Robert Frost: "Once By The Pacific" Analysis

Once By The Pacific

By: Robert Frost

The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last 'Put out the Light' was spoken.

Robert Frost’s poem “Once by the Pacific” can be interpreted a few different ways.  The general theme of the poem is of an angry ocean slamming into the beach which is backed up by cliffs and land.  Some of the various interpretations of this poem include one regarding life and friendship, a biblical interpretation, and one of the end of the world.

            The interpretation that I am particularly partial to is that regarding life and friendship.  In this interpretation of “Once by the Pacific” the audience can interpret the line “There would be more than ocean-water broken before God’s last ‘put out the light’ was spoken” as the world working against someone, and that “Someone had better be prepared for rage”.  The most important line in this interpretation is “The shore was lucky in being backed by a cliff”.  The shore, which can metaphorically be seen to represent a person, is lucky to have support behind them, and because the shore has the cliffs (family, friends, etc.) backing him up he has a chance of surviving the storm that is life.

            The beginning of the poem describes the deceitful qualities of some people, especially in the lines “Great waves looked over others coming in, and though of doing something to the shore that water never did to land before”.  These lines represent the hardships that everybody deals with in life, and although these things do exist, once again it is important to emphasize the symbolic cliff and continent that serve as supports in life.

            I’m not sure how I will complete this project.  One idea that I am having is to show waves knocking a person down and somebody helping them up (or something along those lines).  I would like to incorporate both humanity and a visual of an angry sea into the project.  I am still debating over whether I will prefer to have the poem read during the presentation, or if I will have the words visually represented.  Because the poem is not very lengthy, I should be able to go in any of these directions and create an effective final product.