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Analysis of “The Gift Outright”

Analysis of “The Gift Outright”. By Emily Murphy and Anna Shah. Robert Frost. 1874-1963 Lived in both the United States and in England (1912) Forced to leave England in 1915. Background of Poem. Published in The Virginia Quarterly In 1942 World War II

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Analysis of “The Gift Outright”

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  1. Analysis of “The Gift Outright” By Emily Murphy and Anna Shah

  2. Robert Frost • 1874-1963 • Lived in both the United States and in England (1912) • Forced to leave England in 1915

  3. Background of Poem • Published in The Virginia Quarterly • In 1942 • World War II • Drastically different from many of his other poems

  4. Recording of Poem

  5. Significance of Poem • Kennedy Inauguration 1961 • Planned to read “Dedication” • Instead, recited “The Gift Outright” (“Poetry”) • Aroused patriotism & reflected upon America’s history

  6. Main Idea • Founding and history of America • Suppression of colonists by British • “Frost's characterized the poem as being "about Revolutionary War" (Von Frank 22)

  7. Themes • Manifest Destiny: • “Frost is celebrating manifest destiny, but history is kept in decidedly soft focuses. . . .” (Perelman). • Patriotism: • He compared the poem to “The Star-Spangled Banner”(Von Frank 22).

  8. Structure • 16 lines blank verse • Exceptions: lines 6. 10, 11 • Instances of end-stopped and enjambment • Caesura line 3 • Enjambment: lines 2-5, 8-9, 12-13 • One Pair of line=one thought

  9. Stand out lines • 13 • Parentheses • Ominous • Isolation in tone and grammar compared to other lines (Von Frank 22). • 15 • Vague • Refers back to unpossession • Shows that the country is still developing (Mordecai)

  10. Diction • Formal • Anastrophe: 6, 12, 13 • Possessive pronouns repeated: 'our’ and ‘we’ • Religious terms • Indirect reference to colonialism

  11. Sound • Lines 6-7: repetition of possess • ‘We’ sound repeated • ‘Un’ sound (line 15) • ‘S’ sound (line 16)

  12. Tone • Initially melancholy and morose (1-5) • Patriotic and proud (8-15) • Optimism and hope (16)

  13. Paradox • Line 1 and 6: owning the land • Line 13: irony of gift and war

  14. Works Cited Von Frank, Albert J. The Explicator. 1st ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., 1979. Modern American Poetry. University of Illinois. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gift.htm>. Perelman, Bob. The Marginalization of Poetry: Language Writing and Literary History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1996. Web. "Poetry and Power: Robert Frost's Inaugural Reading." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 1997. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20540>. Marcus, Mordecai. The Poems of Robert Frost: An Explication. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1991. Print.

  15. Works Cited (cont’d) "The Year 1942 From The People History." People History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1942.html>.

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