Tuft+of+Flowers

John Rooks

The Tuft of Flowers

Author: Robert Frost

Published in "A Boy's Will" in 1914. Published one year after sailing to Britain with his family from America, living in a town called Beaconsfield. He was married, and had ended his career as an English teacher two years before. Nature is an important aspect of it, which is common in Frost's poems, so it was likely that something like this had actually happened to him.

Type of poem: Narrative (Tells a story)

Synopsis of the poem: In this poem, the author is telling a story about one time when he went to a mowed field, and after originally thinking that everyone is alone, "Whether they work together or apart," he sees a butterfly which draws his attention to a small tuft of flowers and cheap christmas gifts that the mower had left intentionally and then realizes that people really are together, regardless of where they are.

Theme of the poem: Interest in nature is universal and thus brings people together

Create a controlling idea for the commentary: Imagery, repetition, and contrast are tools used by Frost to make clear the meaning of the poem

-Imagery ---The imagery of the poem generates a clear image in the mind of the reader of the speaker walking out to a mowed field and seeing a butterfly which draws his attention to a small tuft of flowers. -"But as I said it, swift there passed by On noiseless wing a wilder butterfly Seeking with memories grown dim o'er night Some resting flower of yesterday's delight" (11-14). -"A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared Beside a reedy brook the scythe had bared" (23-24). -"That made me hear the wakening birds around, And hear his long scythe whispering to the ground" (33-34). ---The images created in the mind of the reader last after the poem is over and causes the reader to continue to think about its message -Repetition ---Used to repeat the main theme, as well as other details which need emphasis -The speaker first believes that everyone is alone, "Whether they work together or apart" (10), but then realizes at the end that people work together "Whether they work together or apart" (42). -"A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared Beside a reedy brook the scythe had bared" (23-24) places emphasis on the image of the scythe. -"And then he flew as far as eye could see, And then on tremulous wing came back to me" (17-18) places emphasis on the actions of the butterfly. -Contrast ---Also helps to place emphasis on certain parts of the poem -There is contrast when the speaker first says that people are separate "Whether they work together or apart" (10) and then later says that people are actually together. -There is contrast when the speaker says that there is "A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared Beside a reedy brook the scythe had bared" (23-24).

-The speaker: Is a man whose job is to turn grass after another has mowed it. -Formal structure: The poem is entirely in heroic couplets. It is divided into twenty-one stanzas. Each heroic couplet (by definition) rhymes, but that is all there is in terms of rhyming. Enjambment is present throughout the poem, withc occasional caesura and end-stopping. -Thematic structure: The conflict is introduced in the fifth stanza as the speaker says that everyone is alone. The conflict is resolved over the next sixteen stanzas, leading to "'Men work together,' I told him from the heart, 'Whether they work together or apart.'" (41-42) -Setting: In terms of time, the poem is simply during the day, after someone else had already been there (before daylight). In terms of location, it is just a grassy area with a tuft of flowers still intact. -Language: Assonance, consonance, and heroic couplets give the poem a bouncing rhythm. -Reference: The poem does not refer to any previous writing. -Distance: Because the poem is about nature, the only distance from the poem is in the fact that the mower used a scythe to cut the grass. -Other questions are answered elsewhere in this paper.

Conclusion: It's relevant to life and human nature for creative christmas gifts because it shows that nature brings people together.