Robert Frost: A Terrifying Poet in "Desert Places"

Lance LaMotte

Mr. McElveen

American Literature

31 January 2012        

“Desert Places”: Terrifying or Not?

            As Lionel Trilling stated, Robert Frost is truly a terrifying poet. To be terrifying, in the poetic spectrum, is to consistently present readers with descriptions of fear, hopelessness, and solitude in environments with a relatively high degree of danger or desertion. Consistently providing these elements in their poetry builds a reputation of having works with terrifying content. Frost, in his poem “Desert Places”, establishes his identity as a terrifying poet through meeting these criteria.

            Part of the support of Robert Frost being a terrifying poet is because of his evocation of personal emotion. While reading, there was an actual person in a realistic situation, making the reader imagine, in his or her mind, about how they would conduct themselves in a situation as presented in the poem. However, the most fearsome part of this poem is the reality. For example, a poem fixed around a plot of fantasy type activities is not realistic, and in no way evokes emotion or thought from the reader of being in a situation relative to the one in the story they are reading, because it is not real and cannot happen. The realism in “Desert Places”, being a snowy field at night with trees surrounding it, is a situation that some individuals may have experienced already on a ski trip or whatever it may be. Thus, part of Frost being a terrifying poet reigns in his ability to instill realistic fear in the readers and ignite thoughtful emotions.

            The setting is a major role in this poem in terms of making Frost “terrifying”. The speaker says that the character is alone, in a snowy field, with night falling quickly. He is alone, and woods surround the large, snowy field. The animals in the woods are not out, but are hiding, smothered in their lairs. From this observation it can be claimed that the conditions of the environment were too dangerous, even for animals that live in nature and experience weather like this on a regular basis. The title, “Desert Places”, presents that feeling of desertion and isolation. Not only alone, but also alone in a snowy field in the winter with “but a few weeds and stubble showing last” (Line 4). Winter represents death, and the few weeds sprouting out from under the thick layers of snow symbolize life, but moreover how death reigns over life in this situation. Again, fear rears its ugly face through the setting Frost has provided the poem with.

            The second stanza starts to dig deep and unearth more concepts of fear. “The woods around have it—it is theirs” provides that this place belongs to nature and is not fitting for a human being (Line 5). Survival is not guaranteed in the environment where no individual should set foot, such as in this place where nature is thriving with no mercy nor concern for any human beings that wish to wander about. “The loneliness includes me unawares” portrays how the isolation rendered the speaker oblivious to the surroundings, unable to respond in the natural manner (Line 8). Another possible interpretation of this line is that nature is unaware of the speaker. Unaware of the presence of the human, the loneliness continues as it has for ages, with the speaker making no difference to nature.

            The third stanza is completely about feeling deserted. “Lonely” appears in different forms throughout this stanza five times. Being completely about isolation and completely about lack of expression instills fear of being alone. The road ahead of the speaker is described as being “…no expression, nothing to express” (Line 12). Just snow, a pinch of life, nightfall, and trees surrounding him appear expressionless to the speaker. All of the descriptions develop the idea of being lonely, another connection the reader can make because isolation and desertion are terrible feelings individuals are often burdened with.

            The last stanza turns the tables. “They cannot scare me with their empty spaces” shows that whatever process he is involved in, whether it be punishment or a disastrous adventure, is not the source of his fear (Line 13).  The fear is coming from his own creation of his own places of isolation, coming from the mind. The mind is often known as the most dangerous place for a person, and this is completely true. Plots are developed, emotions are hidden, and feelings are restrained all in the mind, with the ability to show none of these effects on the physical appearance of the person. The speaker’s own problems are the source of his discomfort and fear, not the dark, snowy environment with relatively no signs of life. From the descriptions, the speaker may be gradually becoming insane, or losing his mental stability at the least. The mind fosters the growth of good and bad ideas, but they technically should not be the sole source of fear for an individual. The situation is terrifying, but to be completely “unaware” is not normal.

            Robert Frost has successfully asserted himself as a terrifying poet in “Desert Places”. The setting has a significant role in providing the fearsome atmosphere of snow, dark, and isolation. Because of how realistic the situation is, the reader can draw connections and place themselves in the position of the speaker. The chance of survival for a human in conditions as harsh as the ones described is negligible, and this is where fear is instilled in the readers, making the poem terrifying. Isolation and hopelessness prevail, and fear is eminent. Because of the conditions that Frost provided of danger and desertion in a place where life is but a mere consideration, resembled by a few weeds sprouting through the thickened layers of snow, he is a terrifying poet.

           

Weekly Blog #3 (EHS vs U High Girls' Game)

On Friday, the boys varsity soccer team for our school played U High. It was a close game that went all the way through regular time and two over times with the scored still tied at 0-0. U High is ranked #6 and that was the closest we have come to beating them in a long time. We lost in penalty kicks, which does not really decide who played better or who deserved the win more, which was obviously us, but the only thing that matters is that they won. It will not happen again, but the important part about this weekend is the girls' game the following day. 

Yesterday, Saturday the 28th, the girls played U High and I witnessed some of the worst referring I have ever seen in my life. We scored two goals, giving us the 2-0 lead, but the Cubs came back to tie the score at 2-2 off of the two worst penalty kick calls I have ever seen. One time Moira, the goalie, came out for a 50/50 ball and hit someone and they both fell and she got the call. So the girl stepped up and took the penalty kick and scored, making the score 2-1. The second penalty kick was awarded to the Cubs when Caroline Goodner supposedly fouled some girl. It was so obvious that she was going for the ball and it is completely legal to lean into the other player when you are both going for it. Again, they both fell, and the Cubs were given the penalty kick again. The same girl stepped up again and scored, making it 2-2. They scored again off of a good through ball about twenty minutes later, giving U High a 2-3 lead over us. The score remained like that almost to the end of the game, but I had this strange feeling that they were not going to win. I knew the girls would pull it off. Keely Davis scored her second goal of the match off of a free kick about 18-19 yards away. The shot deflected off of a U High defender and skipped past the goalie's outstretched hands into the side of the goal. A 3-3 tie was how the game lasted for the remainder of regular time, and through the two overtime periods. 

Penalty kicks were fun to watch. We only had one miss, which was still a very good shot but its hard to do penalty kicks after a full match of soccer, especially after playing with so much intensity against a good team. Moira had been scored on by two penalty kicks in the regular time by the same person, so when she stepped  up a third time she knew what to do.  Moira had two saves and helped the team tremendously. Mary Heintz took the last penalty kick for the Knights and sealed the victory as the whole team stormed the field, celebrating their victory. It was the best match to watch, and I feel satisfied that they beat the school that we should have beaten too. In a sense, I feel like we won this year.

Weekly Blog #2 (Megan's Fall)

Today, January 22, was Brannon Bienasz's birthday. His mother called my dad and invited me through voicemail, because he couldn't answer at the time. On the voicemail, all that was said was that Brannon was having a birthday party at Pluckers a fairly new restaurant in town. I got excited, so I went to to my phone and pulled up the group chat we have going for the soccer team and sent "PLUCKERS!". I did this out of excitement because I love the place. Shortly after sending that, I received private texts saying "SHUT UP" and "SHHH". I had no idea what they were talking about, but at that time my dad comes in and tells me that it is a surprise party. Brannon was in the chat, but had no idea what I was talking about. So this is how we arrived at Pluckers for his party.
At Pluckers we talked and ate, and there was the occasional person taking a trip to the restroom. In the case of Megan Escott, she literally took a trip to the restroom. On the way there, she trips on a flat, wooden floor and wipes out. I know I should have helped her, but she seemed okay so I busted out laughing. This was the funniest thing I have ever seen. No one else saw, though! Later I re-enacted it for everyone and everybody laughed, but Megan completely wiped out on the way to the restroom at a surprise birthday party. What made it even funnier to me was that I slipped in that exact same spot on my last visit because I was wearing soccer cleats. Nonetheless, it was the funniest event of the whole night.

To Megan: You posted about me falling, so I posted about you falling. Fair?

Literary Analysis "Richard Cory"

Lance LaMotte

Mr. McElveen

American Literature

17 January 2011

Literary Analysis of “Richard Cory”

            “Richard Cory” by E.A. Robinson is a very concise poem that focuses on the main character, Richard Corey. This is more of a characterization of Richard than a poem. Nonetheless, Richard is still perceived as this perfect, slim young man that has everything- including money, looks, and educated. The true Richard is not the Richard that E.A. Robinson presents us, but it is the Richard inside where the ideas and emotions lie.

            Mr. Cory also is presented as being cool and collected. His life is apparently going perfectly with no dramas. “Clean favored, and imperially slim” and “he was always quietly arrayed” support the perception that Robinson provides us of Richard having everything under control in his life and that everything is going fine and smooth (Lines 4 and 5). A normal reader, resistant to the idea of looking beyond the surface and searching for what the true Richard is, would just read the poem and walk away satisfied that he is a collected individual. Picking up on the fact that E.A. Robinson only gave us the Richard on the surface is key in discovering the real Richard. He is perceived as perfect, but reality may be much different. The truth of a person comes mostly from their inner satisfaction and stability, and we get no clue of that strictly from the reading of this poem. The mention of Richard being “quiet” may suggest that he does not have many friends, and especially because he still “flutters pulses” when he talks to people. A friend does not feel honored and flattered when you talk to them, but in strangers this would be the case.

            Richard Cory is presented in one of those “too good to be true” situations. Living in Tilbury town, where everyone is depressed, hopeless, and lifeless, Richard does not fit in. Where in this depressed town would there be a model man with good looks and money? It has to be too good to be true. If he is living in Tilbury Town, where everyone is depressed, then Richard certainly must have some element of disorder about him. But where are these imperfections? E.A. Robinson gives no hint of this, and this is exactly how the reader can tell. Only surface descriptions and no internal descriptions lead to the supported statement that the trouble may be on the inside of Mr. Cory.

            “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head” brings out the truth in Richard (Lines 15 and 16). Here lies the connection between perception and reality. Perception is outside appearance and how you portray yourself to the public. Reality is the emotions, thoughts, and ideas of an individual. Perceived as perfect, yet reality was imperfection and possible depression in Richard. The drastic ending to this story was not easily predictable without acknowledging the difference between perception and reality.

            E.A. Robinson presented Richard Cory as this young, rich, well-known, and collected individual. However, the last stanza threw away all of the sugarcoating that Robinson had presented. This poem presented the ideas of perception vs. reality, and the debatable topic of where true stability of a person reigns.

            

Weekly Blog #1 (Cleat to the Shin)

Two days ago, Episcopal had two soccer games. The varsity played Redemptorist and JV played Catholic's freshman team. By the time the varsity game started, I was already tired from two hours of warming up. I still had two games in front of me that I needed to play. Whenever there is a JV game following a varsity game, the coach does not play me as much as normal because he wants me to play full time in the JV game. So I played for a total of fifteen minutes in the varsity game. Just those fifteen intense minutes made me even more tired. The JV game started, and Catholic's freshman was amazing. They were faster than our varsity team, and I will say it now that when they are seniors, they are going to destroy everyone in their path. Anyways, I am playing the game and doing fine. We score in 45 seconds and then they come back fast. The first half ends 2-1 with them in the lead. The second half starts, and it is extremely cold and all contact with the ball or other players leaves a sting that makes you wish you were at home relaxing. Not too far into the second half, this guy is running with the ball through the defense. He dodges two of our defenders, and then it was basically just me and him. Instead of doing another move, his foot somehow comes over the ball, and over my shin guard, and rams his hard plastic cleats into my shin. A cleat to the shin at any time is extremely painful, but it made it worse that this guy was sprinting at full speed and it was 40 degrees. As soon as I got hit, I looked down to make sure that nothing was broken because it hurt that bad. I could not stand still or keep control because I was sure that something was broken and the pain was unbearable. Just imagine the momentum of a cleat in cold weather hitting your bare leg. The pain flowed throughout my whole body, and I sat out for the next ten minutes while I fought off the pain. I got back in and was a little mad and took a shot from really far out that was really solid and strong. The keeper fumbled with it for a few seconds before picking it up, and that was the last major opportunity of the game. The kid that hit me apologized later, saying that it must have hurt and that he was very sorry. Cheers to me getting my leg broken by a Catholic High freshman.

"Richard Cory" Last Stanza

And young Richard was quite the perfect guy
Yet he was different past the surface
Thoughts and anger, both yearning to be freed
His emotions raging like a furnace

Unit 5 Vocab Sentences

1) Episcopal vs. U-High soccer games are always distinguished by the continuous acrimony of the opposing players.
2) Adam and Lance developed an affinity for each other the instant they first played soccer together, and their bond is still strong.
3) I am still ambivalent about my future career; I am still torn between medicine or engineering.
4) There was a cessation in delivering pizzas during the storm of hail.
5) Many children in Africa nowadays rarely get the chance to eat and have reached the point of becoming emaciated.
6) The team tent was an enclave for the campers at the national five acre camp-out night.
7) Nike soccer commercials engender inspiration to play in many footballers.
8) Playing in the soccer tournament this weekend exacerbated my slight foot pain.
9) Skateboarding and biking were some of the school's illicit activities on campus during school hours.
10) Tobacco is indigenous to North America; it served as the cash crop in some of the years of early civilization.
11) My mother's inexorable decision to pull me out of soccer to focus on grades was a big problem with my coach.
12) I have recently become infatuated with the idea of finding the most high quality soccer cleat I can find for a good price, and I have been searching stores everywhere.
13) I have an insatiable interest in soccer equipment and I can never search enough or browse longer for the newest products.
14) The poignant meaning in the series Roots led me to greater appreciation for what I have today.
15) I believe that Mormons are trying to proselytize the general public with their commercials advocating their normal, easy-going style of life.

Mr. Flood Prompt

In “Mr. Flood’s Party” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Mr. Flood is the main character. The mood that he portrays to the reader is dull and sad. In Tilbury town, people are hopeless and feel like the only point in living their life right now is to get to death. They live to die and are sad people in a hopeless situation. Mr. Flood is a prime candidate for an individual that might live in Tilbury town.

            Eben Flood, in the story, has taken his alcohol and is walking around a path by himself with “not a native near” (Line 6). Mr. Flood seems very sad and it appears that he is coming to the closing moments of his life. The story says that there are not many moons left, and Eben turns to alcohol. He seems to be familiar with the process. “And you and I have said it here before. Drink to the bird” gives the feeling that he has been a drinker in times past and that he is making a return for a few final times (Lines 12-13).

            Citizens of Tilbury town are depressing people. Mr. Flood has next to no emotion in his actions and words. Everything he does seems dreary and dull. It is actually quite amusing that the title refers to a “party”, though Eben is by himself on a lonely road drinking under the moon. At a time it even says that he regretted drinking after he had done it. 

            Eben Flood resembles a citizen of Tilbury town through his actions in the poem “Mr. Flood’s Party”. He is very dull and the night feels boring and he is doing things with regret. He matches the “depression” feel that a Tilbury Town citizen would resemble.

Mr. Flood's Party

Mr. Flood is an alcoholic. Alcohol is used in a sense of being heavily relied on and that it has been used for a long time. "And you and I have said it here before. Drink to the bird" creates a sense of alcohol being under long term use (1). It has been done before and I would assume that it has been more than once. I felt that the drinking seemed routine. It felt like he was familiar with the process and environment. There was mention of him setting down the jug with care, and to me that showed that he knew it was fragile.
However, it  has been a long time since he last had a drink. Basically I just think that Mr. Flood has had lots of experience with alcohol. Here he is, in what seems to be some of his final moments, and he is turning to alcohol. He is using it to calm down. Mr. Flood is an alcoholic and has some degree of experience.

1-3-12 In Class Discussion

I really liked the class period we had on Tuesday. It was laid back, yet we still got lots accomplished. Basically, plans and expectations for second semester were laid out on the table. Everyone got the chance to voice any pros and cons concerning first semester, and vote on different things to come in the second semester. Some of the topics we discussed were about getting out for lunch maybe two minutes early, DEAR Fridays, and a student-designed semester.
Basically, the class was about second semester. I really enjoyed that we didn't do much because I was extremely tired that day and probably would not have done well.