Desert Places

Simplicity is what makes Robert Frost’s poetry so extraordinary. His choice words to describe nature, people, and every day situations is what benchmarked his place in modern literature. Although his words may be simplistic, beneath the surface the reader feels and visualizes every emotion. “Desert Places” is no exception. Throughout the four stanzas, Frosts’ imagery describes one man’s walk through loneliness and desolation. “And the ground almost covered smooth in snow” (Frost 3). The …

…is” (Frost 13-14). I pity the speaker’s sudden strength, because he cannot protect himself from his “own desert places” (Frost 16). Rather, he will hide in his “home” (Frost 15) for fear that a walk like this will have the same result of self-torment. “Desert Places,” like all of Frost’s poems, helps the reader appreciate hidden meanings and images that tell a story beneath the story. His simplistic approach is what makes this poem great.