Robert FrostI've given offense by saying I'd as soon write free verse as play tennis with the net down.
About This Quote
In 1998, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, was interviewed by the BBC. In that interview she said: "I've given offense by saying I'd as soon write free verse as play tennis with the net down." She didn't mean to offend anyone, but her use of the phrase "as I'd as soon" stirred up a lot of controversy. People interpreted her comment to mean that she would rather write a book without a plot than play a sport with a defective net. But... What's going on here? In this sentence, Harper Lee is using a rhetorical device called anaphora.
Anaphora is the repetition of words at the beginning and end of a phrase or sentence. The structure of this sentence is as follows: I've given (some) offense (by saying I'd as soon) write free verse (as) As far as I can see, no one has ever accused Harper Lee of not wanting to write free verse. However, her use of anaphora in this statement makes it sound like she would rather do either (1) or (2).
She clearly states that she would rather write free verse than play tennis with the net down; however, no one can say for sure whether she would prefer to write poetry or simply not play tennis because it has a faulty net.
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More Quotes By Robert Frost
- We love the things we love for what they are.
- Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
- The heart can think of no devotion Greater than being shore to the ocean- Holding the curve of one position, Counting an endless repetition.
- I'd like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin over. May no fate wilfully misunderstand me And half grant what I wish and snatch me away Not to return. Earth's the right place for love: I don't know...
- Ah, when to the heart of man Was it ever less than a treason To go with the drift of things, To yield with a grace to reason, And bow and accept the end Of a love or a season?