On Robert Frost's View Of Nature

Robert Frost was one of the greatest poets in the 20th century American literature. He keptwriting and publishing fine poetry for decades, and many of his poems became popular withpeople worldwide. Compared with other poets, Frost's way to success was a long one. He didnot earn his reputation until he was 39, but the honors he enjoyed throughout his career wereunparalleled to any other American poet of his time. With a shrewd mind, fine workmanshipand distinctive style, Frost established himself as a unique poet in modern American literature,and gained considerable fame among his contemporaries.Frost left us a legacy of fine poetry and his nature lyrics form a great proportion of it.Frost's nature poetry, characterized by its simple language, graceful conception and profoundmeaning, is well received by readers. Those who read Frost will be either carried away by thebeauty of his poems, or caught in a meditation over the meaning of the poems, oroverwhelmed with an admiration for the poet's ingenuity; however, they tend to pay littleattention to the poet's view of nature that lies beneath each of these poems.Yet, it is important to know about a poet's view of nature, especially if we are studyingRobert Frost, who cares so much for the creation of nature poetry. In fact, Frost's view ofnature is an important part of the legacy he left behind. It will not only help with ourunderstanding of Frost's poetry and poetics, but also provide us with valuable insight into thenatural world around us. It is therefore worthwhile for us to look into Frost's view of nature.This thesis is first of all an attempt to generalize and describe and expound Robert Frost'sview of nature. Then, it goes further to explore the causes of Frost's view of nature, andfinally it points out the implications of the poet's view of nature.Frost's nature poetry is a mirror to reflect his view of nature. On the basis of my study ofFrost's poetry, I decide that the poet's view of nature can be summed up in two notions: 1)Nature is dual-charactered. 2) Nature is a source of human wisdom.First, nature is dual-charactered in Frost's eyes. Frost affirms the existence of a bright sidein nature. Nature is beautiful and benevolent. It can provide mankind with happiness, comfortand hope. In such poems as "A Winter Eden", "Tree at My Window", "To the Thawing Wind",Frost presents us vivid pictures of nature's beauty and grace, but he is not a mere sketcher ofpleasant landscape. He sees the other side of nature----the black and cold side. In some poems,such as "Stars", "The Need of Being Versed in Country Things" and "The Most of It", heshows us a cold and inhuman nature which is so indifferent to man's fate. Then, in "TheOft-Repeated Dream" and "Storm Fear", Frost shows us how malicious and hostile nature canbe. So nature is both good and evil, and this is the so-called dual character. Frost's attitudetowards nature is paradoxical. Sometimes he regards nature as a friend, and sometimes anenemy. We see his ambiguity in the face of nature, but more often we read his calmness andacceptance as a sage. ivSecond, nature is a source of human wisdom. We always sing high praise of Frost'swisdom, but we should know that Frost's wisdom is closely associated with nature. Being agood observer of nature, Frost can always learn something from it. According to him, "natureis always hinting at us"; man can always benefit from taking nature's hints. In this sense,nature is a source of human wisdom. Frost holds that a poem "begins in delight" and "ends inwisdom". This is true of most of his nature poems. Very often Frost is seen to begin a poemwith the "delight" of observing a certain natural scene; but gradually he turns to ponder overthe implication of the scene; and finally he ends the poem with the "wisdom" of an insightinto the human situation. As for Frost, both the "delight" and the "wisdom" of a poem comefrom nature. His nature poetry is thus a record of how he gets inspiration...