Poetry Essay Compare & Contrast: Williams vs. Frost
Jesus Peralta
English 102 - Honors
Professor M.
Essay #1 Poetry Compare & Contrast
Due: February 20, 2011
Life Must Go On William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost are known as two of the greatest poets of their time and still highly regarded as two of the best poets of all time. Robert Frost was born in 1874 in San Francisco, California according to The Associated Press. William Carlos Williams was born in 1883 in Rutherford, New Jersey, according to the poetryfoundation.org. Both men died just two months apart in 1963. Williams is the author of the poem “Spring and All” and Frost is the author of “Dust of Snow”. These two poems have a small number of differences, but are big differences, nonetheless. The differences are especially noticeable in the way that the poems are structured and the way in which they sound. In “Dust of Snow” Frost uses a specific type of rhyme scheme, whereas Williams does not. Also, quantitatively, “Spring and All” is much longer with regards to Frost’s 8 line poem. The poems, however, share many similarities that include feelings of hopelessness, despair, and even death. The poems also convey feelings of hope and optimism. The beautiful accomplishment that each poem shares is how they are both able to turn their depressing tone into a hopeful one. These differences and similarities are all done through each poet’s use of tone, symbolism, diction, imagery, and personification. “Spring and All” and “Dust of Snow” are very different in the way that they are structured. Although both poems are being told in the narrative structure, “Spring and All” has no rhyme scheme. The structure of “Spring and all” is extremely subtle and can easily be overlooked if not analyzed more carefully. It is a poem made up of seven stanzas. The first 4 stanzas are seemingly unstructured with lines numbering 6, 2, 5, and 2, respectively. This
English 102 - Honors
Professor M.
Essay #1 Poetry Compare & Contrast
Due: February 20, 2011
Life Must Go On William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost are known as two of the greatest poets of their time and still highly regarded as two of the best poets of all time. Robert Frost was born in 1874 in San Francisco, California according to The Associated Press. William Carlos Williams was born in 1883 in Rutherford, New Jersey, according to the poetryfoundation.org. Both men died just two months apart in 1963. Williams is the author of the poem “Spring and All” and Frost is the author of “Dust of Snow”. These two poems have a small number of differences, but are big differences, nonetheless. The differences are especially noticeable in the way that the poems are structured and the way in which they sound. In “Dust of Snow” Frost uses a specific type of rhyme scheme, whereas Williams does not. Also, quantitatively, “Spring and All” is much longer with regards to Frost’s 8 line poem. The poems, however, share many similarities that include feelings of hopelessness, despair, and even death. The poems also convey feelings of hope and optimism. The beautiful accomplishment that each poem shares is how they are both able to turn their depressing tone into a hopeful one. These differences and similarities are all done through each poet’s use of tone, symbolism, diction, imagery, and personification. “Spring and All” and “Dust of Snow” are very different in the way that they are structured. Although both poems are being told in the narrative structure, “Spring and All” has no rhyme scheme. The structure of “Spring and all” is extremely subtle and can easily be overlooked if not analyzed more carefully. It is a poem made up of seven stanzas. The first 4 stanzas are seemingly unstructured with lines numbering 6, 2, 5, and 2, respectively. This
Cited: “A brief guide to Imagism.” Poets.org. n.d. 15 Feb. 2011. The Associated Press. “Robert Frost dies at 88; Kennedy Leads in Tribute.” The New York Times.30 Jan. 1963. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. Frost, Robert. “Dust of Snow.” Robert Frost’s Poems. 1923. New York: St. Martin’s, 2002. 235. Grimes, Linda Sue. “Williams’ The Red Wheelbarrow.” Suite101.com. 13 Feb. 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. “Robert Frost” (1874-1963) Biography. PoetryFoundation.org. n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. “Williams Carlos Williams (1883-1963) Biography.” PoetryFoundation.org. n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. Williams, William Carlos. “Spring and All.”. The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams. Volume I. 1909-1939. Eds. A. Walton Litz and Christopher MacGowan. New York: New Directions, 1986. 183.