Nature in Robert Frost's Poetry

Paper Summary:

This paper compares the use of the theme of man's relationship to nature in poet Robert Frost's works "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening", "Never Again Would Bird's Song Be the Same" and "The Oven Bird". The paper argues that the poet frequently used images of nature in order to provide a symbolic reference for his message. All three poems indicate a dichotomy between untouched nature and the human influence, as well as separation from the natural world. The paper points out that rapid technological developments during Frost's lifetime caused him great concern. The paper concludes that, according to the poems discussed here, redemption is only possible by a reconnection to nature.

From the Paper:

"Even in this joyous description, the poem is filled with regret. The reader is assumed to know the story of Eve, the fall, and the subsequent banishment from the garden even before reaching the end of the poem. The description of joy itself is therefore also filled with a sense of regret and loss. Regardless of the loss experienced, however, the sense of bittersweet memory remains. The birds are forever influenced by the contact they had with Eve. They regret her loss, and mourn for her, and therefore hold on to her essence in perhaps the vain hope that she might return some day."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fike, Matthew A. On Never Again Would Birds' Song be the Same. From The Explicator 49:2 (Winter 1991), pp. 108-112. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/birdsong.htm
• Kearns, Katherine. On The Oven Bird. From Robert Frost and a Poetic of Appetite. Copyright (c) 1994 by Cambridge University Press. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/ovenbrid.htm
• Ogilvie, John T. On Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. From "From Woods to Stars: A Pattern of Imagery in Robert Frost's Poetry." South Atlantic Quarterly. Winter 1959. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/woods.htm

More papers on Nature in Robert Frost's Poetry:

• Analytical Essay # 91893 : "Robert Frost and Nature"
• Analytical Essay # 58315 : "The Poetry of Robert Frost"
• Analytical Essay # 67953 : "Influences on Robert Frost's Works"

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