In a Poem

In a Poem - meaning Summary

Inevitable Critical Judgment

This short poem personifies an impersonal judgement—"the sentencing"—that proceeds regardless of protest. Frost contrasts a playful, objected rhyme with the mechanical measures of "stroke and time," suggesting that both aesthetic choices and measured technique are subject to an inevitable, authoritative verdict. The tone is wry and resigned: pleasure or resistance does not alter the final pronouncement. In plain terms, the poem considers how acts of formal choice in poetry (and perhaps behavior) are ultimately received and judged by an external, unmoved arbiter.