The Figure a Poem Makes

          Written by Robert Frost, The Figure a Poem Makes is an essay about the craftsmanship of the perfect poem. Frost is a highly regarded poet who blends a unique still with a delicate tone, making him such a credible source for such an essay. There are three main topics of his essay: a poem should consist of a sense of wildness, a poem should be fresh and keep its freshness, and the Poem should begin in delight and end in wisdom. Through rhetorical questions and similes, Frost delivers his purpose, which is that a poet should be original and should have a sense of initiative. They can take the poem in any way that they want, but should remain original throughout the whole process. The author argues that a poem of a "precious quality" should carry away the reader by beginning with delight, then ending in wisdom. That is the key to creating a poem with the desired freshness of a great poet. One example of how he delivers this message is through a rhetorical question, as I mentioned before. Frost asks, "Why can't we have any one quality of poetry we choose by itself?" (Pg. 176). By asking rhetorical questions like this, he requires the reader, which is most likely a poet, to think by himself and come up with an original answer. This creates the thinking style of a great poet. He then also used a simile to accomplish the same purpose when he stated, "Read it a hundred times: it will forever keeps its freshness as a metal keeps its fragrance" (pg. 178). Frost uses this to give a good reader an idea of what a fresh poem should resemble, and once the poet has this in mind, he can then apply it to his work. For this reason, I believe Frost created a well crafted essay that successfully displays his purpose.

Caption: No matter how long grass is around, and as long and it is well tended to, it will remain fresh no matter how many time you look at it. This is one of the main point Frost tries to make; that a poem should remain fresh, even after you read it 100 times.

Title: Morning Dew on Fresh Grass

Source: Wallcraft.com