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On Robert Frost Poetry Lyrical Ways And Its Causes

Posted on:2013-06-01Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:L Z GuoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2255330401451343Subject:Comparative Literature and World Literature
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Robert Frost is one of the most famous American poets in the20thcentury. In his life,Frost made great efforts in writing and published a great number of poems. He inherits thetraditional poetic form, and in a usual lyric way he describes the natural scenery, the localcustoms and habits of New England with plain language. Hence, he is regarded as therepresentative of pastoral poets. However, the seemingly familiar situation conceals deeppoetic themes, which show the mutually isolated relationship between the human being andthe nature. Seemingly, what is depicted by Frost is a romantic New England, but actually is amodern one. Therefore, the lyric mannaer, which shows people the truth and expresses theiremotions by using objects and scenes, gains a deep thought by Frost.This thought doesn’trepresent the harmonious relationship between the human being and the nature like thatshown in Wordsworth’s time, but just shows a tense relationship between them. Therepresentation of this relationship is not the narration of experiences, but the result ofexperiencing. Frost’s lyric manner is traditional, but the theme and content of his poems aremodern. Because of his attention paid on the human being’s mental state, Frost belongs tomodern poets.In Frost’s lyric poems, the lyric manner not only gains a modern consciousness but alsomeans the renovation of lyric techniques, since any lyric manner requires certain lyrictechniques. A lyric manner, either directive or indirect, ultimately functions to effectivelyexpress poet’s thought and emotion. In some sense, the renovation of lyric techniques canimprove the expressive ability, which can be helpful to serve the content of the poem. As apoet who can make newness in the tradition, Frost believes that it is necessary to read poetryvisually and also listen to them. A strong musical effect should be regarded as the standard fora good poem. Therefore, attaching great importance to the sound of the meaning is Frost’sanother technical renovation. In addition, he also strongly emphasizes the importance ofimages. All these techniques are not confined to Frost of course, but the results of Frost’srenovation on the basis of Wordsworth’s linguistic theories and Pound’s image theories.Going beyond their theories, Frost brings the traditional lyric way vitality and expressiveability. Frost’s literary ideas and his life experience exert deep influences upon his innovationof the lyric manner, and this makes his poesms embody the traditon and rich in modern color.In one word, Frost is a great lyric poet. Aiming to find newness, he employs thetraditional lyric manner to show readers a poetic pastoral world and expresses a deep thoughtthrough a transcendental life experience. By using the lyric techniques such as images andsounds of meaning, he discloses the isolation and barrenness concealed behind the pastorals.By virtue of his innovative spirit and a great mount of literature practice, Frost’s poems arenatural, meaningful and attractive, which makes Frost an outstanding and important poet inthe history of American poetry.
Keywords/Search Tags:Frost, Lyric manner, transitional poet, tradition and renovation, content and form
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