone has experiences greed, arrogance, and regret like this cow character has experienced within this …show more content…
It states that “Her early leaf’s a flower / But only so an hour” (Frost). The flower symbolizes purity, beauty and nature just like a newborn baby, and when the poet says “her early leaf’s…” it proves that he is talking about something just born or created. However, he then says, “but only so an hour.” which makes evident that the beauty and innocence will only stay for an hour and then fade away. “Nothing gold can stay” is also metaphoric for that gold represents value and wealth so when it says nothing gold can stay it means that nothing that is precious or of great value in the materialistic way can stay forever. As gold symbolises materialism it won't last for long and it will give us “fake happiness” and another thing is that gold and other things which are money based can take years to accumulate but can be washed away in a