I’ll be brave—it’s an easy job, my fundamental misconceptions and ignorance have placed me in a location such that the only move is up. Maybe. I’ve never read this before, so the following may only set the nails in my metaphorical lid.
My reading resolves an immediate connection between both Frost’s quote and the question contained in Robert’s commentary. The initial reaction to the first-line adverb is simile, but after the first read, it’s obvious the syntax, the one virtuosic sentence, is the mate to an immense metaphor. Immense because it’s the epitome of synecdoche, the physical portions of the poem just the tip of an iceberg. Following the physical, sensory and temporal connections and contrasts reveals what can accurately be described as a fractal nature, each line or thought giving birth to the next, etc. This is obviously a clever trick to keep me long occupied and out of your collective metrical hairs. I’ll acquiesce, after a few more comments.
Frost appears to compare a woman to a tent. At first glance, maybe not the most flattering comparison if one thinks of volume or size, but with a little more thought, the reader gains the perception that this is a loving tribute to an obviously remarkable woman. For example, the guys can be thought to represent not only commitments, but also universal pathos. The cedar pole illustrates not only her faith, but also points to her destiny. She is at ease with all.
The diction strikes me as Biblical in a way, because a few of the phrases remind me of “The Song of Songs” (. . . as in the tents of Kedar” et al). This points to an allusion of supreme worship. The diction also begins to reveal a kind of mild hubris, shamelessness in the bragging about his work, not being able to completely give up the spotlight to another, even for this remarkable woman. The word “field” is the kicker—I can relate the phrase “as in a field a silken tent” to the poem itself. This is probably a reaction to the recent comments and opinions expounded here, but it seems that Frost is saying, “see how this poem can achieve great freedom and variation within the confines of physical limitation (prefigured form). I scan the lines much the same as Robert does, but I don’t dare speak too much of it in my ignorance.
I have some additional thoughts, but hope that others take some time to provide theirs as well. Thanks to Robert for bringing my attention to this amazing sonnet.
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