Robert Frost is a Poet of Nature

Answer

 Point out the characteristics of Frost’s poetry that mark him as a poet of nature. [NU: 2018, 20] Or, Evaluate Robert Frost as a poet of nature. [NU: 2016, 21]

Robert Frost (1874–1963) is a prominent nature poet of the twentieth century. Most of his poems are set in the rural countryside of New England, where he lived. He describes farms, orchards, woods, snow, trees, and changing seasons. But Frost is not only a painter of natural scenes. His nature is always connected to human life. He uses the countryside to show human emotions and struggles. Let us evaluate Robert Frost as a poet of nature below.

Mending Wall: In “Mending Wall” (1914), Frost depicts the natural countryside of New England. In this poem, we see the speaker and his neighbor meet every spring to repair a stone wall between their farms. As the speaker speaks, we get a vivid picture of nature. He says that winter frost and hunters break the stones of the wall while chasing rabbits. The speaker questions the necessity of the wall. He says his apple trees will never get across the wall and eat his neighbor’s pines. Moreover, they have no cows to keep in or out. So, he thinks the wall is not necessary at all. It only separates people. However, the neighbor disagrees. He believes in traditional thinking. His only reply is:

“Good fences make good neighbours.”

So, in this poem, the rural setting of fields, stones, apple trees, pines, and cows creates a vivid natural picture. But behind this simple scene lies a deeper meaning. The poem discusses separation, tradition, and human relations.

The Road Not Taken: “The Road Not Taken” (1915) also uses natural settings to discuss deeper themes. Here, Frost shows the difficulty of making choices and life’s uncertainty. In this poem, Frost’s speaker comes in front of a diverging road in a yellow wood in Autumn. He feels sad that he cannot travel both roads. He says:

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