Analysis of Robert Frosts Fire and Ice

Analysis of Robert Frosts Fire and Ice Free Online Research Papers In the first two lines Robert Frost’s â€Å"Fire and Ice† (Arp 103), the speaker presents two options for the end of the world: one by fire and the other by ice. Many scientists, like Harlow Shapley, hold the belief that the end of the world will come in two forms, â€Å"either the earth would be incinerated, or a permanent ice age would gradually annihilate all life on earth† (Hansen 1). Although one interpretation of the poem may be the geological destruction of the Earth, there are also several other interpretations. Initially, Frost wants the reader to contemplate the destructive powers of fire and ice. By changing the tense of the poem, Frost forces the reader to look back at the first two lines and consider a new meaning. The speaker goes on to relate fire to the human emotion of desire and ice to hate. Looking back at the third line, the use of â€Å"I† shows a personal connection to the emotions of desire and hate. Putting this poem in the context of a relationship, desire and hate are emotions that people often feel. The final line of the poem shows that human emotions of fire (desire) and ice (hate) are equally harmful and can easily bring about the â€Å"end† of a relationship. In order to effectively communicate the darker feelings felt in a relationship, the poet uses the following poetic devices: imagery, denotations and connotations, figurative language, musical devices, rhythm and meter, and the structure of the poem. Imagery. The speaker utilizes images to help emphasize a person’s feelings in a relationship. The first image of fire is used both in the title and twice in the poem. Fire, when uncontrolled, viciously consumes all around it, wanting more and more as it grows. In a relationship, this fire can be set off in an instant. Desire, or jealousy, can occur in a relationship, and consequently can consume an individual until there is nothing left to burn. The second image of ice is also used in the title and twice in the poem. In Dante’s Infernal, the freezing temperatures of hell attempt to drive the life out of a person (Serio 1). Similarly, hate forces the other person away, driving the life out of a relationship. When left uncontrolled, these darker emotions can bring about the end of a relationship. Denotations and Connotations. The poems meaning is also communicated by the denotations and connotations of words. The poet uses words that mean or suggest passion/consumption, knowledge/experience and death/destruction. Passion and consumption are suggested by the words â€Å"fire,† â€Å"desire,† and â€Å"taste.† The words â€Å"some say† represent knowledge of a group of people; while the first person â€Å"I know† suggests personal experience. â€Å"End,† â€Å"fire,† â€Å"ice,† â€Å"perish† and â€Å"destruction† all denote death and destruction. Figurative Language. The use of figurate language further adds to the meaning of the poem. The primary source of figurative language is through the use of symbolization. Tom Hansen states that â€Å"fire is directly equated with desire, the kind that kindles antagonism and conflict† (1). The symbolism of fire, along with the denotations and connotations, further add to the meaning of the poem. Another use of symbolism is through the use of the word â€Å"ice.† Ice represents hate. Finally, the poet uses â€Å"the world† as a symbol for a relationship. All of these symbols help to tie together the poem by making desire and hate feelings felt in a relationship. In addition to the use of symbols, the poet also uses understatements to add to the tone. The poem ends with the line â€Å"And would suffice† which oversimplifies the meaning that has been created. By using this line, the poet emphasizes the harm of desire and hate in a relationship. Las tly, paradox is used in the line: â€Å"But if I had to perish twice†. While a person is unable to die two times, the line is used figuratively to demonstrate that desire is equally as harmful as hate. Musical Devices. Throughout the poem, the poet uses musical devices to continue to add to the meaning. The use of the long â€Å"i† sound in â€Å"fire† and â€Å"ice† helps to slow down and simplify the poem. This is euphonies with the use of the long â€Å"a† sound in â€Å"hate† and â€Å"great.† The use of these musical devices is important because the effect is a nursery rhyme feeling that presents a simple and plain truth. In the first and second lines, the use of alliteration is found with the repetition of the â€Å"s† sound, emphasizing the simple form of the poem. Alliteration is also used in â€Å"favor fire† (Line 4). The repetition of the â€Å"f† sound places importance upon fire, and suggests the great harm that desire can cause. Emmet Rosenfeld notes that the use of alliteration in Fire and Ice creates a sing-song effect that helps to establish the mood of the poem (1). The most important musical device that the poet utilizes is that of rhyme. Although the poem does not contain end rhyme, the last word in every other line has the repetition of an accented vowel sound. The first rhyme scheme is the long â€Å"i† sound in â€Å"fire,† â€Å"desire,† and â€Å"fire.† Another rhyme scheme is the harsher long â€Å"i† sound used in â€Å"ice,† â€Å"twice,† â€Å"ice† and â€Å"suffice.† Finally, the long â€Å"a† sound is repeated in â€Å"hate† and â€Å"great.† â€Å"The last, understated word in Frosts poem, ‘suffice,’ clinches the meaning by rhyming with the two lines that end in ‘ice’ and enclosing that thematic word within itself† (Meyers 1). The use of this rhyme scheme is important because it emphasizes the words that are rhymed. In addition, the use of alternating end rhyme is similar to the rhyme scheme in nursery rhymes. This is important because it further adds to the effect of knowledge and experience. Rhythm and Meter. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, but is varied several times to emphasize the meaning of the poem. The first change occurs in the second line when the pentameter is replaced by dimeter. This is effectively used to force the reader to contemplate the first two lines of the poem. Another breaking point in the poem occurs on the fifth line where the meter is changed to tetrameter. The poet switches back to dimeter in the last two lines of the poem, placing emphasis on both lines. This is important because it is used to show that desire and hate are both powerful forces and have the potential to end a relationship. Although the meter is changed several times throughout the poem, the rhythm is unchanged. The regular beat that is created suggests a simple tone, similar to that of a nursery rhyme. The rhythm is only interrupted by the change of meter. The change in meter is used to place importance on certain parts of the poem. Because of the brief dimeter lines, an additional use may be to force the reader to look back and interpret the preceding lines. Pattern. The poem consists of nine iambic pentameter lines with every other line being a couplet. The use of the couplets in combination with the change in meter places emphasis on the themes of passion/consumption, knowledge/experience and death/destruction. This short nine line poem is most comparable to that of a nursery rhyme. The simplicity that Frost writes the poem with supplies a simple truth about feelings in a relationship. Is this poem suggesting that the end of the world will either be by fire or ice? Or through the use of poetic devices and interpretation, does Frost express his own opinions about the darker feelings felt in a relationship? Whether or not the reader accepts one of these views or an entirely different view, the use of imagery, denotations and connotations, figurative language, musical devices, rhythm and meter, and the structure of the poem undeniably supplement the total meaning of the poem. Arp, Thomas R. Perrine’s Sound and Sense. 10th Edition. Forth Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1997. Hansen, Tom. Frosts FIRE AND ICE. 59: 27. EBSCO. Century College, White Bear Lake, MN. 18 Mar. 2008. Keyword: fire and ice and Robert Frost. Meyers, Jeffrey. Robert Frost: a Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. 18 Mar. 2008 . Rosenfeld, Emmet. HELP WORDS WAKE UP AND DANCE. Sylvan Learning. 17 Mar. 2008 . Serio, John R. Frosts Fire and Ice and Dantes Inferno. 57: 218. EBSCO. Century College, White Bear Lake, MN. 18 Mar. 2008. Keyword: fire and ice and Robert Frost. Research Papers on Analysis of Robert Frost’s "Fire and Ice"Mind TravelAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XCapital Punishment

Mexican American War - An Overview

Mexican American War - An Overview Mexican-American War Summary: A conflict that occurred as the result of Mexican resentment over the US annexation of Texas and a border dispute, the Mexican-American War represents the only major military dispute between the two nations. The war was fought primarily in northeastern and central Mexico and resulted in a decisive American victory. As a result of the war, Mexico was forced to cede its northern and western provinces, which today comprise a significant portion of the western United States. When was the Mexican-American War?: Though Mexican-American War was occurred between 1846 and 1848, the majority of the fighting took place between April 1846 and September 1847. Causes: The causes of the Mexican-American War can be traced back to Texas winning its independence from Mexico in 1836. At the end of the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexico refused to acknowledge the new Republic of Texas, but was prevented from taking military action due to the United States, Great Britain, and France conferring diplomatic recognition. For the next nine years, many in Texas favored joining the United States, however Washington did not take action due to fears of increasing sectional conflict and angering the Mexicans. Following the election of the pro-annexation candidate, James K. Polk in 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union. Shortly thereafter, a dispute began with Mexico over the southern border of Texas. This centered around whether the border was located along the Rio Grande or further north along the Nueces River. Both sides sent troops to the area and in an effort to lower tensions, Polk dispatched John Slidell to Mexico to begin talks regarding the United States buying territory from the Mexicans. Commencing negotiations, he offered up to $30 million in exchange for accepting the border at the Rio Grande as well as the territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and Alta California. These attempts failed as the Mexican government was unwilling to sell.   In March 1846, Polk directed Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to advance his army into the disputed territory and establish a position along the Rio Grande. This decision was a response to new Mexican President Mariano Paredes declaring in his inaugural address that he sought to uphold Mexican territorial integrity as far north as the Sabine River, including all of Texas. Reaching the river, Taylor established Fort Texas and withdrew towards his supply base at Point Isabel. On April 25, 1846, a US cavalry patrol, led by Captain Seth Thornton, was attacked by Mexican troops. Following the â€Å"Thornton Affair,† Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war, which was issued on May 13. Causes of the Mexican-American War Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico: Following the Thornton Affair, General Mariano Arista ordered Mexican forces to open fire on Fort Texas and lay siege. Responding, Taylor began moving his 2,400-man army from Point Isabel to relieve Fort Texas. On On May 8, 1846, he was intercepted at Palo Alto by 3,400 Mexicans commanded by Arista. In the battle that ensued Taylor made effective use of his light artillery and forced the Mexicans to retreat from the field. Pressing on, the Americans encountered Aristas army again the next day. In the resulting fight at Resaca de la Palma, with Taylor’s men routed the Mexicans and drove them back across the Rio Grande. Having cleared the road to Fort Texas, the Americans were able to lift the siege. As reinforcements arrived through the summer, Taylor planned for a campaign in northeastern Mexico. Advancing up the Rio Grande to Camargo, Taylor then turned south with the goal of capturing Monterrey. Battling hot, dry conditions, the American army pushed south and arrived outside of city in September. Though the garrison, led by  Lieutenant General Pedro de Ampudia, mounted a tenacious defense, Taylor captured the city after heavy fighting. When the battle ended, Taylor offered the Mexicans a two month truce in exchange for the city. This move angered Polk who began to strip Taylor’s army of men for use in invading central Mexico. Taylor’s campaign ended in February 1847, when his 4,000 men won a stunning victory over 20,000 Mexicans at the Battle of Buena Vista. Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico War in the West: In mid-1846, Brigadier General Stephen Kearny was dispatched west with 1,700 men to capture Santa Fe and California. Meanwhile, US naval forces, commanded by Commodore Robert Stockton, descended on the coast of California. With the aid of American settlers and Captain John C. Frà ©mont and 60 men of the US Army who had been en route to Oregon, they swiftly captured the towns along the coast. In late 1846, they aided Kearny’s exhausted troops as they emerged from the desert and together forced the final surrender of Mexican forces in California. Fighting was ended in the region by the  Treaty of Cahuenga in January 1847. Scotts March to Mexico City: On March 9, 1847, Major General Winfield Scott landed 12,000 men outside of Veracruz. After a brief siege, he captured the city on March 29. Moving inland, he began a brilliantly conducted campaign that saw his army advance deep into enemy territory and routinely defeat larger forces. The campaign opened when Scotts army defeated a larger Mexican army at Cerro Gordo on April 18. As Scott’s army neared Mexico City, they fought successful engagements at Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. On September 13, 1847, Scott launched an attack on Mexico City itself, assaulting Chapultepec Castle and capturing the gates of the city. Following the occupation of Mexico City, the fighting effectively ended. Scotts March on Mexico City Aftermath Casualties: The war ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty ceded to the United States the land that now comprises the states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. Mexico also renounced all rights to Texas. During the war 1,773 Americans were killed in action and 4,152 were wounded. Mexican casualty reports are incomplete, but it estimated that approximately 25,000 were killed or wounded between 1846-1848. Aftermath of the Mexican-American War Notable Figures: General Zachary Taylor– Commander of US trops in northeastern Mexico. Later became President of the United States.General President Jose Lopez de Santa Anna – Mexican general and president during the war.General Winfield Scott – Commander of the US army that captured Mexico City.General Stephen W. Kearny – Commander of US troops that captured Santa Fe and secured California.