"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" Robert Frost

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was a very interesting poem, and definitely my favorite out of the assigned readings. Automatically I tend to search for any kind of symbolism in Frost. I was especially intrigued by the poems ending lines "And miles to go before I sleep./ And miles to go before I sleep." because they entice feelings of being on the road and the theme of travelling or being in a transition phase becomes apparent. In addition to the theme, I liked the word choice Frost uses. For example, "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep/But I have promises to keep," are poignant and left an impression on me. Word choice along with Frost's use of imagery are reasons why his poems stand out among the rest.

Robert Frost

I enjoyed reading Robert Frost, he wrote one of my favorite poems 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'. 'Mending Wall' was a tad bit confusing to me. I like Frost's modernism and I feel there are many things you can take away from his poems. It feels that almost everyone can relate in one way or another. What I found in 'Birches' was maybe he wasn't really talking about the actual birches themselves. When Frost got done explaining how the birches became bent and formed it dawned on me when he specifically said,

"...And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves;..."

it made me think that he could possibly be talking about a persons experiences in life. Bad and good things happen to each and everyone of us and once they do we are never the same. Yet, we don't break, we persevere, and keep on living because to give up under ever little or big pressure that is pushed upon us is usually not an answer. Even with good things that happen, we want more good things so we don't typically just stop and say...well that was good enough. The last thing is I find myself saying often...well it could be worse...and it does have an influence on your perspective to thing of people and situations that are way more difficult to handle than yours, ultimately giving you some of your motivation.

"...One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

I really enjoyed 'The Road Not Taken'. I love all of the meanings you can get from it. A saying that comes to mind is "going against the grain", which I love. He choses the road less taken to explore and find himself, I believe. It turns out to be more than he could have expected so much so that he states he may never return. This unworn road was more beautiful and gave him much more happiness. So what I get out of this is don't always follow the crowd, it doesn't always get you where you need to go.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost has always been a favorite of mine. His poems are sometimes difficult to understand but for the most part it is relatively simple to see the underlying message. I like his style of writing and the rhythm of his poems. “Mending Wall” was not one that I enjoyed, it seemed kind of jumbled to me, like he jumped around from idea to idea. However, my interpretation of the poem is something to do with the idea that if you put up “walls” in your life you will be happier due to the fact that he used the phrase “Good fences make good neighbors” more than once. “The Road Not Taken” is probably my favorite poem by Frost. It’s very simple to understand with a delightful meaning and life lesson. He is faced with a decision to be a follower or take a chance and not go with the crowd. He chooses to take the road less traveled and was very pleased with his decision. I believe this is something everyone, no matter how young or old, can learn from and use in life. “Birches” is a little more difficult to understand but what I got out of it is that he sees the trees bent by the ice storm but he likes to think it is because of boys swinging on them as he once did. And when he did he felt like he left the worries and problems of earth for a short time and was gently let back down. I actually enjoyed this poem as it is not one that I would usually like. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is pretty short and to the point. There isn’t much to it and is pretty much explained in the title. However, if there must be a deeper meaning I would say it is that sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy and appreciate what is around you even if it seems unusual or not exactly beautiful at first sight.

Robert Frost

I do enjoy reading Robert Frost's work, but sometimes I do feel that it is hard to follow. I like the fact that what he writes about is realistic and the readings that had to be read all had something to do with nature. Some of his poems may be easily misunderstood, for example, "The Road Not Taken." I took me awhile to really understand that he was staring down two different roads and could only travel one at a time. He would travel the less traveled then travel the other one at a later time. But he says that it may not happen because he is unsure of what the future holds and doesn't know he'll ever be in the same spot again. The poem I enjoyed reading was "Birches," because it gives us, the readers, insight on how he thinks back to his past and his imagination of bent tree branches were from boys swinging on them instead of the storms that have caused it. Since Robert Frost is the eraa of modernism, I think he portrays the characteristics very well because it follows the characteristic of that it is the belief that literature could create meaning and connection. Frost does a good job with giving connection and meaning to his writing, which gives the readers a greater insight of understanding what he is trying to get across.

"Guillaume Apollinaire" by Gertrude Stein

"Guillaume Apollinaire," by Gertrude Stein is a very interesting piece in my opinion.  To some extent, I dislike the way that her ideas are so vague in her free-verse that it is nearly impossible to decode a fluent meaning, but in a sense, it is also what I like best about her work.

Free-verse is meant to express a feeling more than anything else and Stein does this well. There is also something to be said for her acknowledgement of the individual's thought. Stein uses the vague language that she does so that every reader can translate their own unique meaning, and judging by the vastly different ideas that different students had for her various poems in class today, it is clear that she succeeds in doing this.

With lines like, "Elbow elect, sour stout pore, pore caesar," the meaning can be interpreted in a million different ways, none of which are ultimately right and none of which are ultimately wrong. The meaning is simply what it makes each individual reader feel, and that is extremely powerful.

For these reasons, I am very interested in Gertrude Stein.

E.E. Cummings "next to of course god america i"

"next to of course god america i" I found was an interesting read. I'm not sure why Cummings uses incorrect capitalization. I took it possibly as him thinking those things that are typically capitalized in the English language are unimportant to him. It could be a way for him to get our attention, the poem looks unfamiliar because of the 'mistakes'. The main point that stuck out to me the most was "...we should worry in every language even deafanddumb..." America is beautiful and there is no place like it, but we shouldn't take it for granted and know that it is not all the stereotypical Land of the Free. Because freedom doesn't come free. I think thats why Cummings mentioned "...why talk of beauty what could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead..." I got out of this that America isn't as beautiful and cookie-cutter as we might all make it out to be. There was lots and still is lots of blood spilled to make this country what it is. That's what is beautiful. The heroism. We discussed in class that Cummings might have been trying to be sarcastic and that is a possibility, but I don't believe this to be true. I think he was trying to get our attention directed to the reality of how we came to be and why we love America...next to God of course.

On J. Alfred Prufrock

Eliot uses dark language in this work when describing the streets as the narrator walks through the city, giving the reader an idea that maybe Eliot saw society as very broken and pulled apart. This work seemed overwhelming to read at times because the author intertwined so many heavy ideas into the work. I think the narrators account of the surrounding is supposed to convey a sense of decay to the reader. What Eliot was seeking to do here is convince the reader of mankind's mortality. I feel like Eliot wanted to expose the typical man who is big headed, often forgetting how truly small he is. This vivid imagery that the writer uses is key in painting a very dark, somber theme creating an eerie feeling for the reader. I would even go as far as to say Eliot is poking fun at the established, patriotic idea of the modern man. This poses a challenge to readers maybe even not to take their own lives so seriously. When the narrator says time to set back and descend the stair with a bald spot in the middle of his hair, this is a perfect example of Eliot's bad ass use of language to point the reader towards humans mortality and frailty. I really actually enjoyed this work just because I really appreciate Eliot's abstract, but highly intelligent writing skills. Although Eliot's style is very dark, I sense that he also writes with a good sense of humor as well. I support the man's philosophy to never take one's self to seriously. 

                                        Peace out, Nate Shackelford