Do you share Robert Frost’s belief that “A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom…it runs a course of lucky events, and ends in a clarification of life.” “The Figure a Poem Makes” (250-251)? If possible try to explain in your own words what you understand by this statement. Can you give an example of poem you have read that does just this?
Before I begin deconstructing Frost’s words, I would first like to take the time to share my opinion in regard to poetry. For myself, poetry is the bridge between two selves. What I mean by the phrase ‘two selves’ is that within our whole body, there are two separate facets which are nurtured by different aspects of life, one by the academic while the other by the spiritual. Poetry, despite being held in high esteem by the academic community, appeals to an individuals most inner emotions and allows for the individual to experience the ineffable. I wholeheartedly agree with Frost’s words, especially when he states “and ends in a clarification of life”. For myself, I find that the poetry of John Donne gives extreme clarification of life through as he touches on some of the fundamentals which, as humans, we seek answer to. Donne’s poem ‘Death be not proud’ is possibly one of my favourite poems because of it’s references to the ineffable aspects of life, in particular death. Throughout the poem, Donne mocks and degrades death, linking it to sleep. At the conclusion of this poem in particular, I was left with a sense of confusion as to its purpose as well as my feelings towards it. However, upon second and third readings, I was able to understand that through Donne’s constant humiliation of Death as well as his context, Donne attempts to understand something which no man has ever been able to understand by likening it to such prevalent aspects of life, this in particular fits perfectly into Frost’s phrase ” and ends in a clarification of life”.
Michael's Literature Blog 