One of the functions of memories is that it can provide a valuable lesson. As Cesare Pavese quoted, the richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten. Such as this is the case for two poets William Wordsworth and Robert Frost. There are many similarities and differences between the poems by William Wordsworth and Robert Frost in the method through which they use nature as their poetic theme. It is clear that both of these poets consider memory as an important role in the exploration of the natural world. This is demonstrated in the way that the experiences they had, the emotions they felt, and the knowledge they gained from nature are kept in their memories and is demonstrated through the use of poetic language. However, Frost tends to …show more content…
In Birches, the abstract term truth is personified by capitalizing it. The Truth is stated “all her matter-of-fact” (22) which I believe is applied to indicate a scientific, real-life observation facts that pauses the boy to stop climbing up towards the heaven. This is significant because his memory as a child exhibiting transcendence is interrupted by the Truth that breaks the relationship with spiritual natural world with the poet. The capitalization makes the truth of the society stand out to give its importance. It is the Truth that restrain Frost from going to the “heaven” and retain him to the Earth. Frost realizes that the transcendence is merely a dream and an imagination that he idealize and understood it as a place that he can never reach. Critic Robert Hass states that “Birches centers on the malleability and resistance of nature as it comes under the influence of the manipulating processes of human will.” (165). This statement proclaims that, instead of the nature providing a gateway to “heaven”, Frost sees it as an imagination he had as a boy and the force he applied to swing the branches would eventually halt, thus coming down to Earth. His memory rests in his imagination and does not engage further relationships with the natural world. Wordsworth would see this
In Seamus Heaney’s poetry, there is a recurring theme of his talking of the past, and more predominantly about significant moments in time, where he came to realisations that brought him to adulthood. In “Death of a Naturalist” Heaney describes a moment in his childhood where he learnt that nature was not as beautiful as seem to be when he was just a naive child. Heaney does this on a deeper level in “Midterm Break” describes his experience of his younger brothers funeral and the mixed, confusing feelings he encountered, consequently learning that he no longer was a child, and had no choice but to be exposed to reality. Robert Frost in one sense also describes particular moments in time, where his narrator comes to realisations. However, Frost writes more indirectly than Heaney, and all together more metaphorically. In “A Leaf Treader” he symbolically talks about life and death through the autumn season. He does the same, in “The Road Not Taken” where the two roads are described to be a metaphor for the decisions one makes in life, and the inevitable regrets we face due to those decisions. In “Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening” Frost directly talks directly of a moment in time, however the significant meaning being that in life one needs a moment of solace to appreciate peace and beauty.
The poems facilitate the investigation of human experience through illustrating life’s transience and the longevity of memory.
Nostalgia is an idealised longing for former times, places, or people; it colours memory, softens the hues of the past, and inspires a longing to return to these times or places. The poems, “Tantramar Revisited” by Charles G. D. Roberts, and “Low Tide on Grand Pré” by Bliss Carman each explore the idea of returning to a fondly remembered past. In these two poems both Bliss and Carman use descriptions of nature as a means to connect with the past. In “Tantramar Revisited”, repetition of key words and phrases evokes the feeling of the passage of time. In “Low Tide on Grand Pré”, the passage of time is stated more
The title of this piece, “Remembered Morning,” establishes what the speaker describes in the stanzas that follow as memory; this fact implies many themes that accompany works concerning the past: nostalgia, regret, and romanticism, for instance. The title, therefore, provides a lens through which to view the speaker’s observations.
As one gets older, memories that were once remembered in vivid detail are often forgotten, leaving behind only sadness, and the fragments of memories. The poem “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins demonstrates just that. “Once More to the Lake”, an essay by E.B. White discusses the idea of forgetting, as well. Both pieces contain a common theme of the sadness of forgetting once cherished memories.Therefore, both pieces use diction and syntax to show the sadness of forgetting old memories.
“Studies have pointed to violent video gaming, in particular, as a significant predictor of aggressive behavior; however, exposure to the same games has been largely omitted from the risk factor literature on delinquent behavior” (Exelmans, Custers, & Van den Buick, 2015, p. 267). The findings of this study, shows that American youth ages 8-18 years old, played approximately one and a quarter hours of video games per day. The average time spent playing has continuously increased over the past two decades from 24 minutes a day in 1999 to 49 minutes in 2004, and 73 minutes in 2009 (Exelmans, Custers, & Van den Buick, 2015, p.268). Most of the studies given on the topic of violence in video games, clearly show that the need for parental control is imperative; the amount of time and how that time is spent, during gameplay, can have a negative result without proper parental guidance. “The key findings were that playing on a console and gaming on a higher number of gaming equipped devices were associated with more hours of gaming, whereas parental discussion of cyber safety was associated with reduced hours of gaming" (Simth, Gradisar, & King, 2015, p.
In the poem Birches by Robert Frost, Frost portrays the images of a child growing to adulthood through the symbolism of aging birch trees. Through these images readers are able to see the reality of the real world compared to their carefree childhood. The image of life through tribulation is the main focal point of the poem and the second point of the poem is if one could revert back to the simpler times of childhood. The language of the poem is entirely arranged through images, although it contains some diction it lacks sound devices, metaphors, and similes compared to other published works by Frost.
Wordsworth visualized scenes while he was away, a way for him to feel a spiritual connection until he was able to return. Wordsworth states, “As a landscape to a blind man’s eye: But opt, in lonely rooms, and mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them” (Wordsworth 25-27). Wordsworth gives a sense of conformity and loneliness while being in the towns and cities. That he had his memories of when he was younger to keep him hopeful to return to nature and all the memories he had grasped the memories of. As the society today focuses merely on what they can profit from cities, Wordsworth understood the true meaning of memories. Memories today are mostly captured through social media, and in return being taken for granted. Wordsworth had nostalgic bliss as he replayed his memories, and knowing that in the future he could look back on that day and have the same feeling again. Social media today is destroying our memories and what we can relive in our minds as memories. We can know that when things are posted within social media it will get likes and be shared. However, there are not many people in society today that will remember the true essence of what nature has given to
Frost’s use of comparisons helps the reader to better interpret the meaning of this poem. The picture created, with his use of imagery allows the reader to view his work from various perspectives. His analogies are very pragmatic. The reader is able to relate to the speaker’s feelings. After reading this poem it gives the reader a sense of understanding why the speaker wished he could go back to his past so much.
beauty. Until now a meadow or a tree in a forest to me, was little
Infancy involves rapid growth of the brain. This is a time when learning occurs through environmental cues, crying, and most importantly, the mother or other primary caregiver. This early learning or attachment between infants and their mothers or primary caregivers has a significant impact on the infant’s development. A primary caregiver’s ability to connect with an infant has significant developmental outcomes that have an impact on cognition and learning (Snyder, Shapiro, & Treleaven, 2012).
Robert Frost is known for his poems about nature, he writes about trees, flowers, and animals. This is a common misconception, Robert Frost is more than someone who writes a happy poem about nature. The elements of nature he uses are symbolic of something more, something darker, and something that needs close attention to be discovered. Flowers might not always represent beauty in Robert Frost’s poetry. Symbolism is present in every line of the nature’s poet’s poems.
Life and death are two things that we as humans must all face. The road from one to the other, from life to death, is a long and at times, both joyous and painful one. Robert Frost’s poems are a prime example of these times and trials. The poems I chose for this paper highlight them, and with Frost’s allegory, they present a sort of silver lining to the string of dark and dreary words he’s pieced together for these poems. The depressing tone to the poems “Acquainted with the Night”, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, and “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” could be attributed to the death of many of Frost’s family members, and how despite this he overcame it all, and at the end of his life, was a successful writer. These poems to not go into great explanation of the details of Frost’s life, however, I believe that they are representations of the things path that he’s walked, and how he viewed his actions and death in general.
When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream? " (190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy!
Then in the last stanza Frost mentions woods again. Even though the narrator has a long way to go he always has enough time to stop and watch the small thing in nature in detail. This goes to show that Frost’s interest in nature is very large, and he portrays this through his characters.