Analyze the rural settings in the poems of Robert Frost.

Answer

Analyze the rural settings in the poems of Robert Frost. [NU: 2019, 22]

Or, “Frost’s poems are local in color but universal in appeal.” Discuss.

Robert Frost (1874–1963) is famous for his portrayal of the simple rural life of New England in his poems. He is called the storyteller of New England, where he lived. Although his setting is local, his poetry deals with universal themes like human life, loneliness, relations, and struggles. So, his poetry becomes local in color but universal in appeal. Let us analyze the rural settings in Frost’s poems below.

Mending Wall: In “Mending Wall” (1914), the rural setting is the farms of the speaker and his neighbor. A stone wall separates their lands. Every spring, they meet and repair the stone wall by putting back the loose stones. This is a rural setting of the New England countryside where Frost lived. While repairing the wall, the speaker talks with his neighbor. He 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.”

Through this simple act of mending a wall in a rural setting, Frost has discussed universal themes like human relations, tradition, and separation.

The Death of the Hired Man: In “The Death of the Hired Man” (1914), the whole story happens in the farmhouse of Warren and Mary at night. They discuss the return of their old farm worker, Silas. Silas is very sick. Warren is unwilling to hire Silas again because he left the farm during a busy haying season. But Mary realizes that Silas has not returned to work. He has come back to his close ones in his final moments. She says to Warren:

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