THERE WAS A BOY and THE MOST OF IT

Mother Nature has always intrigued human kind. Robert Frost ad his poem The Most Of It and William Wordsworth and his poem There was a Boy both have something to say about nature. Both these poems approach nature differently. Robert Frost from an interested spectators point of view and William Wordsworth in a more reverent point of view. Each poet uses different techniques, in structuring their poems, allowing the reader to easily juxtapose them. Right from the beginning these two poems contrast each other, in that they set their audience in the first sentence. Frosts The Most of It is from a 3rd person point of view. He thought he kept the universe alone: tells of an unknown character in the poem. In There was a boy the poem is speaking at Mother Nature (most notably some cliffs), There was a Boy; ye knew him well, ye cliffs In setting off their points of view and audience, both authors made use of specific diction. The Most of it is full of words that set off a feeling of solitude, with words such as echo, broken beach. In There was a boy the diction sets off a feeling of nostalgia and reverence (as if a sort of elegy), examples include earliest stars began to move along the edges of the hills, glimmering lake. In The most of it the subject is alone. He keeps calling out for someone, but all he ever receives is the mocking echo of his own. In There was a Boy the narrator addresses Mother Nature (apostrophe). The subject of the poem (the boy) is not present. At the beginning, the first few sentences (there was a boyby the glimmering lake) allow the reader to distinguish that the narrator is not blaming the cliffs, but is merely reflecting. Continuing through The most of it there is no other subject presented but the lone man. The diction continues the solitude with he, cry, and own. The man calls out for somebody, anybody, but nobody is out there, he is alone. The chosen imagery in this poem includes boulders, and cliffs, although an aspect of nature, boulders and cliffs are not alive, they cannot keep the man company. Back to There was a boy, where there is more livelier nature such as trees, and a glimmering lake. Trees and a

lake surrounded the boy yet still, he was alone. The authors choice of adjectives (earliest, glimmering) shows that even though he was alone, he was accompanied by nature. From the imagery surrounding the boy, the poem continues with description of the boys actions. The use of a specific upbeat, reverent diction is still seen with words and adjectives such as interwoven fingers, instrument, mimic, across the watery vale. In the following verses, the boy in the story calls out to owls. Unlike with the man in The most of it, the boy gets a response from the owls. When the owls respond, there is a sudden shift in the poem. Halloos, screams, and echoes are redoubled and disturb the peaceful imagery of before. Right after, there is another shift, after the great cacophony, there is a pause of silence. The boy stands in silence, listening to the voice of mountain torrents and taking in the visible scene. In the most of it a shift also comes up. There is a disturbance in the silence and echoes that once before rang to the man. Now, there is a splash of water. What seems like the mans calls have been answered or heard, is quickly shot down by the but used in the following verse. The splashing of water turns out to come from a buck. In seeing this, the mood goes back to solitude (it is only a buck). The buck, although not a human, brings a new sort of diction to the poem. Powerfully, pushing, crumpled, pouring stumbled and horny tread are allpowerful words. They add a sense of plowing through, forcing through; they are forced through to the man. Back to there was a boy the boy is observing nature, but it no longer seems majestic. There are no adjectives used this time, they are all just woods, rocks and that uncertain heaven received into the bosom of a steady lake. Afterwards, there is a sort of conclusion like stanza. The narrator explains, that the boy no longer lives, he died at the age of 12. Even though the boy is gone, the narrator views the gravesite and where the boy was born and bred as beauty, in reverent fashion. Both these poems utilize nature to symbolize life. In Frosts The most of it the man is all alone in life. He wants to change it, find someone to be with, but has no luck. He calls out and calls out, yet all he gets in response are his own echoes. When things look like they are about to

change for him, (in life) it all turns out to be something other than what he really wants, human companionship. In Wordsworths There Was A Boy the narrator tells us about the boy and how he viewed life. In the beginning, the boy is adventurous, and finds life majestic and beautiful. He calls out to the owls, hoping for a response (hoping for a certain change in his life). He gets a response from them, it is a loud series of sounds, and then silence follows (the change comes). During the silence, the boy sees what life is, but only sees woods and rocks it no longer seems wonderful, and it seems uncertain (his future). The boys innocence was taken, (at 12 years old, and now he is no more.