Holiday homework

English

Robert frost
Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was born in San
Francisco, California to journalist William Prescott Frost Jr. and Isabelle
Moodie. In 1894, he sold his first poem, "My Butterfly. An Elegy" (published in
the November 8, 1894, edition of the New York Independent) for $15. Frost
attended Harvard University from 1897 to 1899, but he left voluntarily due to
illness. In 1912, Frost sailed with his family to Great Britain.His first book of
poetry, A Boy’s Will, was published the next year. In England he made some
important acquaintances, including Edward Thomas(a member of the group
known as the Dymock Poets and Frost's inspiration for "The Road Not
Taken”), T.E. Hulme, and Ezra Pound. In 1915, during World War I , Frost
returned to America, where Holt’s American edition ofA Boy's Will had
recently been published.During the years 1917–20, 1923–25, and, on a more
informal basis, 1926–1938, Frost taught English at Amherst College in
Massachusetts.In 1924, he won the first of four Pulitzer Prizes for the book
New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. He would win
additional Pulitzers for Collected Poems in 1931, A Further Range in 1937,
and A Witness Tree in 1943.
 POEMS
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 say that for destruction ice
Is also great and would suffice.

Summary
The poem expresses the idea that the world will end someday, either by Fire
or by Ice. Here, the poet has compared Fire and Ice with the self-destructing
emotions of human beings. The fire and ice poem beautifully describes how
humans let their emotions rule over them. They have no control over their
desires. They work towards achieving their desires, but the more they work,
the more they get trapped in them. Thus, they never feel satisfied and destroy
their life. In a similar way, the poet thinks that fire and ice will lead to the
destruction of the world.

FIGURE OF SPEECH
In the poem, the line “But if it had to perish twice” is a paradox, while
synecdoche use is in “The heat of love and the cold of hate are seen as
having cataclysmic power.” In addition, there is alliteration in the first two lines
that begin with “Some say”, while the final word “suffice” underlines the
poem’s understatement with irony.

RHYME SCHEME
abaa-1st paragraph
ababa-2ndparagraph
 nothing gold
can stay
Nature first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Summary
Frost uses nature as the main symbol for his theme because the
cycle of life and death shown through the four seasons provides
imagery that many people can identify with; and in this poem,
nature symbolizes the idea that all the good and beautiful things in
life will eventually fade away. One of the most important messages
to take from this poem is that once you recognize how fleeting and
precious certain moments are, you will appreciate them even more.

FIGURE OF SPEECH
In the poem , personification is used the line “her hardest hue to
hold”. “but only so an hour” is a hyperbole and “so eden sank to
grief ” is an allusion.

Rhyme scheme
aabbcc
 Acquainted with the night
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

Summary
As this poem is about isolation, the lonely speaker walks the city
streets at night, trying to escape from his anxiety and unexpressed
fear. He also tries to find something to comfort him but fails. He
listens to the sounds of that city but soon acknowledges that these
cries are not for him. Also, he passes by a watchman but avoids
eye-contact as if he hesitates to express himself to somebody.
Finally, he gazes up at the moon and says time has no meaning for
him. He is wrapped in never-ending sorrow. What enchants the
reader is the way he brings into light the natural world and human
feelings.

Figure of speech
In the poem, alliteration is used in ”I have stood still and stopped the sound of
feet”. Assonance is used in”I have walked out in rain-and back in rain”.
Metaphor is used where the speaker’s loneliness and isolation are compared
with “night”.
 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.

Summary
Dust of Snow is a short and beautiful poem written by Robert Frost. It is a
motivating poem that tells us how our view of perceiving things changes our minds
and puts a greater impact on our lives. By enjoying the simple moments of life, we
can get rid of our day-to-day problems and worries. This also helps us in living a
happy and healthy life.

FIGURE OF SPEECH
In the poem, Metaphor is used when the poet compared the falling snow flakes
from hemlock tree to dust. Alliteration is used in the lines ‘Has given my heart’ and
‘And saved some part’. Synecdoche is used where the poet said his ‘heart’
undergone a change in mood. Assonance is used to show repetition of vowels in
several lines of this poem.