The Census-Taker by Robert Frost (Summary & Explanation)

 

The Census-Taker

by Robert Frost

(Summary & Explanation) 

Summary

"The Census-Taker" by Robert Frost is a poem that tells the story of a man who goes door-to-door conducting a census, asking people how many people live in their homes. The census-taker is initially depicted as friendly and jovial, but as he continues his work, he becomes increasingly obsessed with getting an accurate count.

The poem explores themes of identity, the human desire for order and control, and the idea that our perceptions of ourselves and others are often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. The census-taker's quest for accuracy ultimately leads him to question his own identity and purpose, as he realizes that his job is not as simple as he once thought. The poem ends with the census-taker wandering off into the wilderness, his obsession with numbers and data having left him disconnected from the human world around him.

Explanation

"The Census-Taker" by Robert Frost is a poem that delves into the themes of identity, human desire for order and control, and the limitations of our perceptions of ourselves and others.

The poem's protagonist, the census-taker, is initially depicted as a friendly and jovial man who goes door-to-door collecting information on the number of people living in each household. However, as he becomes more obsessed with getting an accurate count, his personality begins to change. He becomes increasingly fixated on his task and less interested in the people he is surveying. This shift in his character is highlighted in the line, "He had to have the facts and let them tell / Their own meaning without his coaching them."

This obsession with accuracy ultimately leads the census-taker to question his own identity and purpose. He wonders if he is simply a number himself, or if he has a deeper, more meaningful purpose in life. The line, "Did he himself reflect the deepest shade / Of indigo night when he went indoors / To know the darkness at his very core?" highlights his existential questioning.

The poem also explores the limitations of our perceptions of ourselves and others. The census-taker's quest for accuracy is ultimately futile because it is based on incomplete or inaccurate information. He can only count the number of people living in each household, but he has no way of truly knowing who they are or what their lives are like. This is highlighted in the line, "But little of the life between the walls / He heard, and only that from underground."

Furthermore, the poem suggests that our obsession with order and control can often lead us to disconnect from the world around us. The census-taker's preoccupation with numbers and data causes him to lose sight of the humanity of the people he is surveying. This is highlighted in the final lines of the poem, where the census-taker wanders off into the wilderness, disconnected from the human world around him.

In conclusion, "The Census-Taker" is a thought-provoking poem that explores themes of identity, human desire for order and control, and the limitations of our perceptions of ourselves and others. Through the character of the census-taker, Frost highlights the dangers of becoming too fixated on accuracy and control, and the importance of remaining connected to the world around us.

There are several literary tools used in "The Census-Taker" by Robert Frost. Here are a few examples:

Imagery: The poem is rich in vivid, sensory descriptions that help to create a clear picture in the reader's mind. For example, the line

"The trees around the house / Made fun of him like the dwarves in Snow White" creates a visual image of the trees seeming to mock the census-taker.

Metaphor: The poem also employs metaphor, comparing the census-taker to various things throughout the poem. For example, the line "He might have been a bird up there for all / He heard in that house, stirring things unseen" compares the census-taker to a bird, suggesting that he is an outsider looking in on the lives of others.

Personification: The trees and the darkness are personified in the poem, giving them human qualities. For example, the line "The trees around the house / Made fun of him like the dwarves in Snow White" gives the trees the ability to mock the census-taker, making them seem almost alive.

Symbolism: The wilderness at the end of the poem is symbolic of the unknown and the uncertainty that the census-taker is facing. It represents the void that exists when we try to understand the world around us, but can only see a small part of it.

Allusion: The reference to the dwarves in Snow White is an allusion that suggests the census-taker is like a fairytale character, struggling to navigate a world that is unfamiliar to him.

Overall, the poem employs a variety of literary tools to create a rich, layered work that explores complex themes and ideas.

"The Census-Taker" by Robert Frost does not strictly follow a particular rhyme scheme or meter. However, it contains elements of both rhyme and meter in certain sections of the poem.

For instance, the first and second stanzas have an alternating rhyme scheme, where the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. The rhyme scheme in these stanzas is ABAB, as seen in the following excerpt:

"He went from door to door a census man,

And marked down on his slate what people had,

Coal in the bin, or oil in the can,

And all the stovepipe holes to make him mad."

In terms of meter, the poem does not have a consistent meter throughout, but it does contain lines that follow a rhythmic pattern. For example, the first two lines of the poem are in iambic tetrameter, with four stressed syllables per line:

"He went from door to door a census man,

And marked down on his slate what people had,"

However, other lines in the poem have a different number of stressed syllables and do not follow a consistent pattern.

Overall, while the poem contains some elements of rhyme and meter, it does not strictly adhere to a particular pattern or structure, allowing the language and imagery to take center stage.