Departmental


 * Theme || Examples from the text:

"An ant on the tablecloth Ran into a dormant moth Of many times his size."

"Whose work is to find out God And the nature of time and space,"

"And they no doubt report

To the higher-up at court."

"And presently on the scene

Appears a solemn mortician;" || The ants in the poem all exhibit distinctly human qualities; They find a dead moth and then start contemplating things that ants do not usually contemplate, at least not to humans. Frost is taking the ants and giving humans a chance to look down upon our own actions as if we were outside of our bodies, and the traditions and practices we keep are put away from us and observed all at the same time. The theme can be summed up as culture being expressed through how we identify, and the ants, while being named ants, can seem mightier than the very people classifying them if looked at from the right perspective. ||
 * Imagery || Rhyming: each line rhymes with the subsequent line

Lots of allegorical notes in regards to the ants, personifying their human characteristics "His business wasn't with such." (line 4) "Of the hive's enquiry squad." (line 9)

"... Seems not even impressed.

But he no doubt reports to any

With whom he crosses antennae," (lines 17-20)

VERY lyrical flow throughout

"It couldn't be called ungentle <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">But how thoroughly departmental" (last 2 lines)

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Gives the ants a sense of morality, almost! || * The imagery is what drives the point of Frost's poetry.
 * His tone is quite striking, and conversationally quaint.
 * The ants are not animals, but people.
 * Uses the dialogue from the 'queen' to prove a point
 * Communication between ants.
 * "As small as ants" takes a lot of merit in this poem.
 * Evokes an almost cinematic sense in the reader. ||
 * Meter || 44 lines total

One couplet highlighted at the end || The bulk of the poem is expressed as the actions of the ants are illustrated, allowing the reader to get wrapped up in the totality of the work at a certain time. The ants find the body, then they examine and consult much as humans do, and their entire process is illustrated by the punch of the ending couplet, wherein the title of the pieces is also found to illustrate the mundane and departmental tone of such actions in the scope of life. || "<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">He showed not the least surprise."
 * Emotion || Apathy

"<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And was off on his duty run."

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">"Go bring him home to his people.

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Lay him in state on a sepal.

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Wrap him for shroud in a petal."

Sadness/Solemnity

"<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And presently on the scene <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Appears a solemn mortician;"

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">"And taking formal position,"

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Stark humor:

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">"It couldn't be called ungentle

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">But how thoroughly departmental." || The massive effects of seeing the dead moths from the perspective of the ants is shown first as solemn, because the controlling and evaluation of the death is seen as methodical and well in tradition. However, some sadness does seep through the apathy, and the entire piece ends with a very sharp stab at how we humans have a way of taking the important things and compartmentalizing and departmentalizing them into oblivion due to repetition, and that our customs can be seen as strange when viewed from a bird's eye view. || "Departmental", page 673, chapter 7, poem 83

Robert Frost is a titan in the history of American literature, winning a total of four Pulitzer Prizes and holding some of the most acclaimed poetic works in American history to his credit. He was born in San Francisco on March 26th, 1874. He would grow up to move to the New Hampshire to attend Dartmouth College and also Harvard University, but Frost never earned a college degree. He worked as a teacher and a cobbler, and published his first poem in 1894. Frost's work is always distinctly characterized by what has been described as a "mastery of American colloquial speech", and he often presents ideas both grand and focused in the typical vernacular of the everyday man. His work and wonderful descriptions of the common life were first recognized in England, where Frost lived from 1912-1915. Frost can be extremely dark and weighty, and the tone which he uses should not imply a lack of depth in his ideas. Some of his shortest work is extremely profound, dealing with topics of life and death, paths in life to take (including my favorite non-lyrical poem of all time, "The Road Not Taken"), but his ability to blend stark intellectualism with common sense make him a very enjoyable read. A good amount of his work has a story to tell, and entices the reader, making them feel like a character themselves in a literary world that would otherwise be inaccessible to us, like a stairway straight up to heaven built on the Farms of New Hampshire. Frost would publish frequently and return to teaching; he experienced great amounts of hardship, with only two of his children outliving him (out of six total) and his wife passing a number of years before him. Frost would pass away on January 29th, 1963, with the words from his pen living on as one of the most influential, rhythmic, and profound tailors of the written word ever to grace the poetry of American history.

A few attributed quotes: "Writing free verse poetry is like playing tennis without the net." "Freedom lies in being bold." "The best way out is always through." "Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up." "Poetry is what get lost in translation." "To be a poet is a condition, not a profession."

"Departmental" <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">An ant on the tablecloth <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Ran into a dormant moth <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Of many times his size. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">He showed not the least surprise. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">His business wasn't with such. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">He gave it scarcely a touch, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And was off on his duty run. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Yet if he encountered one <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Of the hive's enquiry squad <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Whose work is to find out God <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And the nature of time and space, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">He would put him onto the case. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Ants are a curious race; <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">One crossing with hurried tread <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">The body of one of their dead <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Isn't given a moment's arrest- <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Seems not even impressed. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">But he no doubt reports to any <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">With whom he crosses antennae, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And they no doubt report <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">To the higher-up at court. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Then word goes forth in Formic: <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">"Death's come to Jerry McCormic, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Our selfless forager Jerry. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Will the special Janizary <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Whose office it is to bury <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">The dead of the commissary <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Go bring him home to his people. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Lay him in state on a sepal. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Wrap him for shroud in a petal. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Embalm him with ichor of nettle. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">This is the word of your Queen." <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And presently on the scene <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Appears a solemn mortician; <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And taking formal position, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">With feelers calmly atwiddle, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Seizes the dead by the middle, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">And heaving him high in air, <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">Carries him out of there. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">No one stands round to stare. <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">It is nobody else's affair

<span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">It couldn't be called ungentle <span style="color: #3c3a35; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">But how thoroughly departmental