Close Reading Analysis Essay

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Unfair

Robert Francis was an American poet whose work is reminiscent of Robert Francis, his mentor. Francis' writing has often compared to other writers such as Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Henry David Thoreau. Although Francis's work has frequently been neglected and is "often excluded from major anthologies of American poetry," those that have read his work have praised him and his writing. In "Fair and Unfair," Francis comments on balance in nature and in society. Like Frost, Francis contends nature has the ability to provide guidance if only man is smart enough to observe it. In "Fair and Unfair," Francis is able to find balance through what is written and how it is written.

The poem is told from a first person, omniscient perspective and the narrator appears to be addressing the general public; it appears as though the narrator seeks to bring attention to how nature has become disregarded as society and civilization grow and develop. As narrator, Francis appears to want to inform the reader of the imbalance between fair and unfair in the world. By commenting, "Had we the wit," Francis contends people cannot see the imbalance because they are not wise and thus they cannot bring balance to the world. In a way, Francis is asserting his enlightenment about the role of nature on the formation of society and wishes to preach what he has observed or learned in order to allow others to become as enlightened about nature as he is.

Francis's poem begins through the juxtaposition of nature and society. In this first stanza, the tone is sorrowful as Francis points out the imbalance between nature and society. Francis writes, "The beautiful is fair. The just is fair," thus establishing that beauty, or nature, and what is just, or society, each are considered to unbiased. However, the presence of beauty and justice is unbalance and often hard to discern; Francis contends beauty is "commonplace…[and] everywhere," whereas justice is "rare…[and] scarcely anywhere.

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As Francis continues with his analysis of fairness, he comments on man's inability to figure out how to find balance between nature and society. In the second stanza, the tone slightly shifts and is reservedly hopeful. Francis writes, "Had we the wit/To use the surplus for the deficit/We'd make a fairer world of it." Francis comments on how man is not able to use the surplus of fairness in nature to supplement the "deficit," the fairness that is lacking in society. By juxtaposing the concept of surplus and deficit, Francis allows the reader to comprehend that he is commenting on imbalance and how it can be rectified. While Francis argues that balance could potentially be achieved, he also counters with the argument that man is not prepared to or does not know how to find this balance.

In "Fair and Unfair," Francis attempts to create balance through the poem's structure and form. The poem is written in a modified terza rima format. Unlike the more traditional terza rima rhyme format of ABA-BCB-CDC (etc.), "Fair and Unfair" follows an AAA-BBB rhyme scheme in which the last word of each line in the first stanza rhymes -- fair, rare, and anywhere -- and the last word of the second stanza rhymes -- wit, deficit, and it. While there is an imbalance created if the stanzas are looked at separately, balance is restored through the inclusion of the second stanza. For instance, imbalance is created through the odd number of lines present in each stanza, however, balance is restored or created when both stanzas are put together; each stanza depends on the other.

Moreover, through the two stanzas, the poem's form is literally balanced: two stanzas with a total of six lines. The first stanza serves to point out the problem, whereas the second serves to point out a possible solution; without….....

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