What is Frost’s Attitude toward Nature in “Tree at My Window?” 

Answer

What is Frost’s attitude toward Nature? 

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 we see woods, fields, farms, and snow-covered lands. 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.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: In “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (1923), Frost describes a man who stops beside the woods on a snowy evening. The scene is calm, beautiful, and silent. The woods attract him to stay longer. It seems that the man wants to take eternal rest there. But soon he remembers his duties and responsibilities. He realizes that he still has a long way to go in his life before he can take a rest.

“But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep…”

Here, Frost uses the calm and beautiful nature to focus on the human heart. The poem shows that we often want to escape from our duties, but cannot.

Out, Out—: In “Out, Out—” (1916), nature becomes the background of a tragic human event. The poem describes a young boy cutting wood with a buzz saw in a rural setting. The mountains and sunset create a calm and beautiful natural scene. But tragedy suddenly strikes. The boy loses his hand and dies. The calm evening continues, and others soon return to their daily affairs. Frost writes:

“And they, since they

Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.”

Here, Frost uses the natural setting to focus on human loneliness and suffering. The quiet mountains, the falling sun, and even other people do not stop for the boy’s death. This shows how lonely we are.

In short, Robert Frost’s nature is never separate from human life.