Abbey Belliston
Form and Figures of Speech in “Desert Places”
Robert Frost uses both form and many figures of speech such as alliteration,
anaphora and antithesis to demonstrate the state of loneliness in his poem, “Desert
Places.”
The poem is made up of for quatrains that follow a rhyming pattern of aaba, ccdc,
eebe, and ffgf. What I found interesting about this rhyming pattern was how it helps
develop the deeper meaning of the poem. The major theme of the poem is not only
being lonely, but I feel like there is also a sense distancing himself from what is around
him, which creates a sense of loneliness even when surrounded by others. As three of
each line in the stanzaʼs rhyme, one does not leaving it by itself, but surrounded by
others.
His poem starts off with both alliteration and anaphora, which is seen in the first
line, “Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast.” By using these techniques his imagery
comes out as the reader can see in front of them a snow storm, almost a blizzard
coming down in the dark. What is also interesting in this first line is the antithesis
between snow and night. When I first think of snow I think of how it is light, fluffy and
bright, and there is a sense of innocence and purity behind it. However, Frost shadows
it with night, creating this dark, mysterious, and not pure, but tainted setting. This same
antithesis is seen again later in the poem, “A blanker whiteness of benighted snow”
(11), benighted which literally means to be taken over by darkness helps to bring this
vastness into the poem and imagery.
There is also a distinct apostrophe in the poem as well, however it is not
apparent until the third stanza. Frost uses words such as “it” (5,9,10,15), “they” (13),
and “their” (13), but does not exactly describe what he means by using them. This
ambiguity again helps set up the distance between the writer and his surroundings. At
first reading, it is difficult to sense what exactly, “it” is supposed to mean. However after
reading the poem many times I feel like “it” is taking the place of loneliness. It becomes
apparent in line five, “The woods around it have it—it is theirs.” Woods are commonly
attributed to being dark and mysterious that loneliness fits right in along with them. “It” is
again used to describe loneliness as being lonely (9).
The last stanza is a bit frightening as well as ambiguous, however Frost seems to
realize that the distance loneliness cannot be worse than what he feels within himself.
They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars—on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places (13-16).
As the poem ends, I am left with the question of who “they” are. I see in my head huge
dark monsters, which would bind him to a life of eternal seclusion. Almost as if this
winter night is his prison where he will forever be in solitude.