Essay Post 1

Robert Frost

The Figure a Poem Makes

This essay is written by none other than the world renowned Robert Frost. He is one of the most well known poets of his time because of his works like The Road Not Taken, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, and Fire and Ice. Frost’s The Figure a Poem Makes is a reflection on poems and his personal take as to what a poem should both be and consist of. Frost argues throughout this piece that poems shouldn't only be beautiful and appreciated as works of art, but that they should also teach the reader something important. Whether it be a small moral or words to live by, Frost believes that poems and all of poetry should be as helpful as it is alluring. I believe that this is more geared towards the poet because Frost is constantly bringing up the responsibilities that poets must respect to call themselves poets. He also delves a little bit into the relationship between a writer and their reader, making the legendary claim, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader” (para. 5). What that line means is that if the writer hasn’t been experiencing life to the fullest, then he wont be able to tell the reader much about life at all. 

Around the time that this poem was released, the world was in a dark place; right in the period of time between the first and second world wars. I believe that Frost only desired to see more people help each other and add their own wisdom to the world. Being a poet of his stature, he definitely has the credibility to make claims such as these. Although this was a bit difficult to read because of the gap in time and style of writing, I do believe that Frost got his point across. At first what Frost says that he wants from poets is vague, but as I continued through the essay, it became clear that what Frost truly wanted was more originality in the field of poetry. He says about poets that they gather their knowledge “cavalierly”, and if theres one thing the world could always use more of, it’s authenticity.