Ghost houseChristine Kim

About the Poem

• The poem I have chosen for this project is called “Ghost House” by Robert Frost. This poem was contained in his first published poetry book, A Boy’s Will (1915).

About Robert Frost

• Although Robert Frost was an American poet, early 1900s rural life in New England was often used as the theme for his poems. Many poets consider Frost’s style of writing as a conversational style. When you read or listen to one of his poems, you feel as if someone is telling you a story. However, he has said in a letter, “style in prose or verse is that which indicates how the writer takes himself and what he is saying.” He himself said that he has no exact style in writing poetry, but that his style changes, depending on what kind of poem he is writing. He recieved four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry during his lifetime.

Ghost HouseI 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.

O'er ruined fences the grape-vines shield The woods come back to the mowing field; The orchard tree has grown one copse Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops; The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart In that vanished abode there far apart On that disused and forgotten road That has no dust-bath now for the toad. Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout And hush and cluck and flutter about: I hear him begin far enough away Full many a time to say his say Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star. I know not who these mute folk are Who share the unlit place with me-- Those stones out under the low-limbed tree Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad, Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,-- With none among them that ever sings, And yet, in view of how many things, As sweet companions as might be had. 

Tone of the Poem

• The poem has a mysterious and vague tone to it. From the title, “Ghost House”, you can predict that the poem will be gloomy and dark.

Rhyme

• This poem contains many rhymes: they appear as often as on every line.

Examples: 1. And left no trace but the cellar walls, And a cellar in which the daylight falls,

2. On that disused and forgotten road That has no dust-bath now for the toad. 3. The whippoorwill is coming to shout And hush and cluck and flutter about: 4. I hear him begin far enough away Full many a time to say his say

Rhyme

• The rhyme lets the poem flow more smoothly and expressively. It also makes it easier to read. I think the Robert Frost wanted to depict the scene of the Ghost House in our head, so that we can comprehend the poem better.

RhymeOn that disused and forgotten road

that has no dust-bath now for the toad

Imagery

• Imagery is often used by poets to stimulate one of the five senses of the reader

• Examples: 1. It is under the small, dim, summer star.

• 2. Those stones out under the low-limbed tree.

Imagery

• Imagery is one of the poetic devices that Robert Frost uses the most often in his poems. The words describe the scenery of the Ghost House in so much detail. The imagery allows the reader to get a clear idea of how the house looks.

ImageryIt is under the small, dim, summer star.

Alliteration

• Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant at the beginning of several words.

• Examples: 1. Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops

Alliteration

• Alliteration is used when the author wants to catch the reader’s attention. It adds a little spice to the poem, and the reader doesn’t get bored. The alliteration in the poem has the repetition of the letter “w” in the beginning of several words.

Alliterationof new wood and old where the woodpecker chops

Onomatopoeia

• Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the sound it is describing.

• Examples: 1. The whippoorwill is coming to shout

And hush and cluck and flutter about:

Onomatopoeia

• Onomatopoeia heightens the reader’s interest in the poem. The onomatopoeia in this poem is talking about how the whippoorwill is crying out loud, and making a lot of noises. The words hush, cluck, and flutter all sound like the sounds a bird would make.

OnomatopoeiaThe whippoorwill is coming to shout

and hush and cluck and flutter about:

Repetition

• Repetition is where the poet repeats certain words for emphasis

• Examples: The word “summer” is repeated two times in the poem, first in the second line of the first stanza, and the second time in first line of the fifth stanza.

Repetition

• Repetition is used by a poet when he wants to create emphasis on a word or phrase. The repetition in this poem emphasizes that the poem is set in the summer.

RepetitionThat vanished many a summer ago, (2nd line, 1st stanza)

it is under the small, dim, summer star (1st line, 5th stanza)

Near Rhyme

• Near rhymes also has other names, such as half rhyme and slant rhyme. Near rhyme is rhyming in which the words sound the same, but do not actually rhyme.

• Examples: 1. I Dwell in a lonely house I know That vanished many a summer ago, 2. It is under the small, dim, summer star. I know not who these mute folk are 3. Who share the unlit place with me-- Those stones out under the low-limbed tree

Near Rhyme

• When you look closely into the poem, you will notice that either a rhyme or a near rhyme is on every line. Near rhymes have nearly the same effect that rhymes do. They make the poem flow more smoothly, and easier to read.

QuickTime™ and aPhoto - JPEG decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Near RhymeI dwell in a lonely house i know,

that vanished many a summer ago

Analysis

• Just by looking at the title, you can tell that the poem is going to be dark. The narrator appears to be a ghost, just like his companions.

Ghost HouseI 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.

O'er ruined fences the grape-vines shield The woods come back to the mowing field; The orchard tree has grown one copse Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops; The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart In that vanished abode there far apart On that disused and forgotten road That has no dust-bath now for the toad. Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout And hush and cluck and flutter about: I hear him begin far enough away Full many a time to say his say Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star. I know not who these mute folk are Who share the unlit place with me-- Those stones out under the low-limbed tree Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad, Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,-- With none among them that ever sings, And yet, in view of how many things, As sweet companions as might be had. 

Conclusion

• The Ghost House was written in 1915, and was contained in The Boy’s Will.

• The speaker is probably a ghost.

• The poem contains rhymes, imagery, alliteration, onomatoepeia, repetition, and near rhyme

Thank you!:)