A Minor Bird – Robert Frost

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, USA, in 1874. He spent most of his adult life in the New England area. In his youth he did odd jobs. It was doing everyday tasks such as apple picking, mending fences, chatting with people or going for walks through the woods that Frost found much enjoyment. The time he spent in his New England farm was a source of inspiration and joy for Frost.

Robert Frost’s poetry can often be read at two levels. On the surface they are deceptively simple and contain many rustic images taken from his immediate surroundings. His works often present a moral problem or question about life in general. Frost once said, “A poem should begin in delight and end in wisdom.” 

In order to project his vision Frost employs the “symbolic mode” quite successfully. This is a quality present in all his poetry. The surface meaning is obvious. The deeper meaning is almost casually suggested. 

Let us consider two more of his popular poems; “Stopping by the Woods” and “The Road not Taken”. In the poem “Stopping by the Woods” the poet describes a person travelling on horseback stopping by some woods on a winter evening. The magical beauty of the scenery in front of him enraptures him. Yet, he cannot delay as he has many obligations to fulfil. This could very well be a regretful observation of how duties prevent people from doing things that would bring them real, lasting happiness.

           The woods are lovely dark and deep

                                                   But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep

“The Road not Taken” could very well be about a walk through some woods along a path that forks halfway through.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

The poet takes one path, regretfully. He tries to console himself by saying that he might return one day and try the other path but it is clear that he doubts his own words. 

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on the way

I doubted if I would ever come back

At a deeper level this is a poem about making choices. 

In “The Minor Bird” the constant singing of a bird angers the man. He comes out of the house and claps loudly to chase the bird away. After doing the deed he is remorseful, therefore, tries to justify the reason for his action. Failing to do so he acknowledges the errors of his ways. He confesses that the bird could not help its “key”. 

The bird was not to blame for his key

Therefore he has done something wrong by chasing the bird away. By doing so he acknowledges the bird’s right to be there. 

In the last stanza he goes on to say that there should be something wrong with anyone who attempts to stop a song. As a poet, frost is deeply affected by the act of the man. It is clear that Frost believed that the bird had a right to sing its song uninterrupted. The man has violated the right.

At a deeper level this is a poem about man’s intolerance. Most of us are not able to tolerate anything that is different from the usual. If something does not meet our expectations we want to change it. Sometimes we eradicate things that do not meet our criteria. A large number of fellow creatures are no more because of this human habit. This is also the root of many crimes man has committed against humanity. Apartheid in South Africa, KKK activities in the USA, Nazism are some of the more prominent examples. Various ethnic and religious conflicts too could trace their beginnings to intolerance. Every year thousands of people lose their lives, limbs and loved ones. Property is destroyed. Ties that have held communities together for centuries are shattered by a few careless words of a man devoid of tolerance. After the damage is done like the man in the poem most of us regret our carelessness and intolerance. But then the damage is done.

Techniques:

Like many of his poems Frost employs symbolism. The topic” The Minor Bird” is also evocative. The word ‘minor’ has a negative connotation. It stands for second-class citizens, the under-dogs and the minorities that are often deprived of so much because they were ‘minor’. These people do not meet the expectations of society. The society expects all birds to be able to sing beautifully. When one fails he is marginalized. 

The man is the owner of the property. He makes it quite clear. But can the birds and beasts, those who have been there long before man, be expected to heed our artificial boundaries. Is it fair to expect so?

I have wished a bird would fly away

And not sing by my house;

To the man the bird is nothing but an unwelcome intruder, so he claps and chases the bird away. 

Have clapped my hands at him from the door

When it seemed as if I could bear no more

The act of clapping the hand stands as a symbol for all the atrocities we as a race have committed against nature and other human beings. 

The poet uses an uncomplicated aa bb cc dd rhyming scheme. The plainness of the language in itself is striking. Such a basic issue such as intolerance needs no dressing up and elaboration.

She dwelt among the untrodden ways – William Wordsworth

Romantic poetry

William Wordsworth and Samuel Tailor Coleridge composed the “Lyrical Ballad” as a reaction to the School of Augustan Poetry. In Romantic Poetry the poet was an individual set apart from the other human beings by his ability to experience and understand.

The nature in its many folds became the centre of interest. To Wordsworth nature was a source of loveliness. At the same time it provided mankind a moral message. Nature could restore and refresh human spirit and provide companionship. 

She dwelt among the untrodden ways – William Wordsworth

The poem is one of the shorter poems of the collection of poetry called “Lucy Poems”. The poem has three stanzas of four lines each rhyming “ ab, ab, cd, cd, ef, ef”.

 In the first stanza the poet shows a young girl living besides a spring, a place so far away from human habitation.

She dwelt among the untrodden ways

Besides the springs of Dove,

A maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love:

There were only very few to see or appreciate her. Human beings have an inborn need for companionship. We are gregarious by nature. But this girl is deprived of that basic human need. Therefore, the first stanza carries a sense of melancholy. The image of “Dove” implies innocence but at the same time one must not forget that the dove is also the bird of the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. But the maid does not have anyone to love her. 

In the second stanza the poet presents two very vivid metaphoric images. The first is of a violet by a mossy stone. Violets are lovely flowers. The rich green of the moss on the stone contrasts with the purple hue of the flower.  This is a striking image. But it is half hidden from the eye. Like in the case of the maid, only a very few people see the beauty of the flower. 

A violet by a mossy stone

Half hidden from the eye!

Fair as a star, when one

Is shining in the sky.

The maid is indirectly compared to a star. A star is a part of the heavens. The maid in her pure state is suitably compared to a heavenly object. But it is far away up in the sky. So it is all alone by itself despite its brilliance and beauty. It is not appreciated as it should be, too, as it shines at night. Like the star that shines in the sky when everyone is asleep and the violet that blooms to wither unseen, the unknown girl too live and die unknown. The sensitive poet is the only person grieved by the death of the maid.

“She lived unknown, and few could know

When Lucy ceased to be;

But she is in her grave, and, oh,

The difference to me!” 

The language is devoid of any dramatic embellishments. Its simplicity is arresting. The writer uses a few old fashioned words to give a misty quality to the poem – “She dwelt among untrodden ways”.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree – W B Yeats

William Butler Yeats was born on 13^th June 1869. His father was John Butler Yeats, a renowned artist. When Yeats was young his family moved to London from his native Ireland where they thought John Yeats would be able to further his career. 

At first the Yeats children were educated at home by their mother who entertained them with stories from Irish folklore. 

Yeats’ early works were based on Irish lore. (The Celtic twilight - 1892) in his 40’s his style of writing changed as a result of his association with the poets like Ezra Pound and his involvement in the Irish politics. As a result his style became more modern, his language became more dignified and themes more direct. (In the Seven Woods, Responsibilities)

Yeats was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and Abbey Theater. He served as a senator in the first Irish Parliament. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. W B Yeats passed away on 28^th January 1939.

The poem, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," belongs to the middle period of Yeats’ poetry. By this time Yeats had been an active member of the Irish National Movement for a number of years. The political situation I Ireland was very tense. He had also suffered from the rejection of Maud Gonne. The sensitive poet in Yeats suffered horribly from both. Therefore, he yearned for some peace from the turmoil. The lake isle of Innisfree represented peace for the poet. The memory of the isle beckoned to him offering reprieve from the hectic life he led.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made 

In the first stanza he says he would arise and go to Innisfree. There he is going to build a cabin and farm, a dream many people living in cities have. The poet wants to live close to nature devoid of the restrictive trappings of the society that weighs on his artistic spirit. 

In the second stanza he discusses lack of peace and quietness in his life. So he is dreaming of going to Innisfree to find freedom. There he would live listening to the songs of crickets and admiring the changing colour of the sky. 

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings,

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wing

 

In the third stanza he once again says that he would go to Innisfree, a memory he carries in his heart. The memory is so powerful he is able to summon it even while he is standing on the roadway or on a grey pavement. 

I will arise and go now, foe always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore:

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavement grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Techniques:

The poem has three stanzas, four lines each. The lines rhyme: abab. Language is simple. The topic “The Lake Isle of Inisfree” stands for the age-old human dream of wanting to runaway to a deserted island when someone is going through a rough time. 

In the second stanza the poet uses a beautiful metaphor – “veil of the morning”. Yeats also uses inversion to make the poem more dramatic -  “ And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;” When describing the isle the poet has used happy bright images. In contrast the city is described using gloomy adjectives: "And live alone in the bee-loud glade” and “While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavement grey”. The theme is the ability the nature has to bring happiness and contentment to people.

The Sea – J Reeves

 The poem has three stanzas. The number of lines id not even. In the 1^st stanza the poet presents the sea as a hungry dog, a suitable metaphor. The dog is giant and grey in colour. Like any dogs it gnaws on – stones with clashing teeth. When the supply is over the sea moans for more. The poet creates vivid visual and auditory images through the use of alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia. 

“Hour upon hour he gnaws

 The rumbling, tumbling stones [onomatopoeia]

And “Bones, bones, bones, bones! [Assonance]

The giant sea-dog moans

Liking its greasy paws ”

The long drawn out vowel sounds add a ponderous (heavy) tone to the stanza.

In the second stanza the tone changes with the introduction of the lighter /s/ /r/ and /f/ sounds. The stanza moves quickly indicating a change in the mood of the sea.

“And when the night wing roars

And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud

He bounds to his feet with and snuffs and sniffs”

During storms and the monsoon the sea becomes violent. The poet likens it to a dog bounding to its feet. The sea lifts its waves high and throws them against the cliffs. The wind howls creating an eerie atmosphere. “And howls and hollos long and loud” the longer vowel sounds once again alluding to the moaning winds.

Once again in the last stanza the sea is calm. During May and June even the sea and the wind become docile. Like a dog that has become tired of play the sea lies on the sandy shores so quietly that it scarcely moves.

“He lies on the sandy shores

So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores”   

    The last line has a hushed quality. It is the same tone one would use to speak around a sleeping person.