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Introduction
It is not by an accident that such literary genre as poetry requires the possession of strong metaphoric and imaginative skills, on the part of its practitioners by exposing readers to metaphorically expressed messages, contained in their poems; poets enable them to derive a strong aesthetic pleasure out of deciphering the semantic meaning of these messages. The analysis of methods, utilized by Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost to endow their poems with strongly defined metaphorical sounding, substantiates the validity of this suggestion. In this paper, we will aim at exploring such poetic elements as theme, imagery, and metaphors that are being present in Dickinsons poem As if some Arctic Flower and in Frosts poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening , as we believe that such an analysis would provide even greater legitimacy to the earlier articulated thesis.
As if some Arctic Flower by Emily Dickinson
In her poem As if some Arctic Flower , Dickinson presents us with the story of an Arctic flower traveling down to Southern lands, while finding itself being exposed to the sight of overwhelming natural beauty, quite unknown to high latitudes. Given our awareness of the highly secluded existential mode, Dickinson practiced throughout her life; there can be little doubt as to the fact that the overall theme of this poem, corresponds to Dickinsons subconscious vision of herself.
Apparently, even though the poetess did not like venturing out of her house, she never ceased fantasizing about how she would feel after having left familiar surroundings thus, the image of an Arctic flower in this Dickinson poem is nothing but an extrapolation of her existential anxieties. Therefore, it will not be an exaggeration, on our part; to suggest that As if some Arctic Flower is one big metaphor, concerning Dickinsons life, as a whole. Moreover, reading this poem provides us with insight onto the fact that, despite As if some Arctic Flower size, poetess had managed to instill this poem with at least four lines of its own highly metaphorical significance:
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To continents of summer It goes without saying, of course, that there is no definition for the continent of summer in existence. Yet, while reading this line, we are being fully aware of what the author had in mind while referring to such continents.
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To firmaments of sun The term firmament can be generally interpreted as sky . However, it put emphasis on the skys overwhelming vastness. When this word gets to be combined with the word sun , an entirely new metaphoric unit is being created, which simultaneously implies both: vastness and brightness above ones head.
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To strange, bright crowds of flowers The fact that Dickinson refers to the fields of flowers as crowds , stresses out the authors strongly defined emotional affiliation with the natural environment, which in its turn, increases the poems overall aesthetic value.
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And birds of foreign tongue! As we all know, birds cannot talk intelligibly. Yet, it is not only that within the poems context they can, but that the way they talk is being perceived by wandering flowers as particularly exotic. Thus, Dickinsons reference to foreign-tongued birds intensifies readers perception of Southern lands as such that are being associated with extraordinary beauty.
From what had been said earlier, we can conclude that in As if some Arctic Flower , metaphorical and thematic motifs are being fused into one inseparable compound. Moreover, the imagery, utilized in this poem, provides us with a better understanding of Dickinsons aesthetic inclinations as such that had never ceased to affect the semantic properties of her poetry. In the next part of this paper, we will analyze Robert Frosts poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening as such that provides us with the insight on particularities of Frosts utilization of metaphorical devices and also on what accounts for his poetrys distinctiveness, as a whole.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is rightfully considered as one of Frosts best poetical pieces, due to the fact that the poems intense philosophical sounding has been accomplished by the author resorting to subtle metaphorical techniques, in order to increase the poems emotional soundness.
It does not take an acclaimed literary critic to define the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening as being narrative in its essence. The author tells us about him stopping at the edge of the forest, during the time of winter dusks, to watch woods fill up with snow . This metaphor produces a strong philosophical effect by referring to woods as something that can be filled up , the author implies the objectiveness of surrounding reality. While being exposed to the elements, the narrator gets to realize the full scope of natures grandeur, which causes him to stop his horse in the middle of nowhere, in order to savor his emotional experience for longer.
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near
After having contemplated on the subject of how winters emanations relate to the emotional side of his being, narrator proceeds with a trip:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep
Thus, we can say that, just as it is the case with Dickinsons poetry, Frosts poetic style is being marked by authors acute sense of metaphorical appropriateness . Such essential components of this Frosts poem as imagery and metaphors are meant to emphasize the intensity of narrators emotional feelings, while he was in the process of writing a poetical piece.
At the same time, the reading of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening provides us with a better understanding as to how Frosts metaphorical style differs from that of Dickinson unlike Dickinsons metaphorical constructs, which usually consist of two words, Frosts metaphorical constructs appear to be much more complex. In Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening , Frost uses rhymed sentences that have a potential of creating a strong metaphorical effect, if properly combined. For example, despite the fact that the passage:
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake
only contains four lines, the reading of it allows us to find ourselves in the middle of snowy New Englands countryside, as invisible witnesses to author trying to come to terms with his destiny. The sound of sweep of easy wind and downy flake implies almost absolute silence; yet, it is exactly because Frost refers to such silence in terms of a sound that creates a strong metaphorical effect.
The imagery, found in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening , relates to idealistic properties of Frosts character. It is quite obvious that the images of dark woods, frozen lake and cloudy winter evening can hardly be referred to as being particularly spectacular. While reading Frosts poem, our imagination depicts the scenery of black and white plains and forest, under the grey sky:
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year .
However, it appears that author is being clearly inspired by what he sees, which corresponds to his supreme sense of aesthetic finesse. Apparently, he belongs to the type of people whose artistic taste gets to be easily insulted by emanations of mediocrity, associated with bright colors and intellectual shallowness.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that As if some Arctic Flower and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening clearly differ in how rhyming techniques have been used by the authors, poems emotional vividness primarily accounts for the fact that Dickinson and Frost were able to condense the meaning of themes presented in these poems. In its turn, this came about as the result of both authors supreme ability to convey semantic messages to readers by resorting to utilization of different metaphoric techniques. Despite the fact that metaphors, contained in As if some Arctic Flower cannot be referred to as being overly complex, their sheer number creates a desired perceptional effect. In Frosts poem, on the other hand, only one metaphor can be easily indentified. However, because of its structural complexity, it provides Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening with a strong metaphorical sounding, throughout its entirety, despite poems narrative style.
Bibliography:
Barker, Wendy. Lunacy of Light: Emily Dickinson and the Experience of Metaphor. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991.
Bloom, Harold. Robert Frost. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999.
Dickinson, Emily As if some Arctic Flower . 2002. Poetry Archive.
Frost, Robert Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening . (1923) 2007. Ketzle.Com.
Haley, Michael. The Semeiosis of Poetic Metaphor. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988.
Strachan, John & Richard, Terry. Poetry. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000.
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