What does the Poem "The Span of Life" mean???

Question

What does this poem by robert frost mean?????

The Span of Life
The old dog barks backwards without getting up.
I can remember when he was a pup.

hey.. also wats da emotion in the poem??

Answer 1

to me it seems to say things come full circle. A newborn pup cannot get up...when the old dog barks backwards w/o getting up, it is because he no longer can, which sparks a remembrance in the observer of the dog's earliest days. The ending of one life is reminiscent of the beginning of another. The eternal cycle.

Answer 2

You dont remember when your elders were kids because you and everyone else grows old at the same speed. You however can watch how a dog changes as it ages because the life span of a dog is much shorter than a humans. I cant help but think there is some comparison or implication about people growing old although its not mentioned.

This poem is Ironic. The observer remembers when the dog was a clumsy puppy. It was not confident. It would follow its master and other older dogs around. It would bark "forward" because nobody listened to it. It cared that other listened to it. If the dog ever had a point it needed to make sure it was being listened to. That it got its point across.

Now the puppy is an old dog. Its matured, much more confident (Barking Backwards). it cares much less. It doesnt need to turn its head to see if others are listening. Its confident.

You the observer of the old dog can chuckle at the fact that you can observe how the dogs personality is different. You have witnessed its life span.

This is my interpretation.

Answer 3

Aside from the somewhat obscure references of Frost, I would say that it catches the lack of enterprise of an old dog who does even bother to uncurl to bark at something. The backwards becomes a double reference to postion and the more active past which Frost enhances with his own memory reference when the dog was a puppy, which we take to mean hyperactive as most puppies are.

Answer 4

It seems to be saying that everything gets old. It's a sad poem though, because Frost momentarily reminisces about when the old dog was young. That kind of makes the poem seem like an expression of the frailty of life.

Answer 5

The Old Dog Barks Backwards

Answer 6

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Answer 7

The writer is expressing the train of thought that brought him full circle to the younger ages of his deceased canine companion. It may also be connected to the process of mourning, Mr Frost may just need to talk about it so he can feel better and move on. (Just a guess)

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

as you could observe the poem span of life is just two stanza poem.. it is because it only wants to imply that human s span of life is really short :)

Answer 10

Its just a comparative life. We all know that humans live about
4 times as long as dogs do. The poem is literal.