This sonnet has a very rigid structure- it has a consistent iambic meter and each line is exactly 8 syllables. The rhyme scheme is consistent as well, but it is interesting- the AABA BBCB… scheme gives it an asymmetrical feel that, within the rigid structure, builds and releases tension within each stanza; just when you think the B rhyme will never come, it arrives. This feeling of tension and release is present throughout the poem- there is an eerie atmosphere in the dark forest, and the anxiety of the horse builds suspense for the reader. However, this anxiety is quelled by the anaphoric couplet which maintains the D rhyme throughout the final stanza as to refrain from building anymore tension. It also has a soothing quality to it - miles to go before I sleep- the narrator implies that, though it is long, he is prepared for his journey, he is not lost, and knows just how long he has to go.

This is my favorite frost poem just because of its sheer beauty and the way it flows off the tongue when it is read- the beauty of the lines themselves are over shadowed by dark imagery and symbols of death such as the moth, the fat dimpled spiders and the witche’s brew. The poem is in iambic pentameter and it makes me wonder if he did this on purpose as an allusion to Shakespeare who’s characters often soliloquies about death and the design of life.

This poem also uses its rhyme scheme to enhance its quality- each stanza has its own AAA rhyme scheme, and each stanza can be seen as a stand alone idea as well- while each stanza is connected to create the larger poem, you could take each stanza by itself and draw a complete coherent thought from it.

I am noticing a sentiment similar to that in “The Clerks” where art can immortalize the artist and preserve them in time. In this case, it is his legacy in the library which preserves him, and yet, it is a tragedy because the library has been sold off and scratches out his imprint on time.

The fact that this is the refrain implies that this stanza gets at the meaning behind the poem; the poem starts and ends with this same sentiment of nature and art as one. There is an emersonian transcendentalist quality to this stanza where art exists literally in nature. We see the seeds in the pod creating the meter and the tree is the origin- both of the seeds physically and the inspiration for the art in the first place- a muse. And the spirit of the artists (homer/ Whitman) are ever present in the air about the tree- the tree is their muse and the force of their nature moves the tree and animated it along with the seeds- all culminating in an artistic experience.

The poem seems to be concerned with time (which becomes further evident toward the end when he says Poets are the clerks of time and alludes to the threads of time) and here, we see an interesting way of representing the poet and their art in a temporal sense. He reads the old poets in the now, getting at their wisdom, but he sees them in his minds eye as they were when they wrote it. I see this as a comment on the preservative properties of art where art immortalizes the poet, keeping their wisdom and ideas preserved within the time they were written- we see as time moves on, we get new perspectives on these writings since much has happened since, and a broader context is ever emerging.

This pragmatic character is a contrast to Adams in the Dynamo and the Virgin, who is very interested in the abstract- almost to a point of seeing more in the abstract than in the tangible. The narrator’s sentiments on her husband’s pragmatic nature reveals his unwillingness to broaden his perspective. It is this lack of perspective, which keeps the husband/doctor from assessing the effectiveness of his “treatment”, compounded by his inability to empathize with the narrator that ultimately leads to the worsening of her condition.

The story up to this point has slowly moved away from tangible reality to an abstract conveyance of the narrator’s perspective of her mental state; this final act is so far into absurdity that it can only be perceived as some kind of allegorical abstraction rather than a literal plot. This way in which the story is told reminds me of Adam’s notions of the ways in which individual’s perception of the world is what brings its meaning. Perkins goes to great lengths in this story to portray the protagonist’s perception by engaging the reader with her moment-to-moment consciousness- almost in a stream of consciousness way- and the abstract/ enigmatic nature of the narrator’s perception helps to convey her declining mental state, successfully giving the reader a sense of how she sees the world.

The “Ghostliness” or haunted aspect of the house reminds me of the Shadow motif in the Du Bois memoir. The haunting here is symbolic of a history of potential power in femininity which has been oppressed- the room itself acting as the physical oppressor of the main character, and her husband as the oppressor. This is like the Shadows which loom in Du Bois’ memoir and represent the powerful history of Africans that has been oppressed by white society in America. The motifs themselves (shadows and hauntings) are similar in their obscure and macabre nature, lending to the atmosphere of each narrative.

This is the first mention of shadows, which from this point is repeated throughout. In this instance the shadow comes across as a sort of loss of innocence which looms over him as a child as he begins to realize the existence of the severe racial tension of the time. Throughout this chapter, we see the idea of the shadow evolve just as the thinking of the narrator evolves, until it is revealed at the end that the existence of the shadow is predicated on the prejudice of men; without prejudice, the shadow wouldn’t encompass the perception of African American’s and there would be no need for a double consciousness where paranoia brought on by a violent reality forces them to assume the culture of a white society while attempting to maintain their own culture, but could instead focus on their own culture within white society.

Here we see the shadow take the form of a sort of empowerment- a looming sense of power and lost potential. A shadow is such a perfect symbol here as it’s obscure nature allows it to take many forms and evolve for the reader throughout the narrative. Now that the idea of double consciousness has been introduced, we see the shadow assuming the form of a past (as in how a shadow follows behind its origin) history of power which, in American society, is not appreciated with the admiration that it should be. This brings a double meaning to the shadow in that there is a great shadow of the past to reflect on and be proud of, but in the lack of appreciation within society for this great past, a new shadow enshrouds the present, which keeps African Americans from celebrating their culture and thriving the same way white Americans do.

Here the motif of shadows continues. We see him portraying the shadow as a sort of obscurity which “wanders” across the sky, but which does not yet consume him. At this point in his life, he is aware of the differences between him and the white majority around him, but he does not yet feel a need to pierce through the clouds, as he is still able to see the blue sky. The blue sky represents the institutions which children can thrive in such as school, and the fact that they shelter him from the real world where, one can presume, the shadows are more likely to encompass his the many facets of his life

This chunk represents my biggest trouble with this piece. I have no idea who these people are, just as I don’t know of most of the other names thrown about in this essay. It makes it difficult to bring perspective to what Adams is saying. Many of the people mentioned are philosophers with very complex ideas and others are ancient figures who symbolize certain ideas- and not knowing what they symbolize makes it difficult to follow the meaning.

I’m not sure what he means by faith; is he using faith as a symbol for art? Is science incomprehensible to him so he needs to put it into terms relative to his understanding?

America and it’s art have their roots in Puritanism which may serve some explanation for this notion; However, it is quite an absolute statement and a bold claim. The prose in this article are quite dry and high brow and I wonder if I am taking it too seriously. There is a bit of absurdity throughout, and I wonder if there is underlying sarcasm that I am not picking up on well enough to understand his meaning.

I again wonder at the writers intention concerning specificity of location. Gray hills could be the name of a specific place , or they could just be describing gray hills in general which fits the pollution theme of the poem. I wonder if this ambiguity is intentional as well.

I wonder at the use of quotations here. Is he alluding to something or is there a character in his poem saying this to someone?

Based on the previous stanzas, I am wondering where this poem takes place. Is it specific to a particularly industrialized area, or just generalizing the world as being industrialized? The syntax of this line makes me think of the south which fits with West Virginia mentioned above, but I wonder if it is meant more as stylistic, poetic choice of wording rather than a specific dialect.

While Lions appear ferocious, they are actually just kittens at heart.