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Once by the pacific by robert frost analysis
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An Analysis of Frost's Poem Once by the Pacific
Although "Once by the Pacific" is not one of Frost's most commercial poems, that does not mean that it is not one of his best. It appears quite obvious to me by one read through of the poem that it has an apocalyptic theme to it.
Frost uses the first four lines of the poem to give us a mental image of how powerful the ocean water is:
The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
We imagine water crashing down upon the shore line wave upon wave, getting bigger and bigger as they continue. Frost personifies the water in line 3 by giving us the idea that the water has an actual mind and can do as it wishes. That we are at the mercy of the ocean as it stands there in its threatening tone and demands respect from us. I think that line 4 is ironic because if we look at biblical history, water has covered the entire earth before (Genesis 7:17-24). Yet Frost approaches this as if it is a new idea, perhaps because we have a hard time comprehending such an unimaginable occurrence as the Great Flood.
The next 3 lines use the image of the clouds in the sky concealing what is to come:
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell and yet it looked as if .
Frost uses quite a bit of personification throughout the poem to give the sky and ocean human like traits. The use of this literary device helps embody the meaning of the poem. The first use of personification is seen in the second and third line “Great waves looked over others coming in/ and thought of doing something to the shore”. This illustrates how the waves were smashing upon each other and getting larger and larger than the ones before. The personification of the waves in line three, suggest that the waves have an actual mind of their and shall do what they wish.
In this poem, Frost includes his fear of the ocean and exaggerates its destructive power. As Judith Saunders stated that “The first thirteen lines have depicted an ocean storm of unusual force, and through personification the poet attributes to this storm a malign purposefulness” (1). Frost provided human characteristics on the storm to help prove his point that the ocean has bad intentions and its only purpose is to hurt him. Frost does not describe the waves as a result of unfavorable weather; he explains them as having a malignant intention to destroy the world. This poem revolves around the forces of nature and could be included in the long list of nature themed poems by Robert Frost.
In the struggle of mind over matter, an individual needs to have courage to use the knowledge that he or she possess. By using the knowledge available to us, we as individuals have the ability to overcome opposing forces in our lives which seem to keep us from progressing (mentally and emotionally), and which can seem larger than life. In Homer's epic The Odyssey, The use of cunning to disguise and deceive and to ultimately overcome the godlike opposition that manifests itself many times throughout the book, and makes Odysseus' return home possible. Without the ability to deceive, Odysseus' brute strength alone would have exhibited a futile display of power in the presence of the gods of Ancient Greece. Much like the lives of individuals, if we do not use our cunning and wit in a most effective manner, and rely on strength instead knowledge, we are destined for a life of failure and/or mediocracy . If Odysseus hadn't had the courage and cunning to return home his destiny would have consisted of spending the rest of his life on an island with Calypso, miserable.
In fact Odysseus is a all together a very different kind of hero. Odysseus is not known for his strength in battle such as Achilles or Ajax, but for his wit. Instead of simply attacking or overpowering his enemies like Achilles would, Odysseus out smarts him. This ability to rely on wit instead of might is particular important in the Odysseys. In the Odyssey all of Odysseus enemies are supernatural in natural whether god, witch, nymph or Cyclops, none of his enemies can be conquered by brute force. A specific example is the Cyclops. Odysseus could not physically over power...
One of the reasons Odysseus is admirable is because he uses his wits/smarts trying to get his men out of dangerous situations. When Odysseus and his men pass through the land where the sirens are, he all of his men
Odysseus is known for not just using his strength; he uses his intelligence as well throughout his journey. He is clever enough to know how to use his enemy’s strength to his advantage. For example, when he is trapped in the Cyclops Polyphemus’s cave by a giant boulder, he knows that the boulder is too heavy for him and his men to move. If he kills Polyphemus, he has no way of getting out of the cave. Instead, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops and waits for him to move the boulder so he can escape. Another example of his wit is that Odysseus plans and thinks through what he is going to do before he acts. When he washes up on Scheria and sees that the princess Nausicaa is his only hope of rescue, he thinks through how he should approach her: “Should he throw his arms round her knees, and crave mercy of the lovely girl? or should he stand where he was, and ask her politely to give him some clothes and to show him the way to the city? When he thought over the matter, it seemed best to stand where he was and to speak politely and quietly, in case he might give offence to the girl by embracing her knees”(Homer 76). Odysseus realizes the best way to approach a stranger is not to throw himself all over them and approach them rashly, but to compl...
Odysseus is an epic hero. He's a legendary figure with more than the usual amount of brains and muscle. Sometimes he's almost superhuman. At the end of the story, with only his inexperienced son and two farmhands to help, he kills more than a hundred of Penelope's suitors. He's able to do it because he has the help of the goddess Athena. He embodies the ideals Homeric Greeks aspired to: manly valor, loyalty, piety, and intelligence. Piety means being respectful of the gods, acknowledging their control of fate, knowing you need their help. Odysseus' intelligence is a mix of keen observation, instinct, and street smarts. He's extremely cautious. He's good at disguises and at concealing his feelings. He's a fast, inventive liar.
...multiple examples of Odysseus displaying his cunningness over strength. These examples represent the first encounter of where he is being held against his will. His use of his wits over strength were carefully planned out in this plan. You can tell this from the text saying "the next morning..." (Book 12) because of the text saying it is if Homer was implying that Odysseus carefully planned this out and took his time with it figuring out everything ahead of time. The reason why him and the rest of the crew got alive was because of his careful planning and relying on his cunning over his brute strength.
In Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, the recurring theme of intelligence is important because through intelligence, Odysseus is able to utilize wit and cunning to suit his needs and wants, as well as defeat bigger and stronger opponents than he. Through the stories of Odysseus' sufferings throughout the Trojan War and his struggles of homecoming, Homer portrays intelligence as being an effective application of strength used to gain an advantage over his opponents. Odysseus is depicted as an intellectual hero, who focuses on brain and sophrosune, rather than the typical martial hero, such as Achilles in the Iliad, who focuses on brawn and action provoked by emotion.
Frost uses different stylistic devices throughout this poem. He is very descriptive using things such as imagery and personification to express his intentions in the poem. Frost uses imagery when he describes the setting of the place. He tells his readers the boy is standing outside by describing the visible mountain ranges and sets the time of day by saying that the sun is setting. Frost gives his readers an image of the boy feeling pain by using contradicting words such as "rueful" and "laugh" and by using powerful words such as "outcry". He also describes the blood coming from the boy's hand as life that is spilling. To show how the boy is dying, Frost gives his readers an image of the boy breathing shallowly by saying that he is puffing his lips out with his breath.
Odysseus is a Greek king of Ithaca in Greek mythology, and a stud of Homer epic poems. A little about him king of Ithaca, Penelope husband, Telemachus father, Laertes and Anticlea sons. He is very guile and resourceful and known by the epithet Odysseus the cunning. However, a theme that everyone recognizes in the Odysseus is the cunning over strength. Odysseus is very intelligent; he is a man of “twist of turns…” The Greek term for his smarts is polytropos. In many of Homer stories the characters dwell on one more than the other. However, by no means is Odysseus lacking physical strength of his mind to face danger with courage. Odysseus analysis cunning over strength as he defeats the Cyclops, and makes his journey home to Ithaca.
“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.” This poem by Robert Frost is an excellent example of how even though people tend to think that Frost’s poems are just fun easy to read poems, a lot of them actually have dark themes to them. The poem “Fire and Ice” quoted above is a poem all about death and his prefered way to die/ destroy the world. So, although the average reader will quote Robert Frost as being a poet of positivity, yet many of his poems actually point out the dark side of human existence.
The first heroic characteristic of Odysseus is his cleverness. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus displays cleverness is in his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men in the island Cyclopes, which was filled with other giants. Although it is expected among the Greeks to display hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ends up eating some of Odysseus men. In order to escape the giant, Odysseus comes up with a clever plan. He offers Polyphemus wine in order to get the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up, and starts to try and recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant’s shouting would most likely attract the attention of the other giants in the island, Odysseus replies to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name that his name was “Noman.” But when Polyphemus shouts for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, since he is shouting “My friends, N...
Although this poem also is connected with nature, the theme is more universal in that it could be related to Armageddon, or the end of the world. Even though this theme may seem simple, it is really complex because we do not know how Frost could possibly relate to the events leading to the end of the world. It is an "uncertain" and sometimes controversial topic, and even if everyone was certain it was coming, we do not know exactly how it will occur and when. Therefore, how did Frost envision this event? Is he portraying it in a religious context, a naturalistic one, or both? The last line (14) speaks of God putting out the light, which brings out a religious reference, but the bulk of the poem deals with nature entirely. Physical images of water, clouds, continents, and cliffs present a much more complex setting than the simple setting in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" or the yellow wood in "The Road Not Taken."
In this poem he now talks about water. The reader can see how powerful the water is when it eats away at the cliff. The shore was lucky by being backed by the cliff. Once again Frost is discussing water which goes back to stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by stating the water because there is water in this poem with snow Frost keeps bringing up water and snow.