Consortium Response #1: Sound Poetry

For your first forum response, please read the Robert Frost poem "Ghost House" that was distributed in class on Friday. (A copy of the poem can be found here, as well: http://www.internal.org/Robert_Frost/Ghost_House)

Please post a response to this topic in which you examine and explain the sound elements that Frost used in order to create meaning, highlight theme, or establish mood within this poem. Provide evidence in the form of specific lines, words, and/or phrases that help to convey your thoughts.

Remember to follow the rules of forum posting as set on our class website under the tab "Creative Consortium." You must post an original response of your own AND two replies to two classmates' responses in order to receive full credit for this assignment.

DUE DATE/TIME: Wednesday, February 6 (responses must be posted no later than 8:00 AM)

The poem follows an AABBA rhyme pattern for each stanza, which adds to the slow, rhythmic flow of the poem as a whole. Frost in the first line says that "I dwell in a lonely house I know" which makes it seem like Frost feels melancholy about either returning to his childhood home or a home of an old friend.

The unusual, staggered rhyme scheme gives the poem a wistful feel, accentuating the words that already express this tone.

I Dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.

The lines become longer and longer towards the end of the stanza, creating an air of story-telling or recitation which reinforces the theme of wistfulness. Later in the poem, Frost uses onomatoepiea to describe a bird;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about

This characterizes the bird much more clearly and sets the tone for that stanza.

I think you were somewhat on the right track towards the theme, I think explaining a little more would be good, but I liked the fact that you fully explained the sound uses in the poem. Very nice!

You did a nice job of explaining how the sound is used. I thought you could explain a little more on the theme, and the poem as a whole, but it was a very nice response. I liked the use of the word "onomatopoeia" to help and explain the sound.

Frost gives the poem a gloomy and desolate feel to it when he describes the house as "a lonely house I know; That vanished many a summer ago,". This makes me think that Frost has unwanted memories of this place. When Frost writes "I dwell in a strangely aching heart" this makes me wonder if Frost has memories about the house that occurred long ago that are unpleasant, and although time has passed he still can't fully suppress them and this makes him feel lonely.

Later in the poem there is a sense and mood that time is passing by. The consistent AABBA rhyme scheme repeats over and over just like the years pass over and over. When Frost discusses how "The footpath down to the well is healed" this gives the effect that time has been and still is passing because the worn out path to the well has regrown throughout the years.

Ghost house, is about a house that once had once been beautiful, and how time eroded it till, it crumbled, how the people who once lived there have met their end as well, how both the house and the people and the house are forgotten and what ever remains of them slowly is swallowed up by nature. "left no trace but the cellar walls", "O'er ruined fences the grape-vines shield", "woods come back to the mowing field", "Those stones out under the low-limbed tree Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar." This poem describes the sorrow of being forgotten and how what is forgotten is reclaimed by nature. The sounds made by the letter O show up again and again, and emphasize this sadness.

I think you did an awesome job fully explaining the use of sound throughout the poem. However, I would include a bit more about the overall theme of the poem. Also I might explain more about the poem as a whole, maybe some ideas about what you think the meaning is. Good job!

I agree with Dark Wood's comment. I see the connection between the overall melancholy mood of the poem and the theme of being forgotten. The overall smooth rhythm of the poem helps to support this theme. I also think that this theme can be applied to the overall fear of humans to be forgotten. In the fifth stanza where it says ""Those stones out under the low-limbed tree Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar" No matter what these people have done in their life times it doesn't matter because they have merely been forgotten and so many people are destined to be.

Personally I didn't have the impression that Frost had unwanted memories of the place he described in his poem when i first read it. But rather thought that he was saddened by seeing the house he once saw in it's better days, and what was left to remember the people who once lived there by in such a neglected state. Your response made me consider the possibility that "Frost has memories about the house…that are unpleasant." and I think that your idea could work as well.

@Dark woods. I love your interpretation of the poem and its meaning. I honestly hadn't thought about how people erode over time just like intimate objects (similar to the house). You gave me a great idea which branches off of yours, so to coincide, I think by saying "I dwell with a strangely aching heart" Frost is explaining how he is almost stuck in the past. I agree, he is saying that people fade away but he also expresses how much he yearns for the time when he wasn't quite faded yet. Does that make sense? Frost just wants to go back to the time when the "house" wasn't "vanished".
@gbs13. I agree that Frost feels lonely, however, I do no agree with the idea that he has any prominent negative memories from the house. I believe Frost has many good memories and in fact, he desires to go back. That is why he is still so hung up about it.

Original response: "Ghost House" is a reflection on Frost's life. I can't tell whether he is satisfied with his accomplishments or not but it can be inferred that he really wants to go back in time. Frost "dwells" with an "aching heart" about the "house" that has "vanished." The house in this case represents Frost's life. It passed him by so quickly that he yearns to go back. Also, in the third line of the second stanza I think that walls represent his physical body, and that once the "home" is gone (or once he dies) only the "walls" or the skeleton will remain.

It was original and insightful, interpreting the poem as a metaphor for Frost's life, and tying the house to his body and his life, but if that was the intention of the author then what do the gravestones mean in this situation?

Robert Frost conveys a ghostly, empty, meloncholy mood in his poem "Ghost House" through word choice. His choice of words creates sound. Some examples of the words conveying a ghostly, empty and/or melencholy sound are "ruined," "old," "vanished," "cellar," dim," mute," unlit," and "sad." However, in the last two lines on the poem,
"And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had."
Frost chooses "Sweet," which conveys a lighter sound. He also starts the line with "And yet," which suggests a change or contrast from previous sounds. The sound of "sweet" versus "mute," sets a contrasting mood, highlighting "sweet," and adding meaning to the poem.

Each stanza in "Ghost House" gives off a different mood as Frost talks about the speaker and about the house and its surroundings. In the first stanza Frost creates the idea of loneliness saying " I dwell in a lonely house" and by using words "vanished" and "left no trace" But in the second stanza it seems as if the speakers loneliness is forgot as Frost describes the house and the nature that surrounds it, rhyming the words "shield" and "healed" which give the idea of protection, the diction and mood in this stanza gives the idea that some where Frost still has kind feelings and memories about the house. Yet after that in the third stanza Frost changes the mood back to one of a darker and sadder tone through saying "I dwell with a strangely aching heart" Frost also uses words with a connotation of sadness such as strangely, aching, forgotten and he reuses the word vanishes, by doing this Frost brings back the mood of loneliness and depression giving the idea that the speaker has been brought back to reality and is coming to terms that the house is no longer a warm and happy one and that the good times he had are merely memories now.

I agree with Dark Woods regarding the idea on the repetition of the letter "O," "the letter O show up again and again, and emphasize this sadness." The "O" also reflects the ghostly motif, hence the tile. I didn't make that connection while reading it; thanks for surfacing that point!

I like how the poem gives a cool visual on the house and the use of the words to describe how grim the scene actually is, it's really cool

I agree with 31544's point about the wistfulness of the poem, "The lines become longer and longer towards the end of the stanza, creating an air of story-telling or recitation which reinforces the theme of wistfulness."
To build on that, I think the lines get longer because the speaker finds himself lost in thought every stanza, and the gradual increase of the line lenth means to portray the speaker's memories expanding in his mind; the speaker remembers more with each stanza, and therfore says more.

I feel that although a good response you could have elaborated more on how it Frost creates the visual of the house and what words were used to create the grim image and how it relates to the theme or mood of the poem, but all in all a good response that just needs to be elaborated upon.

Each stanza has a A-A B-B A rhyme skeem! I think it makes the last line sick out the most. overall the poem has kind of a depressing tone to it, i feel like it is remembering the past and thinking about how he misses the past.

The poem follows a rhyme scheme that I have never seen before, an a-a-b-b-a pattern. This draws the attention of listeners, especially to the last line of each stanza. Frost gives a powerful description of the house, making the audience feel like they are there with him. He uses descriptive words to bring the house to life, and also chooses strong emotion words to get the feeling of the poem across. The way he splits the poem up into even stanzas created a calm, organized effect.

[quote="Kingoflizard"]I like how the poem gives a cool visual on the house and the use of the words to describe how grim the scene actually is, it's really cool[/quote] This response has great ideas that could be even better if they were explained more thoroughly. For example, you could give quotes from the poem of say which words you thought were most powerful. You have a good idea though!

[quote="TheKeeper00"]Each stanza in "Ghost House" gives off a different mood as Frost talks about the speaker and about the house and its surroundings. In the first stanza Frost creates the idea of loneliness saying " I dwell in a lonely house" and by using words "vanished" and "left no trace" But in the second stanza it seems as if the speakers loneliness is forgot as Frost describes the house and the nature that surrounds it, rhyming the words "shield" and "healed" which give the idea of protection, the diction and mood in this stanza gives the idea that some where Frost still has kind feelings and memories about the house. Yet after that in the third stanza Frost changes the mood back to one of a darker and sadder tone through saying "I dwell with a strangely aching heart" Frost also uses words with a connotation of sadness such as strangely, aching, forgotten and he reuses the word vanishes, by doing this Frost brings back the mood of loneliness and depression giving the idea that the speaker has been brought back to reality and is coming to terms that the house is no longer a warm and happy one and that the good times he had are merely memories now.[/quote]
This is a very well done, thorough response! Just remember to include ideas about the poem as a whole along with specific examples. Over all, good work!

"The poem follows a rhyme scheme that I have never seen before, an a-a-b-b-a pattern. This draws the attention of listeners, especially to the last line of each stanza." I like how you pointed out that the rhyme scheme and how it draws the attention I also liked how you talked about the stanzas saying "The way he splits the poem up into even stanzas created a calm, organized effect." that was something that I did not come to my attention, nice job!

Ghost House in some ways is a gloomy poem but other ways its a happy poem. Some words Robert Frost uses to make you feel sad would have to be dwell, forgotten, night (dark), etc. But as well as a gloomy feeling, I somewhat received a happy feeling as well. When he was talking about the small, dim, summer stars it really made we think about summer and how much I love it.

[quote="sadie44"]The poem follows a rhyme scheme that I have never seen before, an a-a-b-b-a pattern. This draws the attention of listeners, especially to the last line of each stanza. Frost gives a powerful description of the house, making the audience feel like they are there with him. He uses descriptive words to bring the house to life, and also chooses strong emotion words to get the feeling of the poem across. The way he splits the poem up into even stanzas created a calm, organized effect. [/quote] I completely agree with you when you talk about the rhyme scheme and how it brought the attention of the readers closer. I also believe his choice of words were right on key as well! Nice job!

[quote="kayykayy"]Each stanza has a A-A B-B A rhyme skeem! I think it makes the last line sick out the most. overall the poem has kind of a depressing tone to it, i feel like it is remembering the past and thinking about how he misses the past. [/quote]
I agree with you when you say the last line sticks out in the poem! A little more detail about whether or not you liked the poem and why and more description of the poem would be hopefully! But great job!

I just had awesome responses but then it got erased before I sent it...

I agree with vada9512 in that the poem's mood seems both gloomy yet filled with spurts of light. Perhaps this is Frost's way of saying that even through all suffering, life goes on?

After reading this poem for the first time I felt a sense of confusion at why Frost emphasized certain details, such as "the purple-stemmed wild raspberries". I noticed his word choice is used to portray a dark mood, such as the title, "ghost", the words "strangely aching". The last stanza seems nostalgic to me, especially the last line, "as sweet companions as might be had". It seems to be longing, as "might be had" implies that the companionship never was. Bittersweet and hopeless too, as last lines go.

Also in the last stanza it's interesting how he uses the contradictory, "and yet" to separate the last two lines of the poem.

@jungleboogie I agree that the "house" is a representation of Frost. He chooses to interject himself many times into the poem with use of the words "I" "with me" "I hear him" and "I know not". Frost seems to be searching for himself in that "house" or maybe of who he used to be.