Robert Frost's "Directive" and William Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the meaning of Robert Frost's poem "Directive" and compares and contrasts the findings with those of Wordsworth's "Imitations of Immortality'. It looks at Frost's view of the human ability of the self to connect to time and Nature.

From the Paper:

"If William Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality Ode" attempts to address the failing of the senses, then Robert Frost's poem, "Directive" challenges us to enhance our perception and explore the process of connection in the context of time and Nature. Wordsworth's poem begins by saying, "There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,/ The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem/ Apparelled in celestial light." In Frost's vision, we are taken "Back in a time made simple by the loss/ Of detail, burned, dissolved, and broken off." "Intimations Ode" seems to describe a process of regaining the self through memory, while Frost gives his reader directions on how to escape their present disconnection completely in an effort to "Drink and be whole again beyond confusion."

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