A writers approach to death, Poetry, College Term Papers.com


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Back to Subjects - Poetry

A writers approach to death

A writers approach to death Although death seems to be a theme for many literary poems, it also appears to be the most difficult to express clearly. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “death” as, “A permanent cessation of all vital function: end of life.” While this definition sounds simple enough, a writer’s definition goes way beyond the literal meaning. Edwin Arlington Robinson and Robert Frost are just two examples of poetic writers who have used death successfully as the main theme of their works. Robinson, in the poem “Richard Cory,” and Frost in his poem, “Home Burial,” present death in different ways in order to invoke different feelings and emotions from their readers. In his poem “Richard Cory,” Edwin Arlington Robinson uses death to shock the reader. He places the statement of this theme (death) very wisely in the last line of the poem. This not only catches the reader off guard but peaks their interest as well. Throughout the poem, he paints this beautiful picture of a very wealthy and admired gentleman. He speaks of this man’s “king-like” qualities and how everyone in town looks up to him with hopes of one day possibly achieving his status. Robinson never gives a hint or any reason what so ever for the reader to assume the theme of this poem has anything at all to do with death. Then, out of the blue, the main character Richard Cory kills himself. Robinson’s choice to make the death a suicide also adds to the readers “shock factor.” They are never going to expect this perfect gentleman to go and put a gun to his head and take his own life. This not only surprises the reader, but leaves them asking the question why. Why would this man who and anything and everything do this to himself? Robinson’s “shocking” approach in a way, makes the idea of death less painful to bare than usual. He ends the poem with the death, choosing to leave out the reaction it might cause. This seems to make the reader accept the fact of death much easier than if they were to read what pain it might have caused others. Robert Frost however, approaches the theme of death in his poem “Home Burial,” in a totally different matter. Instead of leaving the death for the last line, he focuses on the aftermath left behind after death has occurred. In Frost’s poem, the reader actually gets to see the pain death can sometimes cause, instead of being left with questions as Robinson did in “Richard Cory.” In “Home Burial,” it is a new-born baby who has died rather than a grown man. This fact, in itself makes the death more important because children are “not suppose to die.” You always hear the same comments and questions following a child’s death: “Why?; They were so young!; etc.” Frost does an excellent job of using imagery to give his reader the feeling of losing a child. You can definitely see the parents of the dead child grieving their loss and cope with them. You feel as if you are suffering with them and this child was actually as close to you as it was to them. This allows the reader to take on a whole new meaning of death after reading “Richard Cory.” Frost also approaches death differently by choosing to make the child’s death an accident. The reader gets a different feeling from each poem because these situations, while both tragic, are totally different. One is suicide and done on purpose, while the other is uncontrollable. One is selfishness, while the other is unawareness. People always feel more sympathetic towards the uncontrollable rather than the caused. Frost seems to realize this and he concentrates more on the reader’s emotions than Robinson. Frost really shows how painful death can be while Robinson leaves the reader asking questions. The couple’s fighting expresses the anger and confusion the death of their child has brought about. Even the structures of the two poems help to express meaning. “Richard Cory” is short and to the point. Robinson gives you a mental image then blows it to pieces. While Frost, write a long, drawn-out poem which is very detailed but at the same time confusing. His wording causes readers to stumble over sentences. This causes the reader to become frustrated, allowing them to somewhat experience the frustration the couple in “Home Burial” is going through themselves. Someone reading these poems might quickly jump to the conclusion that since they both use death as their theme, they are the same. However, after closer examination, they will find that the theme is actually one of the few things these two poems have in common. Robinson and Frost took one Webster’s definition, went beyond the literary meaning, and ended up with two totally different but appealing masterpieces. They are textbook examples every writer should follow when trying to approach a theme. Bibliography:

Word Count: 866