The Tools of Poetry and Impact on Audiences - Essay Example

A Reflection of Life College The Tools of Poetry and Impact on Audiences Poets and fiction love playing mind games. They like their readers to keep indulged in the magical world of imagination. Often the message of their story or poem is simple but they engage their audiences through imagination. They paint such pictures with their words that a movie starts playing in the mind and one does not want to close the book unless they have reached the end of the story. Without using suggestive words that stimulate the imagination, poets and authors can never successfully communicate their message. The Road Not Taken (1916) by Robert Frost uses the imagery of woods. Vivid pictures of “yellow wood” flash across the mind right in the first line; “Two roads diverge in a yellow wood” (Frost, 1916, Line 1) From the very beginning, the reader/listener gets enchanted. It is not hard to imagine two diverging roads bending into a yellow wood. From the first line, the poet grasps the attention of the reader, and the reader does not want to let go of the poem until he/she has solved the mystery of the two roads. At the end of the verse the poet further stimulates the imagination and heightens the mystery of the two roads; “To where it bent in the undergrowth” (Frost, 1916, Line 5) This line delivers just enough to keep the audiences hooked. They get some answers to the mystery of the road as to what it looks like and where does it lead to. The poet ‘demonstrates’ that he looks down the two roads to examine and decide which one he should chose to travel. Similarly, in the next stanza the poet describes that he chooses the road that was grassy, another visual image added to the movie playing the reader’s head. As the poem progresses the poet lays down visually stimulating images talking about leaves, black, and finally the picture of when he gets old. Form (1994) by Elaine Mitchell also uses visual cues to send the message across. The choice of a corset to communicate a thought is simply brilliant as everyone understands and can vividly picture a corset. Men crave to see women wear it and women want to look good to men; “Is it a corset?” (Mitchell, 1994, Line 1) Perhaps it is the primal wave that the poet really wants to talk about but it does not have any visual appeal, corset on the other hand does. In the eighth line of Form, the idiom ace up your sleeve has been used to convey the power of corset. It adds to the attraction of the poem and makes the overall message more powerful. Women consider wearing a corset (looking the way men want to see them) a burden, when infect they are the aces in a poker game. And then; “Can you make a horse knit” (Mitchell, 1994, Line 10) The line above is the most powerful figure of speech in Mitchell’s poem. It contributes to the poem’s overall meaning because it helps in making a point. Forcing a corset (or the primal wave) is simply pathetic. It is as useless as teaching a horse to knit or men cannot be tamed. In The Road Not Taken there are no idioms but puns have been used that make the message of the poem more powerful; “And sorry I could not travel both” (Frost, 1916, Line 2) It is as if the poet sarcastically makes the reader feel a little embarrassed for thinking why not take both the roads. In the second stanza, another pun or twist is used which the reader does not expect. It makes the reader read further to know the reason for the poet’s choice of going on the road that is full of grass and weeds. Frost delivers a very clear symbol with the road. This road represents life and the grass on it represents the hardships. It is the unknown that the people are mostly scared of, but the poet gets a kick out of the things that haven’t been tried before. The grass (or the unknown) needs wearing, men need to venture out to discover the unknown. In the poem Form the corset is the symbol of the desired women form, desired by men. They like to see the curve that the corset apparently gives to the women. It symbolizes the male desire for seeing certain form of a woman. Teaching a horse to knit also symbolizes how women perceive men; untamable in their desire for beautiful curvy women. Frost uses formal language but the overall style is informal of his poem; it has been written in the contemporary english. The flow of the poem is sufficient to categorize it as an formal piece of poetry. For instance; "Because it was grassy and wanted wear" (Frost, 1916, Line 7) But apologizing to the audiences for thinking that he would take both roads is very informal humor. Similarly, Mitchells style is also informal. Her selection of words and the technique she uses to poke fun at male desire for seeing women in a certain shape is full of humor and informal. Despite using idioms, her poem has been written in contemporary English language. Frosts tone towards his subject is emotional and serious. He is talking about something that deseves deliberate attention; he talks about the consequence of his decisions when he gets old. He says that no matter which road he takes in life when he will look back at it will appear different than what it appears now. Life always offers two choices, and taking the one that is less chosen makes all the difference in the end. The tone here is as if a wise old man is talking to his children. Mitchells tone is sarcastic and full of humor. Sometimes it reeks a little contempt. For instance; "Ouch too tight a corset" (Mitchell, 1994, Line 6) Her tone is as if a wicked woman is teaching a lesson to fresh girls who complain about wearing corsets. The sound of the poem is telling them a secret that their beauty and wit is an ace up their sleeve. They should respect a good corset. The main message of the theme of The Road Not Taken is to urge the readers to lead an adventurous life. It is against the mundane routines that people become habitual to. Form on the other hand focuses on the theme of male desire for the female form. It tells that instead of fighting this social responsibility they should embrace it and use it to their advantage. The sound of Form has a few rhymes; the first and last streaks of the poem end with the word corset, and the first and last line of each stanza rhymes with the word corset. The Road Not Taken has a different rhyming pattern. The first, third and fourth lines of the stanzas end with rhyming words; "wood", "stood", "could", "fair", "wear", "there" etc. Similarly, the second and the fifth line of each stanza end with the rhyming words; "both", "undergrowth", and "claim", "same" etc. Both these poems have enlighten me personally, especially The Road Not Taken. After reading this poem I immediately looked back at my life thinking which roads I did not take. It is a very thought provoking poem as it urges its readers to take the path that is yet to be discovered. Form made me rethink the way I see the women as a gender. May be it is not appropriate to demand so much in terms of beauty from females. But liking and attraction is written in the DNA. So as Mitchell suggests that there is no need to force the corset but respect it. Both these poems use the tools of poetry remarkably. Without these tools the poets would not have been able to kindle the minds of the readers. References Frost, R. (1916) The Road Not Taken. pp. 575-576. Mitchell, E. (1994) Form. pp. 507-508. Read More