My Poetry thoughts
By robert Barnes
“The Frog” by Paul Muldoon
The poem can be found here: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-frog-2/ “The Frog” begins with the description of a small matter in an area of destruction. Then, it goes into greater detail with a description of a creature whose eye matches the same bubble-like shape that the narrator feels in his spirituality. The narrator decides to stop his work and lift the small frog onto the trowel he has nearby. Suddenly, the poem shifts into a story of how two frogs have become responsible for the rebirth of the whole frog population in Ireland. It also reveals that their home is a pond in the gardens of Trinity College, with two bottles of wine left over after the Act of Union, which was a merger of the United Kingdom and Ireland through parliament. The narrator then insists that there must be some moral that suits our times in society. The poem ends with the narrator posing the question if he could somehow ring that moral out of the frog while comparing him to some sort of food. I believe the most obvious use of symbolism is Muldoon using the frogs as stand-ins for the biblical Adam and Eve, by telling about how the frogs are responsible for the creation of the frog population in Ireland. The pond that they were left in in the gardens of Trinity College is a symbol for the Garden of Eden, which is indicated by the name of the college as “Trinity,” because it is often referred to in biblical contexts. The moral being compared to a juice from sour foods such as “freshly squeezed limes” and a “lemon sorbet” is important because it shows how he believes that the moral he is seeking may be sour. Once again, the final stanza is the most important in this poem because it reveals Muldoon’s belief that our society has an insatiable need to squeeze even the slightest drop of justification from stories that stretch back all the way to Adam and Eve. Muldoon seems to believe that the way religion is studied in our day is corrupted and twisted from the way that it should be. It is proven by the way he says that there is “surely, in this story a moral. A moral for our times.” While I read this poem, I did not realize the allusion that Muldoon was making at first, but the more he revealed, the more I recognized that he was describing Adam and Eve. I believe that Paul Muldoon expertly wrote this poem because he reveals exactly enough information to lead the reader to think about the biblical story. He does this through his explanation of a “pair left to stand” and how they are in the “gardens of Trinity College.” Another aspect of the poem that makes it worthwhile to read is how he berates our modern times for believing that they need to suck all the meaning and life out of a biblical story just to feel comfortable about their lives. This can be seen what he mentions that he must “squeeze” the moral out of the frog. Finally, his clever use of symbolism in comparing the moral to the juice from a “freshly squeezed lime,” which would taste sour, therefore, Muldoon is saying that the moral will be sour and not truly what is important about the story. Overall, I enjoyed reading the poem because it offered an interesting viewpoint of an ancient biblical story.
4 Comments
Eng
11/4/2016 11:03:29 am
*Please respond to your commenting fans.
Reply
Kelsey L
12/5/2016 06:16:30 am
Nice analysis! I liked how your first paragraph recapped the beginning of the poem. Without even reading the poem I was able to understand what the overall poem was about just by reading your first paragraph. After reading the poem, I agree that the symbolism of the frogs representing Adam and Eve was very apparent throughout the entire poem. Just like you, I also found the allusion difficult to recognize at first.
Reply
Claire
12/5/2016 08:38:40 am
I really enjoy your thoughts on this poem. In my opinion, your spot on with the religious references. Biblical allusions are so often used in Literature that it's important to be able to identify them. You definitely have a good eye for it.
Reply
Candice Clay
12/9/2016 07:35:14 am
I think you're spot on with recognizing and understanding the biblical allusions. Biblical allusions can be tricky to spot, but you did it well. I'd like to hear more on your thoughts about the poem. Specifically if you believe the authors opinion on religion in our day is accurate or not.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |