Robert Frost: Poem Analysis Essay, Research Paper

Robert Frost: Poem Analysis Gregory GeismarDISCUSS

FROST?S TREATMENT OF NATURE IN ANY THREE POEMS YOU HAVE STUDIED REFER TO MAN?S ATTITUDE

TO NATURE IS FROST?S ATTITUDE

TRADTIONAL OR MODERN? EXPLORE THE POET?S USE

OF LANGUAGE POEMS: TWO LOOK AT TWO TREE AT MY WINDOW IN HARDWOOD GROVES If one looks

at man?s attitude to nature in the three poems then there are many similarities

and differences. In ?Two Look at Two? one gets the feeling that nature is

unhappy and angry at man and the destruction that he causes. ?With barbed-wire

binding.? The image of barbed wire is quite unnatural, it is a man made

barrier, which has been placed in an area where there should be no sign of

anything constructed or built by humans. The fact that man has put the obstacle

there indicates that he takes nature very much for granted and only thinks what

is best for him and not the surrounding area i.e. the animals, birds and plant

life etc. Natures attitude to man is summed up in the doe?s reaction to

man,?she sighed and passed unscared along the wall.? The doe?s actions

reinforces the idea that nature is not interested in something that wherever it

goes it has to take over and impose itself. Nature does not take kindly to this

and thus ignores it. The buck?s actions as

well show how nature truly views us, ?why don?t you make some?you can?t.? Here

the roles are reversed usually it is us, man, who judges nature, pointing,

staring and wondering why the animals seem so lifeless. However here the buck

does the same thing to us realising that we are nothing special and that it

would prefer to carry living it?s life rather than be a human. The tone at this

point in the poem is angry, almost scornful and aggressive summing up just how

nature feels about us. The irony in the poem is the fact that man thinks they

have come away from the event having experienced some kind of transcendence,

?As if the earth?their love.? They think they have showed care for nature and

in exchange nature has returned their love. However this could not be further from

the truth, man is completely oblivious to his surroundings and only feels what

he wants to, nature is in-fact completely un-interested in them. ????? ?Tree

at My Window,? renews faith that there can be a relationship between man and

nature. In this poem a true bond is demonstrated with a tree and what I would

imagine to be a young child looking out for each other at all costs. ?But let

there never be curtain drawn,? neither want there to be any sort of barrier

between them. This illustrates profoundly that man and nature can have a

relationship if there is nothing in their way, nothing un-natural. What struck

me most about the poem was that even though the tree and the man have to

contend with different surroundings and events (the tree with the elements, the

child with mood and temperament) they could still look out for each other and

develop an affiliation.??? If one looks

at,?In Hardwood Groves,? then you can see that Frost is talking about the

essence of nature and the cycle of life, ?The same leaves over and over again!?

Frost is presenting simple but essential truths on his observations of nature.

In this poem Frost does not really have a judgement on nature but he perceives

what life is all about and how we are all just on a clock going towards death. If you look at

?Two Look at Two,? then Frost?s attitude seems to be modern. This is down to

the fact that he is representing a real life situation, where people from the

city or urban areas travel to the countryside expecting some kind of

transcendent experience with nature. They go away thinking they have this but

really nature hasn?t returned any of their interest. The essence that makes

this poem modern is the fact that the human?s discard nature and take it for

granted, not realising that it thinks and feels and is not just there to be

pointed and stared at. The couple?s attitude is modern, as they do not have a

clue how nature wants to be treated, how they must respect and cherish it,

typical of city/urban people now days. In ?Tree at My

Window,? I found it more of a traditional poem. The poem brings to mind a

situation, which would have happened years ago rather than in modern days. It

talks about the bond that can develop between human and nature, how they can

respect each other and get along with each other. It is not a situation that I

think you would see in the 21st century, sadly. It also talks about

how there should be no barrier between man and nature, however that is the

opposite of now a days with their being so many physical obstacles separating the

two. I also found

?In Hardwood Groves,? quite a traditional poem. In this Frost is taking the

attitude that leaves live, solely there to give shade, they then die, and the

whole cycle starts again, ?They fall from giving shade above,? this is a very

conventional opinion to have. He ignores the fact that leaves can be there for

beauty but also and more importantly to help us breath and keep the planet

going. Robert Frost?s viewpoint here is traditional further in the fact that he

seems to be taking for granted the need we have for leaves, and he is very firm

on his opinion, ?I know that this is the way in ours.? The use of

language in ?In Hardwood Groves,? conveys a feeling of frustration,? The same

leaves over and over again!? This first line indicates to me that the poet is

aggravated and concerned by the same continual cycle that the leaves take.

Lines 7 and 8 suggest a childlike intuition of things as they really are. Words

such as ?dark and decayed? symbolise the ideas of death and resurrection, themes

that appear in Frost?s other poems. The continual use of ?must? in lines 7-9

reinforce the idea that the cycle the leaves have to take is unavoidable and in

order for a new generation to be born they have to go through those routes. The language

in ?Tree at My Window? is very variated. The first two stanzas are relaxed and

tranquil,?vague dream-head lifted out of the ground,? this line particularly

typifies the calmness of the first two stanzas. However the last two stanzas

then suddenly become more serious. Frost starts to use more intensely emotive

language,?tossed? and ?swept? giving a sense of desperation and urgency to the

tone of the poem. Frost?s use of language manages to identify with the tree and

the human whilst still being able to insist on the differences between them.