Poem Study by Shawn Lamouroux

“The Armful” by Robert Frost

For every parcel I stoop down to seize I lose some other off my arms and knees, And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns, Extremes too hard to comprehend at once Yet nothing I should care to leave behind. With all I have to hold with hand and mind And heart, if need be, I will do my best. To keep their building balanced at my breast. I crouch down to prevent them as they fall; Then sit down in the middle of them all. I had to drop the armful in the road And try to stack them in a better load. For every parcel I stoop down to seize I lose some other off my arms and knees, And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns, Extremes too hard to comprehend at once Yet nothing I should care to leave behind. With all I have to hold with hand and mind And heart, if need be, I will do my best. To keep their building balanced at my breast. I crouch down to prevent them as they fall; Then sit down in the middle of them all. I had to drop the armful in the road And try to stack them in a better load.

This poem is a metaphor comparing the mental load one carries through life with a physical load. This poem is a metaphor comparing the mental load one carries through life with a physical load. Each parcel he picks up is more responsibility and perhaps more stress. Each parcel he picks up is more responsibility and perhaps more stress.

He is saying that if you try to take on too much at once you will not be able to handle the others well. He is saying that if you try to take on too much at once you will not be able to handle the others well. The last 2 lines suggest that you know what is most important to you so you can balance that with the rest.

1. What does he mean by “parcel”? 1. What does he mean by “parcel”? 2. Why is the pile slipping? 2. Why is the pile slipping? 3. Why doesn’t he want to leave anything behind? 3. Why doesn’t he want to leave anything behind? 4. Why does he want to prevent them from falling? 4. Why does he want to prevent them from falling? 5. What does he mean by “Then sit down in the middle of them all”? 5. What does he mean by “Then sit down in the middle of them all”?