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Two Tramps in Mud Time Introduction

It begins with a man chopping wood because he must relieve the stress that his life has put upon him. Two tramps come out of the mud, and one yells at him to throw him off. After this occurs, the narrator realizes that the tramps want his job for pay. The tramps then come around and the narrator understands that he loves chopping wood, and he enjoys the feel of using his muscles to accomplish something. As the narrator is chopping wood, the tramps judge him based on the way he chops. In turn, the narrator judges the tramps based on their appearance. The narrator then comes to the decision that need is more important than play and love of chopping wood. The last stanza is the narrator contemplating this conclusion he's come to; he states that his love and his need are united, and that his avocation (play) and his vocation (need) are one in the same. He also says that "work is play for mortal stakes," meaning work is play for a necessary result and play is work for personal gain. It is a symbol of dirtiness, yes, if you view this poem literally, but it also signifies hard and difficult times. This poem was set in the period just after winter, and just before spring. It highlights the new life that is trying to come forth with the spring, and yet, the winter that is trying to suppress the new life. In the poem, we are held in the tension of opposing forces: winter and spring; warmth and cold; philosophy and physical labor; have and havenot; power and want; work and play; aggression and self-discipline; hard oak, water, and mud. There is a centering strand of moral choice that pulls together these elements. Losing his blows upon a productive task instead of others who have aggravated him displays his self-discipline and commitment to the common good. A obvious choice in this same vein would be to let the needy tramp take over the job and gain both money and self-respect. However, that is arrogance disguised as charity. Mr. Sandburg needed the wood, needed the exertion and loved the work- there was no higher morality in ceding it to someone else because they were lesser and needier. The poet is chopping wood and enjoying the activity because it gives him an outlet for pent up emotions. He has been cooped up all winter. He likes it because he has good at it. The log pieces fall spliterless. And the experience is enhanced because the tramps want to take the job away from him. But.. Frost's work is writing poetry. Most agree he does it rather well. In poetry he gives loose to his soul. He clearly means more than merely chopping wood when he says the writing is done for heaven and the futures sake. Then the meaning expands to all work when the reader considers the ax. For Frost his brain, a metaphor, and a pen. For an actor a costume and dialog. For Tiger Woods a golf club. And so much more. Frostian poetry is often a very poignant and dreary topic of study. It makes such little sense it has become an incredulously difficult poem to understand. The poetic persona seems somewhat afraid of losing his jobs to those who need it, even if he enjoys the work and therefore will work harder for it seeing as though it is more of a hobby than a chore. However this could express Frost's insecurity with regards to his position in nature and the greater good. The greater good could nether liturgical reference seeing s though Frost appears to be a particularly godfearing chap and as such it features within his work a lot. He holds the world in great disdain as he sits back and watches it become over-run with urbanization and the demise of nature takes over. The poignancy becomes clear as this poem could be allegorical for a better time, Frost sees the world changing and problems that never were have become problematic to him now as he finds his job (within the poem) in compromise. The work itself could allude to society as a metaphor, much in the same way Mending Wall acts as an extended metaphor for society and its crippling problems. Frost's poetic persona seems very happy to chop wood and live life isolated and self reliant. The tramps could be a microcosm for society and it's need for integration in order for it to function, this could point to Frost's own lack of belonging in the ever modernizing world. Overall the poem is sad, reflective (much like The Road Not Taken) which all in all proves that Robert Frost lived a somewhat miserable existence and expressed this through his poetry,

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