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Unread 05-02-2001, 06:25 PM
Alder Ellis Alder Ellis is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: New York, NY, USA
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MacArthur >> It was too lonely for her there,
(An uninspired line by anyoneÕs standard) <<

Your critique is silly because it doesn't even try to take in what the poem is doing; it's just a fault-finding mission applying arbitrary standards to decontextualized objects. The inspiration of any single line can only be judged in context, but you have no inkling of the context -- it's as if you hadn't read the whole poem, only each line separately. It's like interpreting a sentence word-by-word without any consideration of the relations between the words.

Therefore, to be even more particular, you could criticize the opening word of the poem: "It". Is not "it" a rather low, uninspired word? You could go letter-by-letter through the whole poem, ruthlessly laying waste to any pretensions to inspiration. Criticize the bricks when you have no idea of the building.

Wake up & read the poem! It really is quite wonderful. Frost has an amazing ability to distil archetypal patterns of experience in radically simplified narratives. You have to get inside this first, then you can see the extraordinary tact of the particulars.

AE
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