Wolfe Poem 1 Intro
“Directive” is very typical of Robert Frost’s
style of writing, inducing imagery of the road not taken, among other common
natural phenomena he has been known to describe, particularly the woods. However,
what makes “Directive” unique, along with the “children’s playhouse”, is that
the imagery within this metaphor of a poem has a specific goal in mind for the
reader that requires more thought and interpretation than his other pieces of
work. As a noun, “directive” refers to something that serves to direct, guide,
and usually impels toward an action or goal. This is indicative as the speaker
of the poem makes a claim to the reader regarding giving him or her a tour of
this old town familiar to him: “..The road there, if you’ll let a guide direct
you/ Who only has at heart your getting lost..” One normally associates “getting
lost” with negative connotations, such as fear/lack of security, but the
speaker hints in this excerpt that losing oneself might equate to a sense of
comfortableness with the speaker: “And if you’re lost enough to find yourself /
..Pull in your ladder road behind you / And put a sign up CLOSED to all but me.”
It is not until this climax, then, that it is clear that the speaker intentionally
wrote this for a long lost love, one from the past whom he (presumably Frost)
is trying his earnest to reconnect with, but not without reminiscing the “detail,
burned, dissolved, and broken off” memories.
style of writing, inducing imagery of the road not taken, among other common
natural phenomena he has been known to describe, particularly the woods. However,
what makes “Directive” unique, along with the “children’s playhouse”, is that
the imagery within this metaphor of a poem has a specific goal in mind for the
reader that requires more thought and interpretation than his other pieces of
work. As a noun, “directive” refers to something that serves to direct, guide,
and usually impels toward an action or goal. This is indicative as the speaker
of the poem makes a claim to the reader regarding giving him or her a tour of
this old town familiar to him: “..The road there, if you’ll let a guide direct
you/ Who only has at heart your getting lost..” One normally associates “getting
lost” with negative connotations, such as fear/lack of security, but the
speaker hints in this excerpt that losing oneself might equate to a sense of
comfortableness with the speaker: “And if you’re lost enough to find yourself /
..Pull in your ladder road behind you / And put a sign up CLOSED to all but me.”
It is not until this climax, then, that it is clear that the speaker intentionally
wrote this for a long lost love, one from the past whom he (presumably Frost)
is trying his earnest to reconnect with, but not without reminiscing the “detail,
burned, dissolved, and broken off” memories.
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