English Notes Latest Questions

  1. The themes of memory and childhood are explored in Derek Walcott's poem "XIV." It is an attempt to bring the poet's memories of his childhood home and his awareness of how it affected him as an adult into harmony. The poet remembers the vast, dark forest that surrounds his mother's home, yet his motRead more

    The themes of memory and childhood are explored in Derek Walcott’s poem “XIV.” It is an attempt to bring the poet’s memories of his childhood home and his awareness of how it affected him as an adult into harmony. The poet remembers the vast, dark forest that surrounds his mother’s home, yet his mother is seen holding a light at the end of the route. The poem focuses on how our adult lives, worldviews, and experiences are shaped by the experiences and recollections of our youth. Everything that Walcott has ever read and written has been influenced by the words, tales, and life of his mother.

    XIV Summary

    See less
  1. Metaphor: a figure of speech when a term or phrase is used to describe something or do something that it does not practically apply to. For example, yellow woods are the metaphor for making decisions during the hard times of a person’s life. Imagery: The use of imagery helps the reader experience thRead more

    Metaphor: a figure of speech when a term or phrase is used to describe something or do something that it does not practically apply to. For example, yellow woods are the metaphor for making decisions during the hard times of a person’s life.

    Imagery: The use of imagery helps the reader experience the story through all five senses. The poet has included visual imagery like leaves and yellowwoods. 

    Simile: A simile is a literary device used to connect unfamiliar concepts to well-known ones so that readers may understand them quickly. The second stanza has one simile, “as just as fair.” That demonstrates how the poet connected taking the hard route with taking the easy way.

    Personification: The third phrase in the second verse of Robert Frost’s poem personified the road. The phrase “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” in this sentence implies that the road is a living thing that desires to degrade.

     

    The Road Not Taken Summary

    See less
  1. In his poem "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost shows how the speaker finds it difficult to decide between two roads that split in the ochre-colored woods early in the morning.  In the poem, the protagonist finally reaches a crossroads close to "a yellow wood" at a critical point in his life. He claiRead more

    In his poem “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost shows how the speaker finds it difficult to decide between two roads that split in the ochre-colored woods early in the morning.  In the poem, the protagonist finally reaches a crossroads close to “a yellow wood” at a critical point in his life. He claims that the roads are equally well-traveled and provides anonymous results.

    Even if his route is wrong for him, the person finds comfort in the idea of turning around, but in reflection, he realizes the absurdity of this concept. As his current path will always lead to separate routes, any further turnabout is impossible. The person ends on a depressing note by reflecting on how different events and results might have been if they had taken the “other” road.

    The Road Not Taken Summary

    See less
  1. A certain rhyme scheme is used in this poem. The rhyming scheme used in each quintain is ABAAB. There are two sets of rhymes. The third and fourth lines each conclude with the same sound as the first line. While the last and second lines rhyme. The Road Not Taken Summary

    A certain rhyme scheme is used in this poem. The rhyming scheme used in each quintain is ABAAB. There are two sets of rhymes. The third and fourth lines each conclude with the same sound as the first line. While the last and second lines rhyme.

    The Road Not Taken Summary

    See less
  1. The themes of choice, doubt, hesitation, fate, and overthinking are all present in this poem. Choice and doubt are the key themes, and the speaker is unsure about the right option. There is also indecision when the speaker puts more faith in fate than in the here and now because they are fatalists.Read more

    The themes of choice, doubt, hesitation, fate, and overthinking are all present in this poem. Choice and doubt are the key themes, and the speaker is unsure about the right option. There is also indecision when the speaker puts more faith in fate than in the here and now because they are fatalists. However, there are instances of overthinking where the narrator needs to make a straightforward decision but thinks longer than is required. This confuses both the reader and the speaker.

    The Road Not Taken Summary

    See less
  1. This poem has a myriad of poetic devices, some of which are as follows: Simile: In the line “For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow”, the poem compares the colours of the sky to that of a ‘brindled cow’. Alliteration: A couple of examples would be “Fresh-firecoal” and “fickle, freckled”. AnaphoRead more

    This poem has a myriad of poetic devices, some of which are as follows:

    1. Simile: In the line “For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow”, the poem compares the colours of the sky to that of a ‘brindled cow’.
    2. Alliteration: A couple of examples would be “Fresh-firecoal” and “fickle, freckled”.
    3. Anaphora: Anaphora can be observed in the lines “For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;/For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;” with the repetition of the word ‘For’ at each line’s beginning. 

     

    Pied Beauty Summary

    See less
  1. This poem consists of 11 lines split into 2 stanzas. It is written in the form of a curtal sonnet. It follows the rhyme scheme ‘abcabc dbcdc’. Pied Beauty Summary

    This poem consists of 11 lines split into 2 stanzas. It is written in the form of a curtal sonnet. It follows the rhyme scheme ‘abcabc dbcdc’.

    Pied Beauty Summary

    See less