The simplicity of Robert Frosts style is deceptive.

As a matter of fact, Frost is both for masses and the classes_ the learned few
Prepared by: Ahmad Aqeel Sarwar Submitted to: Dr. Kamal Ud Din
25th February, 2013

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ABSTRACT Title: The simplicity of Robert Frosts style is deceptive. As a matter of fact, Frost is both for masses and the classes_ the learned few This paper highlights the implicit philosophies in the apparently simple poems of Robert Frost. Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 January 29, 1963) is a widely read American Poet. He is equally popular among the masses and the classes. A few of his poems are analyzed in this regard. All the discussed poems are simple and almost all are monologues. On the surface all these poems look simple but the symbolism used in them attaches deep meanings to them. Symbols in each poem have been brought to light to show the implied meanings. It is interesting to note how the poet derives complex philosophies and relates them to the modern man. The analysis validates the statement of Randall Jarrell that, The simplicity of Robert Frosts style is deceptive. As a matter of fact, Frost is both for masses and the classes_ the learned few.

Keywords: Symbolism, Robert Frost, deceptive style, simplicity.

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Robert Frost is one of the most widely read American poets. He has touched various themes in his poetry which attract the people belonging to different age groups and different aptitudes. Frost takes an ordinary experience and transforms it into a meditative moment, a philosophical musing.(frost_apple.html). There is a sense of alienation in his poetry which is a dilemma of the modern man especially American modern man. There are strong elements of regionalism and nationalism in his poetry. As John Lynen says, Frost is the best known to the public as the poet of New England. Like Faulkner, he stands forth as both the interpreter and the representative of his regional culture.1 He discusses nature and explores its relation with man. Robert Frost himself said in 1952, I guess Im not a Nature poet. I have only written two poems without a human-being in them. His concept of nature is not like Wordsworths concept of nature. Nature is God for Wordsworth whereas Frost presents realistically. He juxtaposes man against universe and the problems he discusses are universal. His style is romantic but his era is modern. His poetry is a fine blend of tradition and experimentation with language. He uses colloquial language for the first time in American poetry which makes his diction simple. However this simplicity of his poetry is deceptive. His symbolism renders deep meanings to the apparently simple poems. As Lynen says, He does not interpret the scene; he uses it as the medium through which to review the reality. This is the reason that his poetry attracts so diverse an audience_ his poems are equally enjoyed by masses and classes. There are layers of meanings in and profound thoughts in his poetry. As he himself stated, A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom. A close analysis of his poems reveals that symbolism plays a very important role in giving philosophical depth to his poetry. He presents simple activities of life with grave philosophy. Warren Austin uses the term 'natural symbolism' to describe Frost's symbols,
1

The Pastoral Art of Robert Frost, 1966

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because he draws them from simple and common place objects, events and people and from the natural world. Some of the poems of Robert Frost are discussed in the following lines to substantiate the established contention. The Road Not Taken was first published in 1916 in the collection Mountain Interval. It is one of the most popular poems by Robert Frost. The first impression of the poem is simple. The themes in the poem are quite common in the poetry of Frost. The poet narrates a simple incident of going to wood and there upon choosing one way. A spirit of experimentation and thinking on new lines is visible in the poem_ this points to the scientific mode of thinking of the common people in the modern world. He carefully analyses the two paths and then chooses the one which is less trodden. This shows that the poet has the desire to know the unknown. The scene is pastoral which is common in the poetry of Frost. The poem seems to be dealing with a simple incident of a day. On a deeper level the poem has philosophic implications. The path symbolizes the path of life and the poet is making choices between the easy journey opted by many and the right journey taken by a few. The poet has an equal opportunity to choose the mode of living he wants to take. He takes the road which seems to have a better claim because it was not trodden by many: And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; (Road Not Taken, Frost 1916) The poet is very conscious of his choice as he says: long I stood, And looked as far as I could. (Road Not Taken, Frost 1916)

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He deliberately chooses the path less trodden. He does not know where the way will lead him but he knows that it will not be easy. He is doubtful about his survival, I doubted if I should ever come back. yet he does not stop from taking the difficult road. This shows the courage of the traveler to meet the challenges that the life offers. The journey on the less trodden road symbolizes the poets choice to live antitraditionally which is not acceptable to the society. The last stanza shows that the poet knows that he will have to suffer a lot because the society will never let him enjoy his different ideas. The poet seems to be saying that society has its own established patterns and those who do not fit in these patterns the society rejects such person and alienates them. This fear of being alienated is described in the last stanza_ I shall be telling this with a sigh. The poet knows that he will have a different life from the other members of the society though he is not sure whether it will be good or bad for him. He is a bit satisfied at having made his choice out of his own thinking rather than following the already established ideas: I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. (Road Not Taken, Frost 1916) The symbolism in the poem makes it pregnant with philosophic implications and profound ideas. The poem does not lose its simplicity because of colloquial language and attracts general public. This quality of the poetry of Frost makes it equally enjoyable for everyone. After Apple Picking was first published in 1915 in the volume North of Boston. It is also a widely read poem by Robert Frost. In this poem the poet shares the experience of apple picking. The activity has made him tired and he wants to end though some work still remains. He wants to sleep because the activity and the smell of the apples make him drowsy. He feels that he is

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overtired with apple picking and now he must abandon his work and take long rest though he is not sure about the form of his sleep. Apparently this is a very simple descriptive poem but the apple picking and the sleep are symbol and attach deep meanings to an ordinary incident from the everyday life. The poem is about life and the experiences and desires of life which remain unfulfilled and the poet speaks of them with regret because he has reached his end. The apples symbolize the desires, apple picking symbolizes the experiences during the fulfillment of desires during life and the sleep symbolizes approaching death. The state of mind of the speaker is that of regrets because of some unfulfilled wishes. He says: And there's a barrel that I didn't fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn't pick upon some bough. But I am done with apple-picking now. (After Apple Picking, Frost 1915) The apples are the desires some of these are still unfulfilled. The experience of trying to fulfill his wishes has made him fed up and he does not want to continue his activity. He reaches a point of reflection at the approach of death and now he judges the experiences and the fulfilled desires during the life. He says: Magnified apples appear and disappear, Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear. (After Apple Picking, Frost 1915) Everything now appears to him magnified and he is able to judge his harvest during life. The stem end and blossom end tells that the speaker is now able to see his actions fully and the

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russets or the bruises, which symbolize the mistakes committed during these actions, are quite clear to him as the end approaches. He is seeing reflections of his life: There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall. (After Apple Picking, Frost 1915) The speaker is talking about the opportunities he had in life and some of which he availed and some he missed. He was afraid to let go any of these opportunities. The speaker is then thinking about the sleep he is going to have at the end of this harvest. He is not sure if it is death or ordinary human sleep. The very first line of the poem, My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree toward heaven still refers to heaven and answers the confusion in the last lines. The speaker knows that he is going to die after spending a life full of desires, opportunities, experiences and mistakes. The poet uses simple language to express a deep thought. The desires of life are never fulfilled and one always regrets at the desires which remain unfulfilled. The ultimate reality of death makes one realize ones mistakes and submit the fact that all wishes never come true. This philosophy is depicted in a very simple style. The poem is enjoyable for the masses and inspires the thinking minds. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening is a simple poem. It was published in 1923 in New Hampshire volume. In this poem Frost describes a simple scene of a man who stops by the woods while travelling on a snowy evening. The man is accompanied by a horse and the manner of the speaker shows that he cannot stay longer to reflect upon the scene. He has a long way to go and he cannot stop there for a long time.

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A close look at the poem shows that it contains much more meanings in the simple description of the scene. The speaker is a modern man who has been attracted by the beauty of the nature. There is a sense of loneliness and the speaker is attracted by it as it lies in contrast with the hustle of the city life. Even the horse feels the strangeness of the act of his master_ My little horse must think it queer. The speaker is then brought out of the trance by the horse: He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. (Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost 1923) The speaker then remembers that he has to carry out a lot of activities before the end of the day. This shows the dilemma of the modern man. The modern man is too much engrossed in the business of daily life. He has lost the connection with nature and with his own inner self. He is divided between his desire to stop and enjoy nature and his helplessness because of the pressing affairs he has in the city. He says: The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, (Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost 1923) The promises could be the promises of business or they could be the aims of the speaker which he wants to achieve before going to eternal sleep. He has to sacrifice his relation with nature in order to meet the demands of the modern life. A sense of regret is there as the speaker is torn between love for nature and rushed routine of modern life.

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Here again we see that simple language and a simple incident is used to convey a deep philosophic thought. The dilemma of the modern man is implicitly hinted at in a very simple style and language. Mending Wall was published in 1914 as the opening poem of Frosts second volume, North of Boston. It is written in blank verse. The poem is about a common rural activity of repairing walls during the spring season. The narrator is walking along the wall with his neighbor in a relaxed mood and they both are making repairs. The speaker humorously talks about the reluctance of the stones to be placed in order. The language of the poem is colloquial. The basic metaphor of the poem is clear_ the wall represents the barriers of different types between people and properties. However a careful reading suggests more deep meanings and themes. The eye of the reader is captured by the irony of the line: And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. (Mending Wall, Frost 1914) The speaker and his neighbor meet once a year and they meet to repair the wall which separates them. It suggests the satisfaction the modern man feels in distancing from the neighbors. This depicts the isolation of the modern man from his fellow beings. There is an implicit sense of safety in this alienation. The narrator asks his neighbor about the utility of the wall. The narrator believes that there is no need of wall as their trees are not supposed to interfere in the others farm. The neighbor is tells him a celebrated clich, Good fences make good neighbours. This shows that the neighbor is conservative and feels pride in following the tradition without checking its validity. Here, Frost seems to be questioning the validity of this statement. Human beings are supposed to be living together happily but ironically they try to be at a distance from each other.

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It is the modern mans dilemma that he is creating gaps in the social structure and this makes him alienated from his fellow beings. He seeks happiness in keeping a distance from his fellow beings but ironically it is the very cause that has disrupted the true relations in the modern world. In the last lines of the poem, the poet identifies his neighbor as a primitive man who used stones as arms. He says: .I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. (Mending Wall, Frost 1914) The narrator feels that his neighbor is coming towards him to attack the relationship which they enjoy as fellow human beings. He is moving in the dark which suggests that the neighbor has failed to meet the pace of times and is still living in the primitive ages. The narrator then states that his neighbor will never be able to think beyond the wisdom of his father. The neighbor fails to understand that what was good for his father may not be good for him. He sticks to the traditional idea and: He says again, Good fences make good neighbours. (Mending Wall, Frost 1914) The poet presents the psychological state of the modern man through this simple incident which is of no wonder for the neighbor who represents the common man. The common practices of modern man are creating a rift in the social structure which remains unnoticed. The poet has touched a very important aspect of modern life. The boundaries are becoming more important than relations_ the mundane is becoming more important than the moral. This change of attitude has taken man back to the primitive ages rather than taking him further. The activity aimed at creating more trusted relationship ironically indicates a lack of trust among the human beings.

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These profound ideas are indicted by the poet in a very simple way, in a simple language while describing a simple incident. This simplicity of style and profoundness of meaning is the reason that Frost is equally popular among the masses and the classes. Fire and Ice was first published in Harpers Magazine in 1920. It is a very simple poem by Robert Frost which explores the qualities of human nature. The language of the poem is simple and contains just nine lines. Frost discusses and unravels the effect of hate and indifference by using the symbols of fire and ice respectively. The poet points out the different views of people about hate and indifference. He feels that both the qualities lead to loss of good relations among human beings. He says: From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. (Fire and Ice, Frost 1920) He has learned from experience that the destruction caused by indifference equals the damage done by rage and hate. This is the dilemma of modern man that he is devoid of feelings and shows indifference towards his fellow beings. The human beings are alienated from each other and this situation inflicts harm in equal magnitude to that caused by hate or anger. In other words, the human beings are in a state of cold war with each other and this war is equally destructive. Frost feels that the world will come to an end because of the negative attitudes of human beings towards each other. Robert Frost has used very simple language in this thought provoking poem. The simplicity of style allows the poet to express his observation about hate and indifference in a few lines. The poem is simple but it points toward modern mans dilemma of alienation and

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segregation. This idea is so simply presented that it can be understood by common people very easily. This quality of the poetry of Frost makes him popular among the masses and classes. A detailed study in the lines above shows that Robert Frost writes in a very simple language and explores very common and simple scenes and practices. He discusses ordinary experiences observed by everyone. This simplicity of description and story is the very quality which makes his poetry liked and loved by people belonging to all walks of life. John F. Kennedy regarded him highly. While praising Robert Frost he said, This day, devoted to the memory of Robert Frost, offers an opportunity for reflection which is prized by politicians as well as by others, and even by poets.2 Jawahar Lal Nehru, former prime minister of India, kept a pad on his desk in which he had copied these lines from Frosts Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening: The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep.3 This shows that the poetry of Frost appealed people universally. Everyone finds meanings in them according to ones own mental and spiritual depth. It can be said that the statement of Randall Jarrell was true when he said, The simplicity of Robert Frosts style is deceptive. As a matter of fact, Frost is both for masses and the classes_ the learned few.4

Speech delivered by John F. Kennedy, on October 27, 1963 Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography by Sankar Ghose Jarrell

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Bibliography
Bloom, Harold, ed. Bloom's Modern Critical Views Robert Frost. Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Faggen, Robert, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Robert Frost. 2006: Cambridge University Press, n.d. . The Cambridge Introduction to Robert Frost. New York: Cambridge Unviversity Press, 2008. Jarrell, Randall. Poetry and the Age. University Press of Florida, 2001. Latham, Edward Connery, ed. The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged. Holt Paperbacks, 1979. Lynen, John. The Pastoral Art of Robert Frost. Yale University Press, 1966. Tanvir, Nabila. Classic English Literature Notes. 27 July 2009. 23 February 2013.