Analysis of

“The Gift Outright”

By Emily Murphy and Anna Shah
Robert Frost
 1874-1963
Lived in both the United States and
in England (1912)
Forced to leave England in 1915
Background of Poem
 Published in The Virginia Quarterly
In 1942
World War II
Drastically different from many of his
other poems
Recording of Poem
Significance of Poem
Kennedy Inauguration 1961
Planned to read “Dedication”
Instead, recited “The Gift Outright”
(“Poetry”)
Aroused patriotism & reflected upon
America’s history
Main Idea
Founding and history of America
Suppression of colonists by British
“Frost's characterized the poem as
being "about Revolutionary War"
(Von Frank 22)
Themes
Manifest Destiny:
“Frost is celebrating manifest destiny,
but history is kept in decidedly soft
focuses. . . .” (Perelman).
 Patriotism:
He compared the poem to “The Star-
Spangled Banner” (Von Frank 22).
Structure
 16 lines blank verse
Exceptions: lines 6. 10, 11
Instances of end-stopped and
enjambment
Caesura line 3
Enjambment: lines 2-5, 8-9, 12-13
One Pair of line=one thought
Stand out lines
 13
Parentheses
Ominous
Isolation in tone and grammar compared to
other lines (Von Frank 22).
15
Vague
Refers back to unpossession
Shows that the country is still developing
(Mordecai)
Diction
Formal
Anastrophe: 6, 12, 13
Possessive pronouns repeated: 'our’
and ‘we’
Religious terms
Indirect reference to colonialism
Sound
 Lines 6-7: repetition of possess
‘We’ sound repeated
‘Un’ sound (line 15)
‘S’ sound (line 16)
Tone
Initially melancholy and morose (1-
5)
 Patriotic and proud (8-15)
Optimism and hope (16)
Paradox
 Line 1 and 6: owning the land
Line 13: irony of gift and war
Works Cited
Von Frank, Albert J. The Explicator. 1st ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., 1979.
Modern American Poetry. University of Illinois. Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gift.htm>.
Perelman, Bob. The Marginalization of Poetry: Language Writing and
Literary History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1996. Web.

"Poetry and Power: Robert Frost's Inaugural Reading." Poets.org.

Academy of American Poets, 1997. Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20540>.

Marcus, Mordecai. The Poems of Robert Frost: An Explication. Boston,

MA: G.K. Hall, 1991. Print.
Works Cited (cont’d)
"The Year 1942 From The People History." People History. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1942.html>.