Frost at Midnight

In Shapiro's "Auto Wreck," the speaker questions the role of cause and effect in human experience as opposed to random chaos. In the poem, the speaker views an “accident” as situations that seem to occur without a concise cause and effect relationship. In life, we usually see a clear relationship between what happens in our lives. However, when that order eventuates in chaos, we tend become guilty of seeing ourselves as victims of these situations. Thus, despite the uncertainty of the horrors of…

An individual’s perception of real and remembered landscapes is dependent on their past experiences and memories which reveal inextricable concepts of how landscapes are a metaphysical realm upon which we project our expectations. “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton and “Aquifer” by Tim Winton explore how landscapes are reflective of an individual’s needs as they are characterized by the values we lack. The abstract representation of landscapes as a realm that exists within memory or…

“The Unknown Citizen,” written by W. H. Auden, is a poem that describes the life of man lived a life that most people would see as ideal. The man illustrated by this poem did what society expected him to do which resulted in a model life. This poem, however, can be seen in more than one way. Some may see the story in the poem as a description of a man who had an unfulfilling life because he did only what was expected of him. Instead of trying something new, exploring the world, or making a…

The word "iceberg" is most likely a Dutch term "ijsberg," which translates to ice mountain; only one-eighth of the mass can be seen above the surface of the water ("Iceberg Facts"). Iceberg also refers to a theory/style of writing in which the vast majority of the story is not read in black in white but inferred and hidden throughout the writing. Ernest Hemingway was famous for the style, and it can be seen throughout, “Now I Lay Me” a short story about a religious man during The Great War who…

The Novel, “The winter of Our Discontent” written by John Steinbeck is related to the literature of the American Seminar course. Within the novel, it has many moments in which the protagonist, Ethan Hawley, reflects upon himself and his decisions in life. He often refers to his,” Place”, where he goes to sort of meditate and become one with nature. He describes his Place as, “That is my place , the place everyone needs.I was compelled to go and sit inside there and hear the little waves slap the…

Many poets will express their perspectives or nauture in various ways. In the poems, “Ode to enchanted Light” by Pablo Neruda and “Sleeping in the Forest” by Mary Oliver, the poets utilize similar and contrasting key elements to express their views of the beauties and powers of nature. In “Ode to enchanted Light,” Pablo Neruda touches upon the beauties of light and appreciation for the nature that surrounds us, through the use of figuative language, theme, symbolism, and mood/tone. Mary Oliver…

The 1920s, a time for new innovations and was the rise of popular culture. People were expressing themselves more freely and enjoying life. During the year 1928, Robert Frost wrote a poem titled, “Acquainted with the Night.” From the title we can guess that Frost enjoyed partaking in the festivities of The Roaring Twenties. Maybe he enjoyed going out to socialize with a drink in hand, but unfortunately that is far from the truth. “Acquainted with the Night” is a work that depicts Robert Frost’s…

In the Poems Homo Suburbiensis by Bruce Dawe and In the park by Gwen Harwood both poets have represented this poem. In Homo Surbiensis Dawe talks about a man which is alone with his thoughts. The man also thinks of his vegetable patch as a small sanctuary. The man. In ‘In the Park’ Harwood tells readers about the story of a mother who is at the park with her children and encounters someone she once loved pass by. Both poems also use various techniques that include metaphor, sonnet, hyperbole and…

Robert Frost’s stopping by the woods on a snowy evening and Amy Lowell’s The Taxi show many differences with no similarities. Robert Frost talks about a man on riding on a horse through the forests, stops by to watch the woodlands fill up with snow, and then tells himself that he has to go before it gets too late. In the Taxi, the woman tells us that she misses her lover, and that she wants to see them again. Frost’s poem has an iambic pentameter while Lowell’s does not have any rhythm and can…

Howl by Allen Ginsberg, as I have researched it, is said to be one of the greatest poetic works in America. Upon reading the poem, however, I have felt the need to ask- why? Why is it that of all the poetry flying about, this one seemed to strike a chord with members of American society? Was it the controversy of the crude language used in this conservative 1950s era? Or perhaps the cold imagery of a dystopian wasteland? Was there something in the characters- the “who’s”- that the common person…