Nature in Robert Frost’s Poetry

【Abstract】Robert Frost was a great poet in American. He not only depicted the nature in his poem， but also expressed his philosophical themes through the depiction of nature. In his poem， nature symbolized the powerful life and conveyed his meditation of the relationship between man and the world.

【Key words】Robert Frost; nature; poem

【作者簡介】史風彩，上海杉達學院。

1. Introduction

Robert Lee Frost （March 26， 1874- January 29， 1963） was an American poet who is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work employed settings from rural life to examine complex social and philosophical themes. Robert Frost takes the nature as a symbol of mans relation to the world. F. O. Matthiessen once said “Robert Frost is most interested in showing the human reaction to natures process.” （Bridget and Daniel G.1983）

2. Nature in Robert Frosts poem

2.1 Power of life in nature

Roberts work is landscaped with sunlight， snow， birches， birds， blueberries and squirrels. He has undoubtedly the deep love of nature and “Spring Pools” is such a poem.

These pools that， though in forests， still reflect/ The total sky almost without defect/ And like the flowers beside them， chill and shiver… To blot out and drink up and sweep away/ These flowery waters and these watery flowers/ From snow that melted only yesterday.

Traditionally， this poem seemed to show that the week is devoured by the strong. In fact，“Frost sees his New England as a pleasantly normal land of farms and pastures and domestic animals.”（Potter 80） We can feel a sense of harmony， unity， beauty and delicacy which reflects the power of life.

In the pool， there are sky， earth， flowers， trees and water， which formed a picture that the pool becomes the source of life. But， the water in the pool will disappear soon because it would water the trees and flowers nearby. Although water will disappear， the trees and flowers which represent the power of life can survive and live longer. As the tree grow up， its foliage would shed shade over the flowers. Water flower， flowery waters and dark foliage form an animating and beautiful phenomenon in nature： “winter snows melt into spring pools， which nourish flowers; sap will rise in the trees， utilizing all the moisture its roots can carry up toward trunk and then leaf， until the forest is green.”（Judith Oster. 137-174.）

2.2 meditations in nature

Nature is regarded as the source of justice， guiding people in the right direction of wisdom and safety. （王諾101-102.） For Frost， nature has provided man a platform for their meditating on their own culture and state in the world， and he often gains the insight into life from nature.

2.3 “Dust of Snow” is an example，

The way a crow/ Shook down on me/ The dust of snow/From a hemlock tree/ Has given my heart/ A change of mood/ And saved some part/ Of a day I had rued.

The speaker was wandering around the countryside with regretful mood until he was cheered by a chance encounter with a crow. “Dust”， “crow” and “hemlock” all carry strong connotations of death. The second stanza reflects a more positive frame of mind， and is therefore free from the negative images contained in the first. However， we can tell that the speaker still feels a little regret – the encounter with nature has only managed to rescue “some” part of his bad day.

On the superficial level， the speakers mood has been changed by the dust of snow. But what made him rueful goes deliberately unmentioned so that scene and change can dominate. Crow and dust usually convey negative associations. Snow is originally white， but the color of dust of snow and mans associations would be another story. Such a minor thing in nature arouses his feeling towards life， that is everyone has limitedness and will go to dust （death） in the end.

3. Conclusions

Nature is permanent theme in poetry. One of Roberts most distinguish features is that he could examine complex social and philosophical themes from his depiction of nature. From nature， he sees the power of life; from nature， he sees the inner side of human; from nature， he leads us to understand the meaning of life in the world.

References：

[1]Jean C. Stine. Bridget Broderick， and Daniel G. Marowski. Contemporary Literary Criticism[J]. Vol. 26. Detroit： Gale Research， 1983：110-129.

[2]Potter， James L. Robert Frost Handbook. 2nd edition[M]. University Park： The Pennsylvania State University Press，1982.

[3]Judith Oster. Nater and Poetry Toward Robert Frost： The Reader and the Poet[J].1991：137-174.

[4]王諾.歐美生態批評[M].上海：學林出版社，2008.