"Spring Pools"

"Spring Pools"

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect

The total sky almost without defect,

And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,

Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,

And yet not out by any brook or river,

But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds

To darken nature and be summer woods --

Let them think twice before they use their powers

To blot out and drink up and sweep away

These flowery waters and these watery flowers

From snow that melted only yesterday.

Humans are romantic, and tend to identify themselves with nature. In poetry, nature and seasons are good ways to express one’s emotions.
"Spring Pools" by Robert Frost talks about the poet’s feelings for the spring season, which tends to pass way too quickly (line 12). Frost relates springtime with happiness and opportunity for new beginnings.
For example, the pools of water formed by melted snow from the passing winter and all the flowers around it indicate it is springtime (lines 11& 12). The snow that melted recently is considered as the better aspect of life, leaving behind the end of a cold, gloomy winter and entering the beginning of a bright, beautiful spring. We can relate this to life itself, because humans always want to leave the bad behind and start fresh and new. When Frost writes to let the "summer woods think twice before they use their powers" (line 8 & 9), he is advising the woods to think twice about absorbing the water, because this is a sign that the summer will end. Frost knows nature cannot stop; he just wants it to slow its course. This is obviously personification, which appears more than once throughout the poem, since woods cannot think nor stop it’s course. This is clearly a situation in which humanity clings to emotions and opportunity. He wishes to be happy as long as he can.

For more information on this poem, you may visit the following link:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12123/comments

"Fireflies in the Garden"

"Fireflies in the Garden"

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,

And here on earth come emulating flies,

That though they never equal stars in size,

(And they were never really stars at heart)

Achieve at times a very star-like start.

Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.

Frost is comparing stars and fireflies. He differentiates that stars are in the sky while fireflies are on Earth. At the beginning, he wants to see if fireflies can fulfill the majestic role of stars in the night sky. He does this saying, “Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, and here on Earth come emulating flies… to achieve at times a very star-like start” (lines 1-3,5). Though, at the end, Frost claims that fireflies can’t equal a star by stating that the flies “Can’t sustain the part” (line 6). In the middle of the poem, Frost foreshadows his conclusion by expressing his doubt in line 4. This shows that Frost believes that the beauty of a firefly is inferior to that of a star. The poem’s rhyme scheme is that of “AAABBB” and if you were to take this poem to another level, we could interpret it as if Frost is comparing fireflies and stars to any feeling a person could have such as love or friendship. An example could be a big love that leaves and another one may come and take its place, even though it will never replace it or be as the original.

For more analysis on this poem, you may visit the following link:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12126/comments.

"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening"

"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 the 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.

Robert Frost once again writes about the outdoors and nature in this poem. The speaker is riding on his horse along the woods on a snowy evening. The peaceful and enjoyable scenery of the trees all covered in snow tempt the speaker to want to stay longer (lines 4 & 13). The horse gives his bells a shake to see why they have stopped and the speaker knows hey must keep going (lines 14-16), because there are things that need to be done and they still have a long way to go before getting home. Frost uses personification in line 10, when the horse shakes his bells, “To ask if there is some mistake”. Obviously, a horse cannot speak and therefore it cannot ask questions. The tone of the poem is peaceful and calm. How the author describes the tranquil setting and how the speaker felt within the woods illustrates a soothing image for the reader. This poem is simply about enjoying what surrounds you. Sometimes, it is best to take a moment from routine or long journeys, and enjoy what nature has to offer, and take pleasure in some of the things we tend to take for granted. The traveler does this by enjoying the moment, “Of the easy wind and downy flake” (line 12), on the darkest night of the year (line 8).

For additional analysis on this poem, you may visit the following links:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/155.html
http://www.eliteskills.com/c/20545
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/frost/section10.rhtml.

"Going for Water"

"Going for Water"

The well was dry beside the door,

And so we went with pail and can

Across the fields behind the house

To seek the brook if still it ran;

Not loth to have excuse to go,

Because the autumn eve was fair

(Though chill), because the fields were ours,

And by the brook our woods were there.

We ran as if to meet the moon

That slowly dawned behind the trees,

The barren boughs without the leaves,

Without the birds, without the breeze.

But once within the wood, we paused

Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,

Ready to run to hiding new

With laughter when she found us soon.

Each laid on other a staying hand

To listen ere we dared to look,

And in the hush we joined to make

We heard, we knew we heard the brook.

A note as from a single place,

A slender tinkling fail that made

Now drops that floated on the pool

Like pearls, and now a silver blade.

This poem is simply about children going for water at their nearby brook. It has a happy and fun tone, because there is laughter in the air, and delight as the children head towards the woods where the brook is. Frost uses an alliteration of the letter "w" in lines 13 and 20 by saying, "But once within the wood, we paused" and also, "We heard, we knew we heard the brook". Line 20 sounds almost like a riddle. In line 9, there is also a hyperbole present, because you cannot really run to meet the moon because it's very far away. The running towards the moon also represents the feeling of happiness a person has that makes them believe that the impossible can be possible. The poem is about two children who must go get water from the brook because the well by their home is dry (line 1 & 2). They aren't sure if the brook is still running, but they go anyway, laughing and having fun. when they are running to meet the moon, they reach the woods and try to "hide" from it "like gnomes" do, (line 14). This poem represents togetherness and joy. The children aren't upset that they have to do their chores, instead they take it as an opportunity to get away from routine. They feel safe, because the woods are theirs (lines 7 & 8). Everything seems beautiful and suddenly, they hear the tinkling sound of running water mixed with their laughter, "Like pearls, and now a silver blade" (line 24). Frost also uses a simile to compare the water drops to pearls. A spontaneous adventure can lead to cheerfulness that can be enhanced by finding what you came to look for in the first place.

For more analysis on this poem, please visit Amazing link: http://frost.freehosting.net/analysis_going_for_water_frost.htm.
It is a thorough analysis of this poem.

"Come In"

"Come In"

As I came to the edge of the woods,

Thrush music -- hark!

Now if it was dusk outside,

Inside it was dark.

Too dark in the woods for a bird

By sleight of wing

To better its perch for the night,

Though it still could sing.

The last of the light of the sun

That had died in the west

Still lived for one song more

In a thrush's breast.

Far in the pillared dark

Thrush music went --

Almost like a call to come in

To the dark and lament.

But no, I was out for stars;

I would not come in.

I meant not even if asked;

And I hadn't been.

In this poem, Robert Frost is comparing the deepest part of the woods to the obscure parts of life, which include depression, the thought of suicide and death. He also compares the edge of the woods and what is outside of these with the light, sunny and positive part of everyone’s life, as well as life itself. The thrush, which is a bird, sings as if to invite the speaker into the woods, meaning his “darker side” (line 15). The speaker’s life isn’t happy, and that is why he compares it to the sunset, which is the time of day when sunlight goes away, leaving dusk. He doesn’t feel well with himself and he is listening to the bird, almost as if it was urging him to come in (line 16). He chooses, though, to stay outside, because at the moment he sees the last ray of sunlight (line 9), he thinks of it as new hope in his life. He then stays to find the stars (line 17), which are powerful lights in the night sky that represent life and hope. Frost uses personification in the third stanza, when he states that “The last of the light of the sun/ That had died in the west/ Still lived for one song more/ In a thrush’s breast” (lines 9-12), because sunlight does not live nor die, it’s always there, just that we don’t always see it because the Earth is in constant rotation.

For more analysis on this poem, please visit the links below:
http://www.eliteskills.com/c/13217
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/690/comments.

"A Time to Talk"

"A Time to Talk"

When a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don't stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven't hoed,

And shout from where I am, What is it?

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

In this poem, Robert Frost shows a simple even a person shouldn’t pass up, which is chatting with a friend. The speaker realizes that it is better to go up to where the friend is rather than shout out from where he is mowing the lawn (lines 3-5). The speaker decides to leave his “hoe” in the mellow ground (line 7) because there is always time for an enjoyable pause from work, in this case, mowing the many hills which he still must do (line 4). The speaker could have easily spoken from the hill, but by doing this, the friend could have felt unwelcomed and almost unwanted, because the distance makes the relationship seem less warm, since the distance tends to act as a separator, almost like a wall, between the speaker and the friend. Frost wants the reader to reach the conclusion that friendship is precious and important. Just like you need friends to listen to your ups and downs, you also need to take some time out of your own busy life to listen to the joys and troubles of a friend. Listening and being there for those who need you is the key to a meaningful, life long friendship.

To find more information on the understanding of this poem, you may visit http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12085/comments.

"Dust of Snow"

"Dust of Snow"

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

This simple yet interesting poem has an ABAB CDCD rhyme scheme. In these 8 lines, Frost is able to get a message through to the reader, which he was able to do in just one, long sentence. It shows the effects nature and its magic have can affect the mood of a human being. A crow (line 1), is usually thought of as a sinister bird while hemlock trees (line 4), are said to be poisonous or “bad”. The combination of these two displeasing elements accidentally created the pleasing effect to have snow fall on the speaker, changing his mood completely. This is to show that we can’t always judge by appearances. The bird and the tree would be, at first, considered something unpleasant, but it surprised the speaker, altering his mood, and changing altogether the expectations he had on his day. By this small, innocent action, from a least expected source, the speaker says that “It saved some part of a day I had rued” (lines 7-8). This phrase means that the speaker was having a bad day and something as small as a dust of snow falling upon his shoulder cheered him up and was able to add something positive and nice to an otherwise dreadful day, he himself had ruined.

For more understanding of this poem, you may visit http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12098.

"Stars"

"Stars"

How countlessly they congregate

O'er our tumultuous snow,

Which flows in shapes as tall as trees

When wintry winds do blow!--

As if with keenness for our fate,

Our faltering few steps on

To while rest, and a place of rest

Invisible at dawn,--

And yet with neither love nor hate,

Those stars like some snow-white

Minerva's snow-white marble eyes

Without the gift of sight.

The speaker tells us that even if stars are like God’s eyes looking down at us, they actually cannot see anything, they are blind. Frost uses a simile to compare this by saying, “Those stars like some snow-white/Minerva’s snow-white marble eyes/Without the gift of sight” (lines 11-13). The stars look like eyes but they can’t see nor judge. In the second stanza, Frost wants to show us, that stars, by lighting up the sky, help us look for things we wouldn’t be able to find without their light. In the first stanza, the snow seems to be a difficulty for the speaker, as it gathers in all kinds of shapes, forming obstacles. Line 3 is an example of a simile because the snow is being compared to the height of trees, “Which flows in shapes as tall as trees”. There is a case of personification in line 1 “How countlessly they congregate”, because stars do not congregate since they don’t decide where to go. People congregate together, such as in a church. Frost used the word “congregate” to make us see the relation between faith and the stars. Even if bad times come, “When wintry winds do blow!”, (line 4), and we have many difficulties, “tumultuous snow” (line 2), if we look up to the sky, we see how many stars are lighting it at night, making us think that somebody is watching over us.

For more analysis on this poem, you may take a look at the following links: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071217221713AAzuIKl
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12034/comments/2

"The Sound of the Trees"

"The Sound of the Trees"

I wonder about the trees.
Why do we wish to bear
Forever the noise of these
More than another noise
So close to our dwelling place?
We suffer them by the day
Till we lose all measure of pace,
And fixity in our joys,
And acquire a listening air.
They are that that talks of going
But never gets away;
And that talks no less for knowing,
As it grows wiser and older,
That now it means to stay.
My feet tug at the floor
And my head sways to my shoulder
Sometimes when I watch trees sway,
From the window or the door.
I shall set forth for somewhere,
I shall make the reckless choice
Some day when they are in voice
And tossing so as to scare
The white clouds over them on.
I shall have less to say,
But I shall be gone.

Frost is comparing trees to humans and the life spent on this Earth. Trees go through many stages as well as harsh weather and in order to survive, they have to get stronger, by growing deeper roots. Humans also go through many troubled times in their lives. They also have to get stronger in order to know how to get through these hard times so they need deep roots as well. These roots can be elements such as moral values and beliefs, as well as knowledge. If your values are strong, you will be able to act like a tree during rough times, bending and swaying (lines 15-16), and always being able to get back on your feet after the storm has passed. Frost also differentiates trees and humans by stating that humans always have choices (line 20) and are able to direct their life onto any path they wish (line 19), while trees don’t have a choice; they have to forever stay in the same place: “But never gets away” (line 11). Humans may always think they are getting stronger and wiser, and start something but never do it, but in the end, the human will eventually die while the tree will continue to stand.

To find more information on understanding this poem, feel free to visit the following link: http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/759/comments.

"Good Hours"

"Good Hours"

I had for my winter evening walk--
No one at all with whom to talk,
But I had the cottages in a row
Up to their shining eyes in snow.

And I thought I had the folk within:
I had the sound of a violin;
I had a glimpse through curtain laces
Of youthful forms and youthful faces.

I had such company outward bound.
I went till there were no cottages found.
I turned and repented, but coming back
I saw no window but that was black.

Over the snow my creaking feet
Disturbed the slumbering village street
Like profanation, by your leave,
At ten o'clock of a winter eve.

The speaker in the poem is out on a nightly walk around the village, alone (lines 1 & 2). He enjoys these evening walks, because he wants to feel the warmth of the other families’ nightly gatherings by walking along their lit houses. Through the curtains, he can peek inside and see that there is a homey atmosphere (lines 5-8). Each house has different people and activities, but they all seem very content and cozy. Frost uses an example of personification in lines 3 and 4 by saying “But I had the cottages in a row/Up to their shining eyes in snow”. Houses do not have eyes, and they are in reality the windows. As the title states, the poem shows that time of the day where every family gathers after dinner in the living room and enjoy each other’s company. The speaker might live alone, and therefore goes out to experience some of that warmth he does not have, or he might indeed have a family, but does not have that atmosphere of togetherness. When he’s heading back home, the speaker doesn’t want to make any noise as not to interrupt the families’ evening routine, “Over the snow my creaking feet/Disturbed the slumbering village street” (lines 13 & 14). It seems as if the speaker likes to go out during that short time before the lights go out, and make believe that he has a home and not only a house.

There were no related links that explained this poem, but it is fairly simple and this analysis should be of great help in order to get further understanding.

"The Road Not Taken"

"The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, 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.

The speaker in this poem is traveling through the woods and suddenly finds a fork in the road (line 1). The speaker wishes to travel both roads (line 2), but knowing that he can’t take both, he must decide between the two paths. Both had leaves on the ground, and grass, but one looked slightly less used (lines 6-8). He told himself that since he cannot be two travelers, he’ll chose one path and come back another time and take the other, even if it will be unlikely to travel that way again. The traveler took the road that seemed less traveled by (line 19). Frost uses an example of hyperbole in lines 16 and 17, where the traveler will tell his story about the diverging roads “ages and ages hence”. Of course, he won’t be telling things in such a long time because he will eventually die before. The paths in the woods are a symbol representing decisions and “paths” that must be taken in life. The speaker couldn’t choose between the two roads, and in life, it might be two hard choices or decisions that we must choose from. This can represent the fact that you don’t have to do something just because everyone else is doing it; it is okay to do something out of the norm. “And it made all the difference…” (Line 20).

For a clear and concise analysis on this poem, please visit http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/frost/section7.rhtml.

"Fire and Ice"

"Fire and Ice"

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Robert Frost compares and contrasts two destructive forces (line 1). Fire is compared to desire (line 3) and ice to hate (line 6). Both desire and fire consume and destroy you as for hate and ice are cold and also destroy by breaking and cracking. They both, though, can accomplish destruction. Fire and desire might be better (line 3 & 4) because they are hot and it can consume you quickly. Desire is a passionate feeling that can burn through and devour the soul as well as the person. Frost though, in line 5, states that if he had to experience death for the second time, he’d rather choose ice, or hate, because it would be a better force, even if it is slow, it is not as painful. The poet makes the reader understand that it is better to choose something strong, powerful and short-lived, such as desire, or a quick death, than a long and time consuming feeling that kills you very slowly.

For more analysis on this poem, please visit http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/frost/section9.rhtml
http://www.geocities.com/sir_john_eh/fireice.html.