Theme of alienation in Robert Frost’s poetry
Mending Wall is a notable literary work by Robert Frost. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Mending Wall.
Answer
Discuss the theme of alienation in Robert Frost’s poetry.
As we know, Robert Frost (1874-1963) is a poet of human psychology; all aspects of human psychology are certainly present in his poems, which is why alienation or isolation is one of the prime themes of his poetry.
The key concept of alienation: The word alienation or isolation belongs to human psychology. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, alienation means a feeling that does not belong to a particular group. It is considered a disaster of human life because it is related to frustration, which destroys a human being like a slow poising. In Frost’s poetry, sundry aspects of isolation are noticed.
Isolation from the immediate environment: The isolation of man from the instant environment is a broad concept in Frost’s poetry. The term instantaneous environment refers to society, nature, sky, stars, and God. By the notion of isolation from the instantaneous environment, the poet means to imply that man feels the pain of being isolated from all, even from the soul, and of eternal loneliness.
The destiny of man determines the poet’s philosophical view of life, and the destiny of man is alone, detached from all things and beings in the universe. Through this notion of isolation, Robert Frost emphasizes that the feeling of isolation is inevitable for us, but it should be enjoyed to the best of our ability.
Isolation from society: One of Frost’s significant strategies for managing the issue of isolation is that people become isolated from their own society. It has appeared in several poems. “Mending Wall” is a poem where the poet expresses this kind of isolation. The main idea of the poem is that the young speaker of the poem is disturbed by the idea of his old neighbor:
Good fences make good neighbors
If the above short of the poem “Mending Wall” is read from a wide and symbolic point of view, it will reveal that man is separated from people, race, and ethnicity. Even international isolation is hidden in the above short line. So, Frost has