Robert Frost’s Poems Analysis

Robert Lee Frost was an award winning American poet. He was an extremely successful poet that was known as a tragic poet. Frost uses ordinary speech in his poetry in hopes of making sense to readers and uses a lot of ordinary, everyday situations in his poetry. Even after dealing with much tragedy in his life Frost was able to write beautiful and unforgettable poetry. Robert Frost uses great imagery, symbols, and themes in his poems. His poems show a very clear, vivid picture of what is happening is occurring and do not leave readers with questions.

Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a bittersweet poem and was written in 1916. In this poem most of the imagery is visual. Frost uses imagery to describe the setting throughout the poem. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (line 1). Right away the reader is able to visualize that the season is fall since the woods are yellow. Robert Frost chose a very relatable, understanding topic for this poem and a common matter people have to deal with. The theme is major decision making and what path to choose at the crossroads. “And sorry I could not travel both” (line 2). Although the marvelous outcome isn’t always clear this poem shows that you have to make the decision with confidence. The diverged roads symbolize the adventure life takes you on. “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (line 8), symbolizes that the narrator wants to take on an adventure unusual from what he or she would normally do.

“Fire and Ice” is a poem about destruction written in 1923. It is a short, but powerful poem as Robert Frost shows us that both fire and ice can be destructive. The imagery is displayed in the fire and ice, too much of heat or cold can be powerful and destroy. In moderation both are pleasant and appealing. Fire symbolizes desire and ice symbolizes hatred. Frost is showing a possibility of how the world can end in this poem from destructive people. “Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice” (line 1-2). The destructive people being the ones that have the desire to do potentially harming activities and cold feelings like fire and ice. Destructive desires could be polluting the world and harming people. “As the speaker indicates by the end of the poem, both emotions and conditions are potentially violent and sufficient to destroy the world” (Explanation of: “Fire and Ice”).

“Mending Wall” was written in 1914 and describes a wall that separates neighbors. In a way the wall brings the neighbors together but it separates them more than anything. The only way it brings them together is the annual repairing of the stone wall. “I have come after them and made repair” (line 6). The theme of this poem is the unnecessary separation humans create between each other. The narrator doesn’t seem too sure of the tradition of repairing the stone wall and the narrator views the wall as useless and a hassle. “There where it is we do not need the wall” (line 23). The stone wall is the principal symbol of this poem and it represents the physical and psychological barrier between the neighbors. The gaps in the poem represent openings that could lead to new experiences. “Frost mischievously navigates through the many meanings and functions of boundaries; how they separate, unite, and ultimately, how they might mend” (Perlow and Furman).

In conclusion, all three of these poems written by Robert Frost have completely different meanings but all three are clear, visual stories. Frost’s poetry has to be some of the most easily understood poetry and he doesn’t lack a use of imagery, theme, or symbols in his poetry. Robert Frost uses a major sense of reality throughout his poetry and embraces real world problems in his writing, which I’m sure is why many people consider him one of the greatest American poets of the twentieth century.

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