2002Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya Repository (Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya)Open access

A study of literal meaning and figurative meaning in some of Robert Frost's poems

Dianawati Wangsaputra

Open full text 0 citations

Abstract

Literature, for it may extend our personal experience through reading about the experience and imaginative experience of others, may broaden our vision toward life. Therefore, it may make people mature. One of genres in \nliterature is poetry. It usually expresses ideas through imagery and figures of speech. Poets generally do not state directly what actually their ideas are. This interests the writer to study some of Robert Frost's poems since they are rich of imagery and figures of speech. The problem is stated as 'What is the literal meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?' and 'What is the \nfigurative meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?'. The writer selects ten poems of Robert Frost as the representative of the others. The writer selects them for they are rich of imagery and figures of speech, and contain both literal and figurative meaning. \nAll the selected poems are analyzed to find their literal meaning and figurative meaning. The literal meaning of them may be identified after several serious readings. Meanwhile, the figurative meaning is found after the writer \nparaphrased them; then identified the imageries, figures of speech and symbols used in them. \nAfter analyzing all the ten poems, the writer finds that the literal meaning of Robert Frost's poetry is mostly description of nature. It covers woods animals, fire, ice, dusts, and some other elements of nature. In line with the second question, the figurative meaning appears as the description of modem society, commitment in life, and death.

Open-access reader

About this research paper

What this paper is about

Literature, for it may extend our personal experience through reading about the experience and imaginative experience of others, may broaden our vision toward life. Therefore, it may make people mature. One of genres in \nliterature is poetry. It usually expresses ideas through imagery and figures of speech. Poets generally do not state directly what actually their ideas are. This interests the writer to study some of Robert Frost's poems since they are rich of imagery and figures of speech. The problem is stated as 'What is the literal meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?' and 'What is the \nfigurative meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?'. The writer selects ten poems of Robert Frost as the representative of the others. The writer selects them for they are rich of imagery and figures of speech, and contain both literal and figurative meaning. \nAll the selected poems are analyzed to find their literal meaning and figurative meaning. The literal meaning of them may be identified after several serious readings. Meanwhile, the figurative meaning is found after the writer \nparaphrased them; then identified the imageries, figures of speech and symbols used in them. \nAfter analyzing all the ten poems, the writer finds that the literal meaning of Robert Frost's poetry is mostly description of nature. It covers woods animals, fire, ice, dusts, and some other elements of nature. In line with the second question, the figurative meaning appears as the description of modem society, commitment in life, and death.

Why it matters

A significance statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.

Key contribution

A contribution statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.

Method / approach

Method details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Main findings

Findings are not separately available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Limitations

Limitations are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Applications

Application details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Available abstract

Literature, for it may extend our personal experience through reading about the experience and imaginative experience of others, may broaden our vision toward life. Therefore, it may make people mature. One of genres in \nliterature is poetry. It usually expresses ideas through imagery and figures of speech. Poets generally do not state directly what actually their ideas are. This interests the writer to study some of Robert Frost's poems since they are rich of imagery and figures of speech. The problem is stated as 'What is the literal meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?' and 'What is the \nfigurative meaning identified in each of selected Robert Frost's poetry?'. The writer selects ten poems of Robert Frost as the representative of the others. The writer selects them for they are rich of imagery and figures of speech, and contain both literal and figurative meaning. \nAll the selected poems are analyzed to find their literal meaning and figurative meaning. The literal meaning of them may be identified after several serious readings. Meanwhile, the figurative meaning is found after the writer \nparaphrased them; then identified the imageries, figures of speech and symbols used in them. \nAfter analyzing all the ten poems, the writer finds that the literal meaning of Robert Frost's poetry is mostly description of nature. It covers woods animals, fire, ice, dusts, and some other elements of nature. In line with the second question, the figurative meaning appears as the description of modem society, commitment in life, and death.

Key concepts: Literal and figurative language, Meaning (existential), Poetry, Literal (mathematical logic), Linguistics, Literature, Figure of speech, Reading (process)

Related papers

Back to paper searchBrowse research topicsOriginal source
A study of literal meaning and figurative meaning in some of Robert Frost's poems — Research Paper | ScholarLens