A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Robert Frost's poem A Question

14 Comments

  1. persie says:

    i agree with shonta white from United States. i think that Robert Frost wants us to show, the Birth of Jesus Christ.

  2. carrie simms says:

    In the past i have been captivated by this (unfinshed?) poem by Robert Frost, and have written my own next lines. We can all do this with a different angle every time.
    Oh too recently i have lost my grand-daughter less than 24 hours after her birth. i will probably be using this poem at her cremation next week -…to hopefully help my son and daughter in law to come to terms with our loss. they have two wonderful children ages 5 and 3, so “NO” all the soul and body scars are NOT too much to pay for birth. Those 2 lovely children make the pain worth it; better we did not have to endure the soul and body scars, but the incredibly beautiful things in life urge us to keep going.

  3. Robert T says:

    Very simple question. Whats your answer? honestly.

  4. uche says:

    i really like this poem

  5. KARELYS says:

    It makes you think about life, about why we cry when someone die, about why are we living? about things we do during life… about people we care about, about people we love and leave this world…

  6. Christina says:

    This poem is beautiful! it really shows how you need to learn from life and realize that everything you have done has been worth it. You dont want to look back at your life and think of it as a waste. Instead, you want to try to comprehend how you have matured throughout your life and how much you believe in the decisions that you have made. Sure you may have been hurt by the decisions that you made, but you lived through it and you became stronger. You have to understand that what you’ve done, every single decision and its consequences, have been right for you.

  7. xavier says:

    Robert Frost asked the unrequited question, “If all the soul- and-body scars were not too much to pay for birth”. a short poem, yes, but it indisputably portrayed a dramatic image of suffering. It is in suffering that we live. this poem reminded me of shakespear’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, “what makes calamity of so long life”. what makes us bear the unhappiness; the agony and woe for so long. I believe even frost’s was bewildered by the why. As are we all. If you ask walt why we have to drink from the breast of life that feeds us misfortunes, he will simply answer. “That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
    That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse. ” maybe the closest answer and most realistic answer for why we are born bathing in a pool of sharks.

  8. Nereyda Hinojosa says:

    He who asks, knows not the answer

  9. tito says:

    why do we fight, given birth is enough pain for people

  10. shonta white says:

    I think that this poem means that God ask the people was his cruel punishment not enough for our birth which is why I don’t think we should take life fagranted. A very deep poem that could have many meanings.

  11. amy says:

    I think if you really read this poem, it’s about what life can do to you, and whether you believe the lessons you learned and the pain they caused were worth it. It’s a lovely poem and says an awful lot in just a few short lines. I don’t even think it’s meaning is obscure.

  12. Tim Cornell says:

    These people can’t be serious poetry actually has meaning no way. Care to enlighten us into the “meaning” that you have found or should we just leave it at that.

  13. Leann Bush says:

    it is a great poem. it has a meaning to us.

  14. Sam says:

    this is a good poem you should really read it! it is good i think it has a nice strong message to tell us

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