Assignment Paper no. 108

 

Name:- Payal Bambhaniya

Batch :- M.A. Sem.2 (2022-2024)

Roll no. :- 14

Enrollment no.:- 4069206420220002

Paper no.:- 108

Subject Code:- 22401

Paper Name:- American Literature

Topic:- Hesitation in Robert Frost's Poems 

Email ID:- payalbambhaniya92@gmail.com

Submitted to:- SMT S. B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU.

Hesitation in Robert Frost's Poems

Table of contents:-

• Introduction of Robert Frost
• The Road Not Taken
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
• Conclusion

Introduction of Robert Frost:-

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words".                                     -  Robert Frost 

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, in 1874. He was an American Poet who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, his command of American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations.

Life of Robert Frost:-

Frost's father, William Prescott Frost, was a journalist establishing a career in California, and in 1873 he and his wife moved to San Francisco. After his father's death Frost and his sister went to Massachusetts. Robert Frost graduated from high school in 1892. A top student in his class, Later he went to Harvard University but dropped out after 2 years due to health issues. He got married to Elinor White, they both attended Lawrence High School. He shared Valedictorian honours with Elinor white,with whom he had already fallen in love. When they were students Frost proposed to her. She refused because she wanted to study further. Frost then decided to leave on a trip to Virginia after returning from the trip. He again proposed to white and she accepted they got married. They had 6 children out of which only two daughters were alive.

He won the four Pulitzer prizes for his work and spoke at John F. Kennedy's 1961 inauguration. After getting married, in 1900 Frost with his wife and children went to New Hampshire where they had property, and started farming. They attempted to make their life for the next 12 years. It was a fruitful time for Frost's writing but it was a very difficult period for their personal life, Elinor and Frost attempting various activities like poultry farming for better earnings but all were unsuccessful. Despite all these challenges they grew quite well, got acclaim in the life of the countryside and began to write poetry about the countryside. Robert Frost was not known for the 40 years of his life but he had a reputation in his following life and was well recieved by the literary world. 

Notable Works:-

• A Boy's will

• Mending Wall

• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

• The Road Not Taken

• The Death of the Hired Man

• Storm Fear

In 1916 he published a 'Mountain Interval' , a collection of other works that he created in England and various other publications. In the latet part of his life after his wife died, he started a teaching profession in various schools and colleges. He has won 40 Pulitzer Prizes and around 40 honorary degrees. A person who was not known for fourteen years of his life got a chance at the age of 86 to recite his poetry 'The Road not Taken' in the presence of president John F Kennedy in 1961. He died on 29th January, 1936 due to complications in the surgery. Now discuss his two poems. 

The Road Not Taken:-

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh 

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

About Poem:-

The Road not Taken is one of the most famous poem of Robert Frost. Poem is first published in the 1915 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, and later published as the first poem in the collection Mountain Interval (1916). The poem consists of four stanzas of five lines each. With the rhythm scheme as 'ABAAB'. The main theme of this poem is making choices and the consequences of those choices.

Summary of the Poem:-

The speaker is walking through a forest whose leaves have turned yellow in autumn, and comes to a fork in the road. The speaker, regretting that he or she is unable to travel by both roads, stands at the fork in the road for a long time and tries to see where one of the paths leads. However, the speaker can't see very far because the forest is dense and the road is not straight. The speaker takes another path, judging it to be just as good a choice as the first, and supporting that it may even be the better option of the two, sinse it is grassy and looks less worn than the other path. Though, now that the speaker has actually walked on the second road, he or she thinks that in reality the two roads must have been more or less equally worn in.

The speaker recalls that both roads were covered in leaves, which had not yet been turned black by foot traffic. The speaker exclaims that he or she is in fact just saving the first road, and will travel it at a later date, but then immediately contradicts him or herself with the acknowledgement that, in life, one road tends to lead onwards to another, so it's therefore unlikely that he or she will ever actually get a chance to return to that first road. The speaker imagines him or herself in the distant future, recounting, with a sigh, the story of making the choice of which road to take. The speaker states that he or she was faced with a choice between two roads and chose to take the road that was less traveled, and the consequences of that decision have made all the difference in his or her life.

Hesitation in The Road not Taken:-

In this poem, we find the hesitation of a poet or speaker to choose one path. The speaker describes him or herself as facing a choice between which of two roads to take. The speaker's choice functions as an extended metaphor for all the choices that the speaker and all people must make in life. The roads in the poem are metaphorical for the path to be chosen in life. The poem is not affirming that if one chooses a path that is less traveled, they will definitely get what they want or they  will be in their life. It is a chance that happens in life. The poem describes the theme of non-confermity and individualism, in the poem the speaker wants to have their own choice but he or she also does not confirm whether his or her choice is good or bad. This poem captures the hesitation in the mind of the speaker to choose a path. The poem also suggests that in everyone's life this kind of hesitation happens where you are not sure which path is good or bad and feel difficulty to choose any one road or destination. 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:-

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.

My little horse must think it queer

To Stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

 the darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I Sleep,

And miles to go before I Sleep.

About Poem:-

Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening was written by Robert Frost in 1922 and published in 1923, as part of his collection New Hampshire. The poem is told from the perspective of a traveler who stops to watch the snowfall in the forest, and in doing so reflects on both nature and society. Frost claimed to have written the poem in one sitting.  It is written in iambic tetrameter and utilizes a tightknit chain rhyme characteristics to a form called the Rubaiyat stanza. The poem did not follow any particular rhyme scheme.

Summary of the poem:-

The speaker thinks about who owns the woods that he or she is passing through, and is fairly sure of knowing the landowners. However, the owner's home is far away in the village, and thus he is physically incapable of seeing the speaker pause to watch the snowfall in the forest. The speaker thinks his or her horse must find it strange to stop so far from any signs of civilization. Indeed, they are surrounded only by the forest and a frozen lake, on the longest night of the year. The horse shakes the bells on its harness, as if asking if the speaker has made a mistake by stopping. The only other sound besides the ringing of these bells is that of the wind and falling snowflakes, which the speaker likens to the feathers of goose down. The speaker finds the woods very alluring, drawn both to their darkness and how vast and all- encompassing they seem. However, the speaker has obligations to fulfill elsewhere. Thus, though he or she would like to stay and rest, the speaker knows there are many more miles to go before that will be possible. So the whole poem suggests hesitation in choosing personal desires and social responsibility.

Hesitation in the Poem:-

The speaker starts and ends the poem in a state of hesitation. In the first line, the speaker says, "Whose woods these are I think I know", a statement which wavers between a sure declaration and doubt. This may suggest that the speaker's battle with uncertainty. 

The Woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I Sleep,

And miles to go before I Sleep.

The speaker wants to stay in the woods. He loves nature and wants to be in nature but in the last few lines of the poem, the poet or the narrator or the speaker is not able to stay in the woods and enjoy the woods because of the materialistic world or social obligations that he or she has to follow. He wants to stay in nature but there is a society that won't allow him. He has made promises to his family that he has to follow. Here 'sleep' means death; it can be interpreted as completely giving himself or herself to nature. He has much more to do in his life according to society and societal rules before he does something for himself. So the whole poem depicted the hesitation in the mind of the speaker to choose personal desire or follow the societal rules. This poem describes the hesitation between two things - nature and society. 

Conclusion:-

Thus, we can read the hesitation in the poems of Frost, the hesitation between personal desire and social obligations. It also explores the uncertainty and internal conflict. The hesitation seen in the speaker or narrator in the poems can be interpreted as a reflection of the internal conflict that Frost faced in his own life. Hesitation in choosing paths. To choose a path followed by everyone or to follow individualism with non-conformity. Frost's personal life was marked by struggles and challenges, which often forced him to make difficult choices between following his own desires and conforming to societal expectations. After the death of his father, Frost was unable to continue his studies at college and had to work to support himself and his family.  He got married after that he started writing poetry and working hard to earn for family.  So his Poems encourage us to embrace our passion and desires, even if it means taking risks and breaking free from societal norms. Ultimately, Frost's life and work serves as a reminder that we all have the power to shape our own destiny and create the life we truly desire. So, choose wisely and accept the challenges and consequences of choice. 

Hesitation in Robert Frost's Poems:-

Ans. by ChatGPT:- 

Hesitation is a recurring theme in many of Robert Frost's poems. Frost often presents his speakers or narrators as being caught between two paths or choices, unsure of which one to take. This hesitation can be interpreted as a reflection of the internal conflict and uncertainty that Frost experienced in his own life. 

In the poem, "Mending Wall'', the speaker is hesitatant about the traditional practice of building and maintaining a wall between his property and his neighbour's. He questions the need for the wall, wondering if it is truly necessary, and expressing a desire to break free from the constraints of tradition and conformity. The hesitation of the speaker in this poem highlights the tension between individualism and conformity, and the struggle to balance the desire for independence with the need for community. In the poem , hesitation serves as a metaphor for the challenges and uncertainty that we face in life. Frost's poetry invites us to embrace our doubts and uncertainties, to question the world around us, and to make choices that reflect our deepest values and desires. 

Words Count:- 2,308

Images:- 3