Flowers, trees, butterflies, stars, snow, fire, and ice– he wrote about it all. Robert Frost, often thought of as a nature poet and a Romantic, frequently comes across as a very simplistic writer simply because he writes about simplistic things. This may be true on the surface, but what some do not realize is that there is, in fact, deeper meaning hidden beneath his simple words. Quite often, Frost uses the natural world in which we live to convey larger and relatable ideas. In many of his poems, including “Birches,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Design,” in which most of us are familiar, Robert Frost writes of nature primarily as a way to communicate abstract or more complex concepts regarding mankind. As a matter of fact, the argument could be made that Frost isn’t really writing about nature (environment and scenery) at all, rather using it as a tool to compose ideas relating to human nature.
The following selective annotated bibliography includes a variety of sources discussing the way in which Frost uses these simple elements of nature to demonstrate ideas and notions relating to the actions and the way of life of humanity. Humans are not simple beings in the least; we are extremely complex and intricate, exceptionally dynamic, and cannot be easily understood. However, Frost attempts to extract themes of mankind by using themes of nature metaphorically, subtly conveying his ideas through this type of nature imagery. Therefore, when one reads of birches or of apples, the quick assumption that there is nothing more to the poem besides what appears on the surface should not be made. Apples are not always apples; birches are not always birches. Step back and take a closer look– beneath the surface, between the lines, deeper into each word, and discover the hidden beauty within.
Works featured in this bibliography may include those focusing on a specific poem, topic, or theme of Frost’s; others may examine the poet and his poetry as a whole. Some included articles provide conflicting ideas of scholarly critics relating to the poetry and form a persuasive argument defending or sometimes defying these scholars. These sources are particularly useful to those looking to research the thematic nature of Frost’s poetry or those who are just interested in his methodology in constructing metaphorical poetry using the most basic and fundamental aspect of the world—nature.
Baym, Nina. “An Approach to Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry.” American Quarterly 17.4 (1965): 713-23. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
This ten page article regarding misconceptions of Robert Frost himself along with his poetry argues that a lot of critics have labeled Frost as a “nature poet,” but simply assume that he is another version of Ralph Waldo Emerson or perhaps William Wordsworth. Baym goes on to say that many people during this time period only seen Frost as an “inspired plowman.” The entirety of this short article is dedicated to the misconceptions of Frost’s seasonal imagery along with other aspects of nature and how they have been overlooked. Baym also uses pieces by authors such as Lynen and Bower to support the thesis that Frost’s subjects and methodology derive from his “conviction that poetry is a unique discipline with its own characteristic subject matters as well as its own uses of language.” Baym uses the method of describing a misconception and then making her own assumptions, backing them with other scholarly works.
Dickey, Frances. “Frost’s “The Tuft of Flowers”: A Problem of Other Minds.” The New England Quarterly 75.2 (2002): 299-311. JSTOR. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
This is a twelve page scholarly article from The New England Quarterly Journal. Author Frances Dickey describes in depth the history of Frost’s “The Tuft of Flowers,” people’s reactions to it, and includes an analysis of the poem itself. Dickey is continuously quoting lines from the poem and interpreting their meaning, such as the incident where the speaker is standing alone in a field turning the hay to dry. Dickey also introduces other interpreters’ opinions, such as those of Frank Lentricchia and Richard Poirier and integrates some pieces of their scholarly works. Dickey has segmented her essay into several different pieces, and in her section title “The Poem,” she explains how flowers and other aspects of nature are brought into play. There are several other portions, such as “The Pragmatism” and “The Revision,” where the author describes changes that Frost made to his poem.
Fagan, Deirdre, and Robert Seltzer. “Frost’s “Design”.” Explicator 68.1 (2010): 48-50. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 30 September 2013.
Though this article is short and to the point, it most certainly contains a number of important ideas regarding Frost’s “Design.” The authors begin by quoting Frost himself, that the mistake shouldn’t be made “of assuming that [his] simplicity is that of an untutored child.” A few other scholars are quoted, including Laurence Perrine and Everett Carter. The authors dispute some ideas that these critics present—including the statement that Frost is “grim” in his poetry. The article is spent arguing that Frost uses the world of nature to convey larger ideas, the poem opening with a scene in nature and ending with a reflection in the form of a series of questions. The ending sentence sums up the entire article: “The observation in “Design” is a metaphor and, as such, should allow readers to leap from the world of insects to that of humans, and likewise, to understand Frost’s enthymematic sentiment without being sentimental.”
Ghasemi, Parvin, and Elham Mansooji. “Nature and Man in Robert Frost.” CLA Journal 49.4 (2006): 462-481. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
This extensive article inspects Frost’s poems and the exploration of the relationship between humans and the natural world. The authors analyze how Frost uses the confrontation between humanity and nature to lead to the confrontation of humanity itself. The idea that the duties of humans are to use whatever they have for survival, whether it be their minds or hearts, is also examined in this article. By doing so, humans gain knowledge and can better understand humanity and nature as a whole. All of these concepts are organized and discussed throughout the entirety of this journal article.
Kearns, Katherine. “The Place is the Asylum: Women and Nature in Robert Frost’s Poetry.” Twentieth Century Literature 59.2 (1987): 190-210. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
This useful 20 page article provides a brief summary and analysis of a large variety of Frost poetry. The author goes into descriptive detail of the symbolism and metaphors being used within the poems and delivers evidence by quoting or paraphrasing lines from the poem. For example, Kearns proposes the notion that water represents something more in her statement “The tension in the speaker is personified in nature by the lake, whose water must suggest a deep and troubled sexuality manifesting itself in a self-acknowledged madness.” The author backs this statement with examples from the primary source itself. The entirety of this article is dedicated to Frost’s metaphorical meanings and symbolism to human nature, using literal nature as a tool. This article is meant for a wide audience; intellectual background concerning the poetry is not required, for the author does a magnificent job at describing the poems within the article.
Klein, Amelia. “The Counterlove of Robert Frost.” Twentieth Century Literature 54.3 (2008):362-387. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
This rather extensive article compares Frost to the Romantic Wordsworth, in depth, and describes different ideas that both writers shared. Complex ideas are covered in detail, such as the rejection that nature is merely a linguistic construct and the notion that spaces of human dwelling are enfolded in a natural world that both sustains and threatens to undo them. Klein quotes several lines from Wordsworth and Frost, making connections between the two, such as both their understandings of our figures being part of nature’s flesh. The author also makes metaphysical speculations, like poetry being connected to the natural world through its rootedness in the human body. Theories of Frost are described in detail that support the thesis that Frost shares with his romantic forebears a vision of the natural world as the source and context of our lives.
Lahaderne, Giordano. “Frost’s “October”.” Explicator 65.4 (2007): 224-226. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
This rather short but significant article examines Frost’s popular poem “October” and how it is critically overlooked. Lahaderne quotes scholar William Scheck in his first sentence to form his thesis that the poetry of Frost seems to be quite simple on the surface but it is a lot more complex upon reflection. The author goes on to explain how Frost uses Greek mythological symbolism to veil the poem’s universal themes on the nature of life itself. The rest of the article examines “October” very closely and its hidden messages, and also how symbolism and Greek mythology is used throughout.
Liebman, Sheldon W. “Robert Frost, Romantic.” Twentieth Century Literature 42.4 (1996): 417-37. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
This lengthy twenty-two page article is constructed in an organized manner—at the end, there is a section dedicated purely to “Notes,” going into further detail on some of the ideas presented within the text. The beginning of the article describes the assumption that Frost is a Romantic, in that romanticism is defined as a simple-minded picture of human experience, and that he is not a Romantic, based on the idea that his poetry portrays him to be a tough-minded realist. Liebman believes both of these assumptions to be false, and spends the rest of the article explaining why and supporting his theories with those of other scholars, based on the subject of the use of nature. This article is written in first person and has a variety of examples relating to the topic of how systematically and metaphorically Frost uses nature throughout the majority of his poetry.
Link, Eric Carl. “Nature’s Extra-Vagrants: Frost and Thoreau in the Maine Woods.” Papers on Language & Literature 33. (1997): 182-197. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
This sixteen page article examines the relationships between Frost’s nature poetry and that of Thoreau. Link argues that both Thoreau and Frost are both in fact dark Romantics, though they are often seen as optimistic in their exploration of Nature. Link mentions scholars such as Roberts French along with others to support his argument. The author goes on to discuss the “Extra-vagance” theme when Frost and Thoreau are compared.
Murray, Keat. “Robert Frost’s Portrait of a Modern Mind: The Archetypal Resonance of “Acquainted with the Night”.” Midwest Quarterly 41.4 (2000): 370-384. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
This article discusses the language and techniques that are used by Frost to create a mysterious, even dark, feel to his poetry. Several of Frost’s poems are analyzed, including “Acquainted with the Night” and how night plays an important role in the entire meaning of the poem. The author also draws focus on not only the content in Frost’s poetry, but also the way in which the poem itself is organized and how all of these things play a part in the construction of the work. Murray also examines all of the different elements that Frost uses, such as water and light, and draws a connection between the poems and mythological ideas.
Orr, Matthew. “Is Nature Enough? Robert Frost Replies in “The Most of It”.” Zygon 40.3 (2005): 759-768. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
This scholarly journal article covers a particular poem by Frost, “The Most of It,” and its exploration of whether nature alone is sufficient to satisfy human spiritual yearnings. The article includes a brief history on the making of the poem and Frost’s inspiration toward writing it. Orr describes several misconceptions of the poem and then defines its actual message—whether or not nature is enough is actually in the eye of the beholder. This poem is very well analyzed and investigated and provides some crucial information regarding Frost’s usage of nature.
Perkins, Wendy. “Critical Essay on “Birches”.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
This essay analyzes the poem “Birches” and examines the way in which Frost uses the natural world to convey larger ideas. There is a brief summary of the poem and then many examples of the use of nature are provided and their metaphorical meanings. This essay is only 1500 words long, but it carries many fundamental and analytical ideas regarding the symbolism in the poetry of Frost. Perkins uses the critical analysis of other critics, as well as her own, within her essay to form the thesis that Frost uses the natural world to raise questions about the nature of human existence.
Stambuk, Andrew. “Learning to Hover: Robert Frost, Robert Francis, and the Poetry of Detached Engagement.” Twentieth Century Literature 45.4 (1999): 534-552. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
This 20 page article examines the history of Frost and Francis and the emergence of the young writer’s ideas through the mentoring of Robert Frost. Author Andrew Stambuk covers the ideas of both writers, so we get a new perspective from someone who had direct contact with Frost. One major concept that is covered is how both see nature emblematically and read meaning in the things and creatures of the world. Several examples of Francis’s poetry are given, showing how he uses detached engagement and how his style echoes that of Frost’s. One example provided is a poem regarding a hummingbird hovering over a flower and how Francis constructs the poem metaphorically, just as Frost does in his works. The poetry of both these writers are compared in great detail throughout the article.
Urquhart, Thomas. “A Naturalist’s Garden of Verse.” World Literature Today 82.4 (2008): 59. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
This rather short article focuses on “art that delights in the human delight in nature” and meditates on works of numerous authors such as Longfellow, Char, Sassoon, and of course Frost. The author gives a detailed background on why he first became interested in the works of Frost and informs readers that he has just read “Bond and Free” where “nature is a kind of chasuble to adorn human values” and compares the poetry of Frost to a recent newspaper article concerning imprints of ancient amphibians. This is an interesting new outlook on Frost’s nature poetry.
Wakefield, Richard. “Thomas Eakins and Robert Frost: To Be a Natural Man in a Man-Made World.” Midwest Quarterly 41.4 (2000): 354-369. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson).Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
This article takes a slightly different approach to Robert Frost and nature. Wakefield argues that men have turned away from nature, and contends that a lot of Frost’s poetry such as “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” actually has little nature in it and is essentially about self-consciousness and how a man feels in the twilight of self-reliance, turned from nature by the demands of a man-made world. This extensive article provides readers with a lot of significant analyses on the “nature” poetry of Robert Frost, and how it is indeed a lot more than just that. A large bibliography can be found at the end of the article.
English Research Sources 