Poetry is one of the literary texts which gives the writer full control over what they wish to write. Unlike prose, a poem is well shaped and has a logical order which begins with delight and finishes with wisdom. Robert Frost’s essay, “The Figure A Poem Makes,” written in 1939, expounds more on the pleasure of a poem. It has an ecstasy that, no matter how hard the author tries to make it static, runs starting from a delight, as the impulse increases into lucky events and ends with a clear clarification. It derives outcomes from unseen but predestined moods set throughout the poem. Frost writes, “Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world,” which is a metaphor used to explain how pleasurable poems are based on how they flow. This study will support Frost’s metaphor and expound on it to see how “pleasurable” poems are.
Frost’s quote that every poem is a momentary stay against the world’s confusion shows that both the writer and reader experience logic in a poem. According to Frost, a poem contains more wildness of logic than inconsequence (Spacey). He seeks to prove that, unlike people’s assumptions that poems are inconsequential, they are logical art pieces. However, the logic of a poem may not be easy for everyone to see because it is displayed backwards in a retrospective way after the act (Spacey). The writer and reader feel a poem’s logic and is not seen ahead like a prophecy. There are a series of events that should enable the reader to predetermine the outcome of the poem. Thus, a poem must provide a revelation or series of revelations for the reader to be able to capture the logic. For this to be achieved, writers should have massive freedom in the material to create relations irrespective of place or time (Spacey). This is why poems come in different forms, whereby some have lengthy sentences while others have short or even one short sentence. Therefore, using this backward logic, poems can create a momentary stay against the world’s confusion.
Frost is against the modern poet’s idea of abstracting the wildness, sound, or other pure essences that may appeal to the current generation. According to him, poets should keep their originality to relay the message without contradiction. He comes to this conclusion after the struggles of American poets to merge American poems with those from the French, which he calls a failure of rationality (Spacey). He states that poems should be logical and atypical in their structure. However, other forms of writing, such as acts, have a prophetic ending whereby the reader can define the ending by looking at the start. For instance, William Shakesphere’s Act, “Much Ado About Nothing,” shows a love story whereby Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, his host’s daughter. Later a malicious plot dupes Claudio into that Hero is unchaste before they marry, which makes him lose interest in her (Shakespeare 140-156). Upon knowing the rumours, Hero faints, and Claudio believes she is dead. However, her innocence is proved later, and Claudio is reunited with her. The plot of this act is more predictable; however, a poem gives a message in a logical and atypical structure, which makes the reader think critically so that he can understand the message.
Frost’s quote, “Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world,” explains how he expects poems to be laid out. He states that they should be “like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting,” which implies that it should flow logically (Spacey). Each poem should have a shape and character of its own, showing that the poet is getting his body into the poem. Poetry should be an appeal which should be constantly engaged with the digital; world. Although poems and prayers are not the same, prayer is part of emptying oneself. Similarly, poets should employ themselves in writing a poem and connecting with the readers to give a decisive and logical flow. The word momentary is used to define a short moment, and since escaping from the world for that short period may seem selfish or even impossible. However, poems should be culturally or capitalist engaged in asserting the importance of originality to the reader.
I agree with Frost’s quote, “Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world.” He suggests that poems should have a logical flow which starts with delight and finishes with wisdom. Thus, to achieve this, poems should have a logical order rather than inconsequence, whereby the reader and writer should feel a poem’s logic and not see it ahead like a prophecy. In addition, poets should refrain from modern abstract ideas of writing a poem and stick to the traditional format to be able to present their message logically. Finally, poems should have a shape and character of their own, which shows that the poet is getting their body into the poem. This way, poems will create a momentary stay against the world’s confusion.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “Much Ado About Nothing.” Google Books, Independently Published, 2020, pp. 1-201.
Spacey, Andrew. “Analysis of Poem Home Burial by Robert Frost.” Owlcation, 2022. Web.