Dramatic Monologue in Frost poetry

Robert Frost, in his poems has practiced some techniques in order to render the artistic effect of those poems. His famous collection of poems ; North of Boston (1913) is known as A Book of People, because many of poems in this collection are about people, their lives etc .His technique of using human relationships, especially the husband-wife relationship as a theme of his poems is notable and the very purpose of this is to dramatize the marital differences and for the same he exploited some devices such as dramatic monologues. Robert Frost has used five types of dialogues, so for the proper understanding of his poetry it is obligatory to know how he used these in his poems. Prior to all his use of dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologue is a type of lyric poem that was perfected by Robert Browning, in which a single person utters the speech and makes up the whole of the poem. Robert Browning My Last Duchess is the best example of dramatic monologue. Likewise in Robert Frosts dramatic monologues which he used in his lyrics and meditative poems, he uses highly dramatized speaker. This speaker holds attitudes and feelings that we are expected to credit. We tend to identify it as that of the poet himself. In Robert Frosts A Servant to Servants the depressed, half mad woman speaking of her inner voice about serving men and of asylums, makes us to look behind the scene to Frosts that is the implied poets judgments of his character. Either he himself is speaking or as a creator stands apart lets the characters speak for themselves. Second type of dialogue that he used arises from his extensive use of irony, the inter-play between tow meanings as a struggle between two voices or selves. Such kind of struggle or ironic ambiguity of sense implies a muted dialogue between two selves within a single persona. e.g. Better go down dignified, With bough ten friendship at your side Than none at all. Provide. Provide. In above lines, the ironic is so sarcastic. The reader tends to separate the speaker distinctly from the poet after reading the words provide, provide. Third type of dialogue also arises from the symbolic meaning or doubleness of meaning e.g. the dualistic allegories like Road Not Taken has in it the extreme use of symbolic effects which produce conflicting meanings and feelings which seems like dialogue. The fourth kind of dialogue reveals Frosts more broadly imaginative, highly sensitive self to surface and be identified as distinctly poetic voice in the literary tone. The fifth and most important type of dialogue is dramatic dialogue. J.L.Styan defines dialogue as a dramatic speech. In that sense dramatic dialogue is dialogue which creates dramatic situation. As far as the use of dramatic dialogue in Frosts poetry is concerned The Death of Hired Man and Home Burial are important poems. Both of the poem shows the use of dramatic dialogues which play a vital role. It gives us the clear cut idea about human relationships, their emotions, their conflict etc. The Death of Hired Man is a narrative poem in which the function of dramatic dialogue is rather crucial this poem may be regarded as a short drama because whole poem is nothing but the conversation between husband and wife, apart from these two characters Warren and Marry respectively there is another character Silas the hired man but he does not appear in the whole poem, even we can understand about him through the exchange of dialogues between the couple. So here dialogues function is to give the information about character. The couples attitude about the old man creates the conflicting situation. Warrens practical attitude and anger about Silas reveals when he says : What good is he? who else will harbor him At his age for the little he can do? Vise versa, his wife Mary is quite sympathetic towards Silas; she tries to console her husband by saying: Be Kind So, here dramatic dialogue exhibits feelings before us such as anger and sympathy which can be regarded next function of dramatic dialogue. There is an ongoing debate between husband and wife. Both they differ from each other in their way of thinking. This conflict of thoughts and exchange of

philosophical opinions create dramatic situation e.g. Warren defines home as: Home is the place where, when you Have to go there they have take you in. Mary further adds: I should have called it; Something you somehow havent to deserve These dialogues show us about Warrens practical attitude and Marys somewhat spiritual because she thinks home as a heaven where Silas had came to die. At the end of this poem, poet has created ambiguous situation. Mary felt that Silas would die soon and requests Warren to know about Silas plans regarding the farm and further she says he must not ridicule on him. She says: He has a plan; you mustnt laugh at him, He may not speak of it, and then he may, Ill sit and see if that small sailing cloud Will hit or miss the moon. Home Buria is another poem which is worth noting for use of dramatic dialogues. In this poem also there is an interaction between husband and wife. As it is mentioned earlier that Frosts main purpose behind using dramatic dialogues is to show the marital differences and it becomes clear after analyzing the poem. Both the husband and wife are emotionally blind. The husbands practical view about his childs death simply reflects when he describes the mound of his child as: There are three stones of slate and one of marble, Broad shouldered little slabs there in the sunlight On the side hill, we havent to mind those, But I understand; it is not the stones, But the childs mound. When he utters these dialogues he doesnt understand the situation of the mother. And we can feel it when she says: Dont dont, dont, dont. So, the emotional gulf between the couple is presented by using the dramatic dialogues and this gulf widens after as time passes. And for the reason Frost has used such devices in order explain to the excessive intensity of the emotions. ConclusionTo sum up it can be said that Frost has intention to put the marital differences and the complexity between human relationship; the conflict, and the conflict is better understood with the help of dialogues and Frost has done the same thing by using dramatic dialogues in the poem.