Robert Frost, poetry and Nature.
Robert Frost is a famous American poet. His work was published in England at first then in America. He is famous for the display of realism in his poetry through fantasy and illusion. His style in poetry is quite difficult to delimit. We cannot give his poetry any specific genre. He starts his poems with an idea of fantasy and imagination, then at the end he seems to fluctuate towards reality. His poetry is a fusion of both reality and imagination. The tone and expression of his poetry is somehow straight forward and determined, at the same tine some of his work depicts his internal conflicts and melee too. His representation of reality is so magnificent that one cannot avoid appreciating it. The amalgam of reality and fantasy pleases the senses and gives an ultimate pleasure to the readers. His reality is not just the mere representation of worldly sorrows and agonies rather, he displays all these problems by using the colors of imagination so, that reality looks beautiful and, world does not seem the harsh place for living. He loves to live and love the world despite, the fact that he has the title of an escapist like John Keats.
Then comes nature, his perception or love for nature is not exactly the same as of William Wordsworth. His ideas about nature differ from the Wordsworthian ideas. Wordsworth just merely admire nature and consider it as his God. He calls nature the mother of man. Nature for him is the source of meditation. In Frost's view, nature is pleasing, charming and soothing but, it has an other side too which cannot be overlooked. He admits the positive side as well as the negative. According to Frost nature has a lot to give and a lot to snatch too. It cannot only give, it also need something in return and that is the rule of the world, you give and you take. This very thread of acceptance makes him a realist. He likes and love nature but he remains philosophical with his expression. He never let nature overwhelm his expression of reality. In his poems like, Birches, Fire and Ice, The Road Not Taken and many others he uses natural imagery to enhance the beauty of his poems. But, he also describes the true essence of nature for example; in his poem Fire and Ice he is talking about the final destruction of the world through the elements of nature. Which clearly shows his perception about nature that, it can bring destruction not only to humans or other entities but, also to the end of its own being and the entire universe. He likes the meditation quality of nature but he does not want to be fooled by it. His idea about nature is different yet original as, he is of the view that, originality is the vital feature of a piece of art. Art has its own language, which touches the hearts of its audiences. It transparently conveys his feelings about poetry that it cannot be mocked. All emotions are the same as, love, hate and humanity and all writers or poets talk about them so, what is the difference? Answer to this question is "expression". Expression makes the difference as, every poet defines these emotions according to their own ideals with their own desired expression. That is what we call originality. Things are constant feelings, ideals and expressions are different. All poets are same, they all are humans but, thinking patterns are different. Therefore, naivety must be the part and parcel of literature, otherwise it will become monotonous. Thus, in this regard fantasy and imagination both help the poet to create something new and more heart touching. Poet basically is the player of words. In fact, all the writers coin words and play with them as they desire. Same is the case with Frost, though his language is not as hard as John Milton, yet he does coin words to coin new ideas. To seek pleasure in poetry one must know the art of coining words. Frost uses plain language with intricate ideas. He uses symbolism and irony in his poems.
The major themes of his poems are; death, humanity, isolation, sadness confusion, reality, fantasy, despair, conflict of soul and mind, lack of faith, and modern man's turmoils. Now when we discuss the themes of his poetry, it seems as if, he is in love with sadness and isolation. At times he seems comfortable with the loneliness, on other occasions he gives the expression of an escapist which, makes it difficult to define what actually he thinks of isolation. There is a great difference between isolation and solitude. Solitude is when you enjoy your loneliness. When you want to spent time with your own spirit and soul. It comes only to saints and wisest people of God. Ordinary people cannot have the pleasure of solitude as, it is something which, you earn by sacrificing your desires and wants. On the other hand, isolation or loneliness is a killing experience. it makes you feel worst of yourself and the world. It comes with the curse of despair and disappointment. A lonesome person is the most dejected person. He/she tries to hide the truth of their personality in their loneliness or sometimes, society make them to cut off from it. In either cases it is a murderer. In Frost's loneliness, we see his idea of escape. He conveys the message of getting away from reality and hide himself into his isolation so, that the world cannot see him. Then at the end he realizes that the idea of escaping the reality is worthless. It will never work as, everyone in this world has to face the real face of life and the naked face of death. Therefore, he ends with on the acceptance note. H e accepts the reality with his arms open. There isn't anything bad of being an escapist, we all are escapist. The winner is he who accepts the reality at the end and, comes out of the bubble of illusion. Fantasy and imagination are the great things to sooth your mind and soul but, they can never stay for long. At the end of the game you will have to come back and live as a human being, the crown of all creations.
While reading Birches we analyse the string of lack of faith when, poet decides to explain his wish to God or destiny so, that it would not e misinterpreted by fate. He wants to go away from the world and the responsibilities of life, yet to come back again as, for him there isn't any better place for love and living than of earth. This very idea shows his impulse of escapism at the same time, it reveals the realistic approach of the poet. He knows that he cannot escape therefore, he decides to come back. The escape here is not just to leave the world like Hamlet thought "to be or not to be", it is to escape in the world of imagination, where one can satiate the aggression of desires and wants. Imagination is the best meditation if, it is not overdone. Our mind and heart, both need a little escape into this fantasy world to relax and shed off the burden of daily routine. Thus, imagination has the healing power in Frost's poetry, same power has been bestowed to nature in Wordsworth's poetry.
Ideologies can differ but, the main focus of poetry is to satiate the senses with pleasure and beauty. Frost differs from this idea as he thinks that;
A poem begins with delight and ends in wisdom. So, it is clear that he will loose the string of fantasy for a while and then pull it back to live the reality. That is why I said before that his poems start with fantasy (Delight), and end with reality (Wisdom).
By,
Ayesha Aamir.
All copy rights are reserved.
Then comes nature, his perception or love for nature is not exactly the same as of William Wordsworth. His ideas about nature differ from the Wordsworthian ideas. Wordsworth just merely admire nature and consider it as his God. He calls nature the mother of man. Nature for him is the source of meditation. In Frost's view, nature is pleasing, charming and soothing but, it has an other side too which cannot be overlooked. He admits the positive side as well as the negative. According to Frost nature has a lot to give and a lot to snatch too. It cannot only give, it also need something in return and that is the rule of the world, you give and you take. This very thread of acceptance makes him a realist. He likes and love nature but he remains philosophical with his expression. He never let nature overwhelm his expression of reality. In his poems like, Birches, Fire and Ice, The Road Not Taken and many others he uses natural imagery to enhance the beauty of his poems. But, he also describes the true essence of nature for example; in his poem Fire and Ice he is talking about the final destruction of the world through the elements of nature. Which clearly shows his perception about nature that, it can bring destruction not only to humans or other entities but, also to the end of its own being and the entire universe. He likes the meditation quality of nature but he does not want to be fooled by it. His idea about nature is different yet original as, he is of the view that, originality is the vital feature of a piece of art. Art has its own language, which touches the hearts of its audiences. It transparently conveys his feelings about poetry that it cannot be mocked. All emotions are the same as, love, hate and humanity and all writers or poets talk about them so, what is the difference? Answer to this question is "expression". Expression makes the difference as, every poet defines these emotions according to their own ideals with their own desired expression. That is what we call originality. Things are constant feelings, ideals and expressions are different. All poets are same, they all are humans but, thinking patterns are different. Therefore, naivety must be the part and parcel of literature, otherwise it will become monotonous. Thus, in this regard fantasy and imagination both help the poet to create something new and more heart touching. Poet basically is the player of words. In fact, all the writers coin words and play with them as they desire. Same is the case with Frost, though his language is not as hard as John Milton, yet he does coin words to coin new ideas. To seek pleasure in poetry one must know the art of coining words. Frost uses plain language with intricate ideas. He uses symbolism and irony in his poems.
The major themes of his poems are; death, humanity, isolation, sadness confusion, reality, fantasy, despair, conflict of soul and mind, lack of faith, and modern man's turmoils. Now when we discuss the themes of his poetry, it seems as if, he is in love with sadness and isolation. At times he seems comfortable with the loneliness, on other occasions he gives the expression of an escapist which, makes it difficult to define what actually he thinks of isolation. There is a great difference between isolation and solitude. Solitude is when you enjoy your loneliness. When you want to spent time with your own spirit and soul. It comes only to saints and wisest people of God. Ordinary people cannot have the pleasure of solitude as, it is something which, you earn by sacrificing your desires and wants. On the other hand, isolation or loneliness is a killing experience. it makes you feel worst of yourself and the world. It comes with the curse of despair and disappointment. A lonesome person is the most dejected person. He/she tries to hide the truth of their personality in their loneliness or sometimes, society make them to cut off from it. In either cases it is a murderer. In Frost's loneliness, we see his idea of escape. He conveys the message of getting away from reality and hide himself into his isolation so, that the world cannot see him. Then at the end he realizes that the idea of escaping the reality is worthless. It will never work as, everyone in this world has to face the real face of life and the naked face of death. Therefore, he ends with on the acceptance note. H e accepts the reality with his arms open. There isn't anything bad of being an escapist, we all are escapist. The winner is he who accepts the reality at the end and, comes out of the bubble of illusion. Fantasy and imagination are the great things to sooth your mind and soul but, they can never stay for long. At the end of the game you will have to come back and live as a human being, the crown of all creations.
While reading Birches we analyse the string of lack of faith when, poet decides to explain his wish to God or destiny so, that it would not e misinterpreted by fate. He wants to go away from the world and the responsibilities of life, yet to come back again as, for him there isn't any better place for love and living than of earth. This very idea shows his impulse of escapism at the same time, it reveals the realistic approach of the poet. He knows that he cannot escape therefore, he decides to come back. The escape here is not just to leave the world like Hamlet thought "to be or not to be", it is to escape in the world of imagination, where one can satiate the aggression of desires and wants. Imagination is the best meditation if, it is not overdone. Our mind and heart, both need a little escape into this fantasy world to relax and shed off the burden of daily routine. Thus, imagination has the healing power in Frost's poetry, same power has been bestowed to nature in Wordsworth's poetry.
Ideologies can differ but, the main focus of poetry is to satiate the senses with pleasure and beauty. Frost differs from this idea as he thinks that;
A poem begins with delight and ends in wisdom. So, it is clear that he will loose the string of fantasy for a while and then pull it back to live the reality. That is why I said before that his poems start with fantasy (Delight), and end with reality (Wisdom).
By,
Ayesha Aamir.
All copy rights are reserved.
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