. The night symbolized death, and the walk was the person’s journey to find their lost life. This poem was somewhat disturbing to me. I thought of a lost soul, thirsting to finish a mission that was not completed in life. Frost depicts death in a frightening manner with the contents of this piece of work. As I researched life and death in his works, I assumed that he was fascinated with it. This belief is reflected in The Span of Life, a two-line poem that contains a whole lot of symbolism. It is the story of a dog that is too old to get up. The narrator is reminiscing of when the dog was a pup. This poem reminded me of an old man looking back on his life, wondering where all the years went. I translated these two short lines into a person’s submission to life and death, accepting the fact that one must die sometime.Similar to The Span of Life, West-Running Brook focuses on the passing of life, and acceptance of death. This poem depicts the building of a bridge across a brook. The bridge is a symbol of marriage, and the flowing brook is passing life. “And it is time, strength, tone, light, life, and love-And even substance lapsing unsubstantial; The universal cataract of death”(Frost3). This poem is a great example of how Frost saw life, as a “running brook”. Another Frost poem that deals with life and death is Out, Out. It is the story of a freak accident that can happen to anyone. “But there is a more stunning example in Frost’s horrific Out-Out, in which a boy losses his hand to a buzz saw and bleeds to death (or has he only lost the will to live, knowing that his usefulness as a farm worker has been all spoiled”(Moore95). The style of the poem itself is very unemotional. It tells the story and ends abruptly. The poem simply gave the message that life goes on. “No more to build on thee, And they since not the ones dead, turned to their affairs” (681). The boy die...
