An Encounter By: Robert Frost

Background: Robert Frost was very well known for his use of nature and using nature to relate the everyday situations that anyone can go through. After attending Dartmouth College he began his poetic career and left less than a year and married his wife Elinor. He supported his wife by teaching and farming which can be one of his reason in which he is so connected to nature. In 1912 he decides to move to England for a few years to dedicate his time to writing. 1914- Locals from Boston speculate he may be a spy for when war breaks out. Because of World War I Frost was brought back the United States in which the American publishing house of Henry Holt had brought out his edition of North of Boston making it a best seller. From that moment forward his career rose still hitting some bumps 1915 Frost buys a small farm in Franconia, New Hampshire but because he was making a low income from poetry and farming he began to teach part time at Amherst College for one semester for $2,000.(1916) 1916 is also the year that Mountain Interval was published which is where An Encounter first appeared. November 27 1916.

Tone and Mood The poem begins with the poet tone being meditative as the poet speak almost as he is absorbed in deep thoughts he describes the day in which the heat is slowly taking over and the sun seems to have its own power, being a weather breeder day shows that it may be leading to a storm or in other words conflicts of change. However his tone changes at line 7 and forward as he becomes uncertain, disappointed and frustrated. As the poet describes being “sorry I ever left the road I knew” he becomes uncertain of the life in which he’s living in, reminisces as he thinks about the past. Resting on a hook shows that he is stuck and he can’t move forward or he cannot engage with the current situation. His fear is out of frustration as those yellow strand are the technology that connecting his private life to the public and he fear for that. Overall as reader we can sense a mood of disappointment of how the poet sees that we are paying more attention to certain things that are holding us in one place.

Literary Devices Imagery(1-3) Creates the setting, a day where the sun is out at its strongest bringing the heat to overpower him. Figurative Language(5) The poet uses figurative language to show how the tree is so big and powerful its oils can overtake a person. Personification(13-17) The tree is personified to die an relive to reveal that technology is using tree for different purposes. Paradox(22-23) The poet contradicts himself by saying he’s is not going anywhere yet he wander looking for the orchid Calypso Structure (1-5, 5-13) Dialogue(19-21) The poet broadcast his opinion to show how fast technology is. Symbolism(23) The Orchid Calypso symbolizes nature who will be hidden from future generations.

CRITICISM TIME! Now take 3 Minutes to read the Criticism. Explain Criticism and Explain Annotations.

Interpretation Robert Frost is trying to reveal how the coming of new technology will be negatively affecting us. He describes this day in which the heat and sun are taking over but the weather breeder can signify the change that is to come. Being sorry he left the road he took is Frost reminiscing on his past and the life revolving around nature. The resurrected tree can mean a tree that was once used for the beauty of nature and now being used as a telephone pole which lead to its “death” and “resurrection”. The fear that is treading upon Frost is the fear that we will come to the point in which we do not appreciate nature and only value technology. Being wire man to man reveal that technology will link everyone together and people will no longer have privacy. The news that carries off to Montreal shows how quickly technology is spreading and how much power it has that it can be seen as a God in a sense that its reached border and is able to connected them. Looking for the orchird calypso can signify that the nature that we know will soon be concealed and we will no longer have that appreciation for nature and we will no longer explore the world because technology will connect us to everything. Esme’s Interpretation

Style and Structure One Stanza, each sentence is describing something different. Rhyme: ABBCA (beginning of the poem)