NICE TO MEET YOU ROBERT FROST
ORIGINAL POST 09/24/2007:sorry i didn't get a chance to meet you in person. you were a handsome one, i'm sure you don't mind me sayin'. -and i only missed you by a decade or two
anyway.. i'm going to write a 2 page application, applying new criticism theory to your road not taken poem
i have a special place in my heart for that one, having sprung from it in my, number 5, neurotictransmitters poem. -made you laugh didn't i.
well you make me laugh too. yelling at me the way you did
i was barely thinking to myself.., how this poem is more often referred to as "the road less traveled" poem. barely started wondering if, given the chance, and given the public's response, you would change the ti
"NO!!" -no worries mr. frost. that came in loud and clear.
The Road Not Taken it is.
and if i'm not mistaken -and you've yet to correct me- road not taken is about our misguided sense of free will, yes?
it feels like we have a choice... a decision to make between things
feels like, especially if we stand there long,
turn our head in two directions and
contemplate before we move
feels like free will doesn't it. feels like we make up our mind, when in reality, our mind is already made up
if you're programmed to explore... pre-programmed to explore
there is no decision. only action, awareness and story.
it's brilliant; road not taken. Road Not Taken. statement. period. fact. robotic report.
road. not. taken.
and the rest is poetry. i hear your song in the last stanza (one i borrowed from thank you) but am still working on finding your rhythm in the beginning & middle
i think i might be adding/subtracting syllables inappropriately. feel free to let me know.
i'm grateful for self-interpretation and all that, but would like to hear it the way you heard it in your head when you composed it.
sincerely,
sandra, all ears, kay
" oh, i kept the first for another day!
yet knowing..."
-very clever mr frost. enthusiastic insight
time for a beer with my sister. you are welcome to join us
posted by SHE @ 5:18 PM
11 Comments:
BBF, have you tried listening online to a reading of this poem? Check it out at http://town.hall.org/radio/HarperAudio/012294_harp_ITH.html
I think we all have a choice,and if you look at the description of the one he takes, it's the more difficult path because he has to cut through grass that has not been mowed. I bet he got more experience and more ticks because of that.
kmg/bbf: -my audio is broken :( but i'll visit the library today, see if i can hear it on one of their computers
in my "close reading" (oh! i'm using terms i've been taught in class; so exciting)
in my close reading of this poem
"and having perhaps the better claim"
demonstrates clearly, completely, utterly and fantastically shrewdly that the intuitive response was immediate; he knew before he knew, as many of us do (catch that little poem)
feels like decision, but is really rationalizing, justifying a pre-programmed response
this is where humans really shine. creating stories for our actions.
"this is where humans really shine. creating stories for our actions"
And that should be the quote of the day! or the month!
or the year!
I really like this poem! And you`ve made me look at it in yet another way. Thanks. :)
singtome: thank you! and i can't get enough of your stories.
there is poetry. there is prose. and there is you. -in a magical league of your own
such fantastic writing! -have i mentioned that once or twice already? -can't help myself.
karma: oh! sister you have made my day! i've been thinking about how many countless essays and interpretations of this poem already exist. is it even possible to say anything original, shed any new light? -you give me hope and i thank you
Maybe we're all preprogrammed to take that road not taken. Perhaps the innate response of every woman, child and man is to be a heroine or a hero in their own story. To rebel against the 'this is how its done's'. To be real. To live a life which forges new pathways to the light.
And perhaps all our conforming, our towing the line, all our indifference and apathy to our fellow human beings, goes against this our true nature.
That God given instinct to take the road less travelled by.
To make a difference.
Thank you for your wonderful, gentle, thought provoking posts.
The light shines in you so brightly,
With love, Maithri
Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.
- Robert Frost
maithri: thank you! -and you've said it all quite beautifully
i'm always fascinated with what human instincts humans celebrate and nurture, and what human instincts humans shame and starve
how that differs around the world;
and how apparently, it's human instinct, to do both.
but i have great fun watching the birds migrate and imagining their conversations after landing on the golf course
each with their own version of how and why they're there
"i felt a calling"
"i didn't want to, but had to because of my parents"
"i was bored and needed adventure"
"i fell in love and followed my sweetheart"
"don't ask me, i don't think about those things"
we humans seem to share an instinct for creating stories about our instincts.
abundant love back to you ~s.
bh: great quote! -so you know and like this mr. frost, huh
i will spend this afternoon writing my application and look forward to knowing him better myself.
but this is a challenge for me. to stay true to new criticism, i need to stick with the text.. the poem, alone, as it's own entity
not fill my mind with biographical information, historical context
wish me luck
kmg/bbf:
no audio at the library either "(
Of course!!
Good luck! :)
How's it coming along?
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