Name: Endi Tarigan

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POETRY ANALYSIS LOVE AND A QUESTIONS ROBERT FROST

POETRY ANALYSIS LOVE AND A QUESTIONS
FROM ROBERT FROST
 CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY

A. Background

Poetry is a literary work that uses beautiful language and full of meaning. With poetry poets
convey feelings or messages to poetry lovers. But the beauty of each word and the density of
meaning in poetry sometimes make the poem difficult to understand. To understand the meaning
contained in poetry, the reader must have an inner sensitivity and critical power in analyzing the
poem.
Therefore, to understand the meaning of poetry in depth, it is necessary to hold a study or
analysis of the poem. In studying poetry there are several approaches that can be used and one
approach in the study of poetry is the approach of structuralism. Structuralism approach
according to experts is a totality that is built coherently by various elements (builders) it. On the
one hand, the structure of literary works can be interpreted as an arrangement, affirmation, and
description of all the materials and parts that become its components which together form a
beautiful roundness (Abrams, 1981: 68 in Nurgiyantoro, 2007: 36). On the other hand, the
structure of literary works also promotes the understanding of the relationship between elements
(intrinsic) that are reciprocal, determine each other, influence each other, which together form a
unified whole (Nurgiyantoro, 2007: 36).
Departing from the notion of structuralism above, the writer will try to use this approach theory
in analyzing Robert Frost's poem entitled "Love and a Question".

B. Research question
In this poetry analysis the questions we will analyze are:
1. Why is the poem titled Love and a Question?
2. What message is contained in the Love and a QuestionI poem?

C. Purpose
This poetry analysis aims to:
1. To find out why the poem is titled Love and a Question.
2. To find out the message contained in poetry.
 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL BASIS

A.Understanding poetry
The word poetry comes from the Greek "poesis" which means creation. In English called
"poetry" means poetry, poet means poet, poem means poetry or poetry. This kind of meaning is
gradually narrowed down to become "the results of literary art whose words are arranged
according to certain conditions using rhythmic rhyme and figurative words. Tarigan (1984: 4).
Poetry is a narrative of experience that is interpreted (interpreted) in rhythmic language
(electrocuted) (as thedramatization experince in material language). Altenbernd (1970: 2).
Poetry is an enduring effort to express the soul of something, to move a rough body and look for
life and the reasons that cause it. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Poetry is the most beautiful words in the most beautiful arrangement. The poet chooses the exact
words and is best prepared, for example balanced, systematic, between one element and another,
very closely related. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Poetry is a literary work that is bound by certain provisions or conditions and the disclosure is
not detailed, not detailed or not widespread. Drs. Zainuddin

B. Structural
Etymologically the structure comes from the word Structura (Latin) = form, building (noun).
System (Latin) = way (verb). The structuralist origin can be traced to Poetica Aristotle, in
relation to tragedy, more specifically in his discussion of plots.
The structural approach is an intrinsic approach, namely to discuss the work on the elements that
build literary works from within. This approach examines literary work as an autonomous work
and regardless of social background, history, author's biography and everything that exists
outside of literary work (Satoto, 1993: 32). The structural approach tries to describe the
interrelationships and functions of each element of literary work as structural unity which
together produce a comprehensive meaning (Teeuw, 1984: 135). So it can be concluded that the
structural approach is an approach in literary science that works how to analyze the structural
elements that build literary works from within, and look for the relevance or relevance of these
elements in order to achieve a round of meaning.
 CHAPTER III
DISCUSSION

Poetry analysis with structural pendenkatan is analyzing poetry into the elements and functions
that each element that exists has meaning.
Before we begin to analyze poetry using a structural approach, we first analyze poetry with
TPCASTT. It aims to make it easier for us to answer research questions because with the help of
TPCASTT we can know a general description of the meaning contained in each element that
exists.

A. Analysis
1. Poetry Love and a Question
Love and a Question
By Robert Frost

A Stranger came to the door at eve,

And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.

The bridegroom came forth into the porch

With, ‘Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I.’
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
‘Stranger, I wish I knew.’

Within, the bride in the dusk alone

Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart’s desire.
The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
 Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.

The bridegroom thought it little to give

A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;
But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.

2. TPCASTT
a. Title
The poem is titled Love and a Question by Robert Frost.
 Love here means the love shown by people.
 Questions means something that makes people confused and curious.
 This poem may tell about love from a partner and there are problems that occur in their love that
make them confused so they ask to find a solution to the problem.

b. Poetry Paraphrase
Stanza Poetry
A Stranger came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
-1 He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.
Paraphrase
• A stranger came to the door at
night
• And he talked to the bridegroom
clearly
• He held a green-white stick
• He brought loads in his shoulders
• He requested by using his eyes
not using his lip
• To request for a place to stay for
the night
• And he saw the road with the
situation there was no light at all

The bridegroom came forth into the porch • The bridegroom went to the
-2
With, ‘Let us look at the sky, terrace
 And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I.’
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
‘Stranger, I wish I knew.’
Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart’s desire.
-3
The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.
The bridegroom thought it little to give
A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;
-4 But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.
c. Connotation
1) Imagery
a) Visual Imagery
 Stanza 1
Line 3, 4 and 5:
• Stranger says ”let us look at the
sky”
• And ask what the night would be
like
• The woodbine leaves dirty the
yard
• The color of woodbine berries
were blue
• The winter would come by the
sign of autumn
• The bridegroom asked “I wish I
knew”
• The bride was alone at that night
• Showing a burning expression
• Her face turned red passionately
• And her thought was about her
sensual desire
• The bridegroom looked at the
long road
• He saw her wife
• And hoped her wife’s heart will
remain as calm as it is
• The bridegroom gave the stranger
• A piece of bread and a few money
• And did a pray for the stranger
• But whether or not a man was
asked
• To break the love atmosphere
between them
• The bridegroom wished he knew
 He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
 And, for all burden, care.
 He asked with the eyes more than the lips
These lines use visual imagery, they show us that the stranger brought a stick with loads over
his shoulders and he requested for something he really needed just by using his eyes to describe
his request for the owner of the house.

Line 7 and 8:
 And he turned and looked at the road afar
 Without a window light.
These lines use visual imagery. These lines show us that the bridegroom observed the road by
paying close attention to the roads and houses surrounded without light from the window of those
houses shown by the visual imagery of window light.

 Stanza 2
Line 5 and 6:
 The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
 The woodbine berries were blue,
These lines use visual imagery in which show us that kinds of plants woodbine berry colored
in blue has dirtied the yard.

 Stanza 3
Line 1, 2, 3 and 5:
 Within, the bride in the dusk alone
 Bent over the open fire,
 Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
 The bridegroom looked at the weary road
These lines above use visual imagery. These lines show us that the bride was alone waiting for
her husband to come close to her in which she was in her sensual desire shown by her face that
turned rose-red. Meanwhile the bridegroom still observed the road, made sure the road wasn’t too
bad for the homeless stranger to walk through

 Stanza 4
Line 1:
 The bridegroom looked at the weary road
These lines use visual imagery in which show us that the bridegroom again observed the road,
make sure that it is not too bad road for the stranger to be outside.

b) Auditory imagery
 Stanza 1
Line 2:
• And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
This line uses auditory imagery since the stranger spoked to the bridegroom. This line shows
us that the stranger has approached the newlyweds’ house and he directly spoked to him.
 Stanza 2
Line 3:
 And question what of the night to be
This line uses auditory imagery. The words in “And question what of the night to be” shows
that the speaker ask himself considering about the situation of that night.

c) Kinesthetic imagery

 Stanza 1 :
Line 1, 3 and 7:
 A Stranger came to the door at eve,
 He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
 And he turned and looked at the road afar
These lines use kinesthetic imagery. These lines show us that the stranger came to a
newlyweds’ house at a night and he bring a stick in his hand which may guide him along the roads
he walk by. While, again, the bridegroom turned his body to observing the situation of the road.

 Stanza 2:
Line 1 and 2:
 The bridegroom came forth into the porch
 With, ‘Let us look at the sky,
These lines use kinesthetic imagery in which the bridegroom showed an action of coming forth
to the house terrace and invited the stranger to consider the weather through the sky appearance.

d) Tactile imagery
 Stanza 2 :
Line 7:
 Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
This line uses tactile imagery that the winter will be coming as the speaker felt it through the
wind.

e) Symbols
Symbol that have been founded from the poem are as following;
 Gold and silver can be seen as valuable and precious
 Autumn and Winter can be associated with death
 Roses and the color red are associated with love and passion
d. Attitude
 The Speaker:
The speaker is male, it’s bridegroom and he sounds wife because he doesn’t directly chase away
the stranger yet he gave him money and bread. Although actually was in his dilemma that he was
fear that would ruin the mood of his wedding night by allowing the stranger to stay.

 The Audience
The audience is more likely adult because the poem is about love of married couple and the duty
of men to a fellow human being.

 The Tone (Attitude)

The speaker’s tone is hesitancy because he was in his dilemma whether or not he would allow
the stranger to stay in his bridal house.

e. Shift
There are 3 major shifts in this poem;
a) From the second stanza to the third stanza, it changes from focus on stranger to focus on wife.
b) In the fourth stanza, the bridegroom makes the decision.
c) In the fourth stanza (line 8) the bridegroom still consider his decision.
In tone, the shifts may as following;
The poem begins with hesitancy tone. Then the tone changed from the third stanza, it
become sensuality tone desired by the bride in the line of ‘her face rose-red with the glowing coal
and the thought of heart’s desire’. Then in the last stanza shows it’s back to the hesitancy tone
since the man still confused whether his decision was right or wrong by the line of ‘the bridegroom
wished he knew.”

f. Tittle Again
After we read the poem entitled “Love and A Question” depicts the beautiful young bride was
waiting for her husband with fulfilling of love. This poem is about compassionate love and
passionate love which inside the love contains of problems and evokes to questions where decision
is needed to made.
g. Theme
 The theme of the story is “Natural human nature is love and affection, where those feelings often
cause unrest in which we have to consider the problems that they caused.”
 This poem teaches us that we have to be wise in choosing compassionate love to others and
passionate love, so we don’t regret the decisions that we make. Be wise for now and future life.
h. Summary
There was a marriage couple was on their honeymoon. They wanted their time together.
Suddenly a stranger (old man) came to their house. He asked to stay for a night. Because of the
 bride was fulfill of love to her husband, the groom did not want to make his wife disappointed and
disturbed their first night. The groom denied the man to stay in their house, but with the feeling of
pity, the groom gave a piece of bread and a few money and pray for the man. Then the man received
those things and went away from the bridegroom’s house. Finally the man was feeling dilemma
because was his action right or not?.

3. . Research question
a. Why is the poem titled Love and a Question?
Love and a Question consists of two words namely love or love and question or question. These two
words are the key to knowing why the poem is titled Love and a Question, then the word must be
deciphered and then analyze it. Analysis of Love and a Question as the title of poetry can be seen
below:

1) What is love?
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attraction. In the context of the philosophy of love
is the good character that inherits all goodness, feelings of compassion and compassion. Another
opinion, love is an active action / activity carried out by humans towards other objects in the form
of self-sacrifice, empathy, attention, affection, help, obeying words, following, being obedient,
and willing to do whatever the object wants.
Love is a feeling that arises from within the soul of every human being. This feeling arises because it
is caused by several factors including; sympathy or compassion for someone, feeling awe, etc.
Love in general is someone's love for other creatures such as, to his prophet, to friends, to relatives,
etc.
There are several forms of love that often arise towards someone's love for other creatures or love for
others.
• Affection: respecting others.
• Altruism: non-selfish attention to others (which many people do not have).
• Reciprocation: love that is mutually beneficial (not mutual use).
• Commitment: the desire to perpetuate love, strong determination in a relationship.
• Emotional intimacy: sharing emotions and feelings.
• Kinship: family ties.
• Passion: sexual desire and or desire that tends to be passionate.
• Physical intimacy: sharing life closely with each other physically, including sexual relations.
• Personal interests: love that expects personal rewards, tends to be selfish and there is a desire to use
partners.
• Service: the desire to help and or serve.
Departing from the theory and forms of love described above, this poem will be analyzed.
2) Love in poetry
The form of love that is in Love and a Question poetry is, love (respecting others), Passion (sexual
desire and / or desire that tends to be passionate), and Service (the desire to help and or serve).
Proof of love in the poem will be explained below.
a) Affection
At the second stanza the poet said "the bride came forth into the porch" the poem shows the groom's
appreciation for strangers who need something that is standing on the porch of his house. This
attitude shows the groom's concern for people he does not know so, it can be concluded that the
bridegroom has a high sense of affection or care for fellow human beings.

b) Passion
3rd Stanza verses 1-4
Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face is rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart of desire.
To make it easier to understand the meaning of the poem, we use Paraphrase from TPCASTT
analysis.
The bride was alone at that night
Showing a burning expression
Her face turned red passionately
And he thought about her sensual desire

At the stanza it depicts the atmosphere that the bride is experiencing at night, where she should get
her right as a wife, but her husband leaves her alone.
This shows a wife's passionate desire for her husband. Where the night is the newlywed nights that
should be used by the bride and groom to fill love. But the groom leaves his desirous wife and
chooses to meet strangers.
c) Service
4th Stanza verse 1-3
The bridegroom thought it little to give
A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
To make it easier to understand the meaning of the poem, we use Paraphrase from TPCASTT
analysis.
The bridegroom gave the stranger
A piece of bread and a few money
And do a pray for the stranger
This shows love in the form of a desire to help and or serve others, and this is explained by the
verse above.
3) What does the Question mean from this poem
After we describe the love in the poem. Next we will analyze the question or question in the title
of the poem.
To help us find the Question's meaning from this poem, we first analyze the poem per stanza.
· At Stansa first, it is said that strangers came to the house and were greeted by the groom. This
stranger came with a load on his shoulder and then he asked very pleadingly to the bridegroom to
be allowed to spend the night at the bride's house for one night.
· Then at the second stanza, it was seen how this stranger invited the bridegroom to see the situation
that would happen that night. And it turns out that winter is coming soon, marked by the end of
autumn.
· 3rd Stanza, the bride starts to heat up because she is left alone by her husband where she should
enjoy their honeymoon night. The husband is dilemma of this, he is still with foreigners to pay
attention to the situation that will happen that night but on the other hand he also cannot bear to
leave his wife and make him disappointed.
· 4th Stanza, the decision taken by the groom is to give the stranger a piece of bread and some
money and he does not forget to pray for the safety of the stranger, given that the night will be
unfriendly. But actually the groom is still wondering about the decision he made.
From the above analysis it can be concluded that the meaning of the questions in the title of the
poem is the confusion of the bride over her decision.
This is their honeymoon night and the couple wants to spend time together without interference
from other people. Suddenly a stranger who needed help came knocking on the door and asking to
stay at the newlywed couple's house. With a heavy heart, the husband did not allow this stranger
to live with them because he did not want to make his wife disappointed. But out there winter is
coming soon this stranger has no place to live to take shelter from the cold night air in winter. Only
a piece of bread and some money he could give to the stranger and pray for his safety.
But the groom is still confused by the decision. Does he have to give a ride to these strangers who
need help and sacrifice their honey night? Or let him get cold out there while they are in warmth?
It was all confusing and still a question mark.
From the description above we can find out why the title of this poem is Love and a Question or
love and question mark. This is because the poem discusses the love dilemma experienced by a
man, namely the dilemma of love for others in the form of respect and care for others or love in
the form of Passion towards their spouses. He had to let go of one of them so this made him
confused and asked himself.
b. The message contained in poetry
From the results of the research question previously obtained, that the bridegroom must give up
love to maintain his other love even though it is heavy and cause tremendous inner turmoil, but
that is a decision he made. Decisions do need to be taken when we are faced with choices.
The message conveyed by this poem is "choices do need to be decided for true love even though
they require sacrifice by releasing other love."
In terms of physiology, men in addressing things prioritize logic compared to feelings so that the
choices they make are clearly more logical and women, and women should be able to understand
this. A man or husband will make a decision to make fun
n the couple even though they need to sacrifice their feelings. Initially he was hesitant about his
decision until he realized that the decision he made was correct.
Because life is to be loved and loved, then choose the best and the best love for a more meaningful
life.

B. CONCLUSION

The Love and a Question Poem tells the story of newlyweds who are undergoing their honeymoon
at the end of the fall. Suddenly there were strangers who came and asked for a ride to stay at their
honeymoon. The groom feels sorry for the person but there is no way he can give a ride because
this is their honeymoon night, and the groom does not want to make his wife disappointed and
disturbed by the presence of strangers. Then the groom gives a piece of bread and money and prays
for the stranger and does not give a ride. But he still wondered if the decision he made was right.
After analyzing it turns out the bridegroom made the right decision. Because he chose his wife
who was clearly his family and mate compared to choosing a stranger he had just met.
Love and a Question poetry is a love poem between a married couple and love for fellow human
beings. But in this poem also tells about the love of beings to God. This is evident in the 4th stanza
of the 3rd poem that reads "A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,". The bridegroom only craves
hope with his prayer to God and this shows his love for the creator. Even though we love creatures,
we need to know that essential love is the love of God.
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