New England Characteristics in Robert Frost’s Poetry
The
poetry of
Robert Frost comes mostly from his life experiences and the influence of living in
New England. His family moved there when more people were moving out than in, and as he was growing up, he lived through a sort of regeneration of
nature as it came back to fill in what had been domesticated land.
Frost’s family wasn’t exactly well-off, and he learned certain values and ideals by living in this
New England, not quite the land of opportunity. When he grew up,
Frost raised his family there, and also farmed for a while. He had no sure career besides the typical
New England farming until he started to bring his
New England values into his
poetry and publish it. His first two volumes of
poetry are especially expressive of his life in
New England, but throughout all his
poetry, it is evident that
Robert Frost’s
New England background influenced the style of his writing, the themes in his
poetry, and the topics of his
poems.
The style of his writing is very simplistic, using colloquial diction.
Frost wrote dialogue in his
poetry using natural speech patterns, with aspects in it recognizable as
New England in their form and phrasing. His
poetry was also very natural in its wording, using words that most people can understand and that make his
poetry seem practical and ordinary. There is nothing complicated about the structure of
Frost’s
poems; they seem to be mere translations of everyday events into
poetry. Instead of using elaborate phrasings in the lines, his
poems speak in a natural, easily comprehensible manner. This simple way of writing is an effect of living in
New England, where
Frost lived a relatively simple life. That way of life is brought into his
poetry in his laconic speech, which allowed him to convey more elaborate ideas and thoughts without stating them outrightly.
The subjects of
Frost’s writing are also simple, a reflection of his life in
New England. He wrote of woods, birds, and other parts of a simple life in
New England. His works, however, are not only applicable to
New England because they can be seen as universal interpretations of common situations. Many people can relate to
Frost’s subjects because of their overall simplicity; the situations
Frost portrays could essentially happen anywhere. However, the inspiration for these subjects came to
Frost from living in
New England, and the reactions of the people in his
poems are often characteristic of those who live in
New England.
Frost’s writing, simple though it may seem, is also formal in its verse.
Frost was very strict in following the meter of his
poems, as well as the general connections in content. To Frost, form was essential, and he balanced his
rhymes in a controlled manner, the same way he controlled his portrayal of ideas. His
rhyme scheme is often so blatant that it seems he must have carefully planned it out to make each line work with every other; one is able to discern the pattern of a poem after having read some because of the adherence to form.
The tone of
Frost’s writing is also very formal; he emphasizes, in his own words, speech rhythms and the “sound of sense”. His
poems often reflect self-restraint, with careful attention to reproduce the diction and rhythms of actual speech of
New England farmers.
There is a certain artistry to
Frost’s style as well, stemming from the effect of
New England on
Frost’s sense of
poetry. The language is often lyrical, blending thought and emotion with symbolic imagery in his
New England speech. The greatness of
Frost’s
poetry lies in his artistry in language and depiction of
New England life, using delicately formed phrases of description. The artistry in
Frost’s
poetry goes beyond the simple ways of life it portrays to bring them out with a certain mark of individuality.
Frost brings out contrasting images regarding
nature in
New England, from the simple depiction of
nature to the intrusion of man-made objects. The
New England that
Frost depicts is the regrowth of
nature over the land after having been taken over by man; there is an image of
nature reclaiming its property and rejecting the intrusions of man.
Frost did not address the subject of war very much in his
poetry, but he felt its effects and considered it a sin against
nature, ruining its beautiful landscapes. More often,
Frost considered the effects of civilization and its urbanization on
nature. In “
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,”
Frost presents many contrasting images, a few of which occur in the second stanza:
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
The conflicting images of
nature and man-made objects consist of
the woods and frozen lake against the expected farmhouse. The horse is used to man-made facilities and can’t understand why they’re stopping someplace where there’s just pure, unbounded
nature. The woods in which they pause are owned by someone who lives in the village closeby, and who apparently doesn’t care for
nature. The narrator knows he probably won’t be seen because the owner will not venture out into his woods unless he has some practical purpose there; the owner can’t appreciate
nature for itself as there is a man-made fence between man and
nature.
The natural beauty of
New England is also incomprehensible to mankind; there is a natural barrier between man and
nature that prevents mankind from penetrating the mysteries of the natural world. In
Frost’s “
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” he mentions that “
the woods are lovely, dark and deep,” which shows that he believed there is a connection between natural beauty and mystery. The narrator was not able to see into
the woods very far, even though there was lots of white snow on the ground, because
the woods were dark, which suggests a certain incomprehensibility in
nature.
These
New England settings were carried further in
Frost’s use of the countryside and rural
New England.
Frost wrote of
New England’s valleys, pastures, wildlife, and farms, conveying a sense of natural beauty in
New England. However, there was also a certain bleakness, which
Frost showed in the more pathetic characters in his
poetry.
Frost’s background of social and economic uncertainty led him to show this side of
New England as well, which gave his work a sense of transience and finality.
Frost’s background is also brought out in his attention to responsibility. In several of his
poems, he brings out the idea of obligations and duties to be fulfilled. This conveys a sense of economic need as well, which
Frost experienced early on in life. He was impressed by the fact that after hardships of this sort, the people of
New England still had some life in them, and this can be seen in his
poetry as well.
Frost dealt with the topic of choices, that having been something he learned a lot about growing up in
New England. In
Frost’s
New England, people were very affected by life decisions, where they had to make hard decisions and deal with whatever consequences their choices might bring. He called this “
Trial by Existence” in one of his
poems, emphasizing the idea that nothing happens to us except what we choose.
Frost’s characters must consider their choices carefully and become aware that their course of action must fit with their life and that any decision could have life-altering affects. They often do not realize, though, just how all-encompassing their choices are and at times only see the immediate effects of any decision they might make.
Frost portrays his belief that choices have to be made, and that they are irrevocable and come with irrevocable consequences. His characters may be aware of the implications of choosing badly, but they know that the choice cannot be avoided, so when all is said and done, the fact that a choice has been made “has made all the difference”.
Frost also learned much about human
nature through living in
New England, especially his own
nature. He saw man’s condemnable qualities and sometimes wrote
poems to sarcastically point out these human fallacies. He observed how “man runs roughshod over
nature” by building over it and completely rejecting it, and
Frost often rejected these qualities in his
poems. He had a deep-rooted respect for
nature and held that man is essentially a stranger in the world and can never adapt to
nature. He hoped for a sort of truce between man and
nature with mutual respect of boundaries and principles.
In
New England,
Frost’s hope was realized for the most part, as
nature had free reign over inhabited land, showing a civilization reformed in regards to
nature. In “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” this is taken to another extreme when the horse seems to assume the human quality of impatience, giving his harness bells a shake, and the narrator wants to pause and appreciate
nature for a moment. Often in
Frost’s
poetry, man finds refreshment in a brief submission to the isolation of
nature, something
Frost experienced himself when living in
New England.
Thus we can see that
New England life played a major role in
Frost’s writing, from his
poetry’s actual structure to the content and social commentary it contained. There is a certain simplicity in the way
Frost writes, brought out in his subjects and his wording, as well as a contrasting formality in the way he structures the lines and the words within the lines of his
poems.
Frost’s tone can range from steady and constrained to flowing and artistic, which brings a sort of controlled lyrical elegance to his
poetry. This is especially seen in
Frost’s portrayal of
nature, which he sees as enchanting and comfortably isolating. The intrusion of man-made objects into
Frost’s
New England upsets him, and he comments in his
poetry on the unappreciativeness of man. According to Frost, man should accept
nature and its mysteries, respecting the beauty of the natural world.
Frost’s
New England surroundings influenced these ideas especially because of the rural beauty he grew up in, but also because of the endurance of people who could not afford to reject
nature, as it made up the very livelihood of
New England farmers.
Frost’s experience in this aspect taught him about responsibility, and his lessons area apparent in his
poems dealing with duties that must be upheld for financial and moral reasons. Choices and human
nature both were a part of
Frost’s life in
New England, where he learned the value of good decisions and the importance of the actual making of choices.
Frost’s
New England is brought out in his
poetry through all of these things, and it is hard not to see the deep-rooted influence that his life there had on
Frost’s
poetry.