Robert Frost is one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the twentieth century. In his wildly recognized career he has repeatedly used the concept of nature. The rural has become a characteristic in some of his poems. In an interview he explains why:
“Poetry is more often of the country than the city…Poetry is very, very rural – rustic. It might be taken as a symbol of man, taking its rise from individuality and seclusion – written first for the person that writes and then going out into its social appeal and use.”
As we could see in the previous classes, Robert Frost always wanted to be a farmer, even though, until he was an adult he bought a farm in New Hampshire, maybe was this what intrigued him so much, that he kind of obsessed with nature.
“Poetry is more often of the country than the city…Poetry is very, very rural – rustic. It might be taken as a symbol of man, taking its rise from individuality and seclusion – written first for the person that writes and then going out into its social appeal and use.”
As we could see in the previous classes, Robert Frost always wanted to be a farmer, even though, until he was an adult he bought a farm in New Hampshire, maybe was this what intrigued him so much, that he kind of obsessed with nature.
Frost uses nature not as a background (as some of the other poets), but as a central character. I would like to link his passion about nature with Design:
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth—
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth—
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.
The central characters in this poem are; the spider, a flower and the moth, all of them white. When I think in whiteness I think in purity, but when I read that the spider, the flower and the moth are all white, it makes me think that he's not referring to purity, he is kind of referring to something dark and scary. This “design” of nature, makes me think on a horrific and Gothic nature, that is connected with death as his poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” in which he writes:
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
In this case, the use of the woods is deeply connected with his attraction to death, and with the vision of darkness and ambiguity that has a hypnotic effect on him. For him, nature is the opposite of civilization, that brings loss of identity and blindness. On the other hand, individuality is closer to nature, authenticity and originality.
All in all, for Frost, nature is thought as a container of complex images that understand and represent the beauty of ourselves.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
In this case, the use of the woods is deeply connected with his attraction to death, and with the vision of darkness and ambiguity that has a hypnotic effect on him. For him, nature is the opposite of civilization, that brings loss of identity and blindness. On the other hand, individuality is closer to nature, authenticity and originality.
All in all, for Frost, nature is thought as a container of complex images that understand and represent the beauty of ourselves.
Refereces:
http://www.ablemuse.com/v9/essay/andre-naffis-sahely/dark-pastorals-robert-frost-hayden-carruth
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetry-and-power-robert-frosts-inaugural-reading
“Poetry is more often of the country than the city…Poetry is very, very rural – rustic. It might be taken as a symbol of man, taking its rise from individuality and seclusion –
ResponderEliminarwhat is interesting to point out regarding your comment is that Frost was indeed very into nature, but he was also very concerned about depicting the country side, and the gloomy vision of life during those years.
we must remeber that when Frost moved to New England, more and more people were migrating to the cities, farms were deserted and the depopulation of the countryside generated considrable stress and strain in people's lives.
So, of course, I agree with your view that Fros's poetry is deeply connected to nature, but is also deeply in touch with depicting people's uncertainty and insecurity of the future during those years.
I believe that what Frost shows us is that everything is in nature. We can see ourselves reflected in nature, in the way animals react, in the way in which nature differs in tones and levels. At the same time, he admires nature and uses it as an escape of reality. He walks past the woods, wishing he could stay, admiring its deepens and darkness, but he has to go, there is so much more to do. He uses nature as a metaphor to explain human nature, and at the same time, calls us to stop and admire it, and appreciate it and give it the worth it deserves. Me, myself as a nature lover, wish I could stop and appreciate more the beauty of nature instead of being rushed through routines and obligations.
ResponderEliminar