The Meaning of Nature in Robert Frost’s Poetry

Won Kyung Shin. 2015. The Meaning of Nature in Robert Frost’s Poetry. Studies in British and American Language and Literature 116, 83-98. This study aims to examine the particular meaning of nature in Robert Frost’s poetry. Frost is usually considered a nature poet or a farmer poet because he lived as a farmer and nature significantly influenced his poetry. However, his view on nature is different from other nature poets’. To him, nature is not a romantic subject and it is not an object to admire, either. In some of his poetry, nature, being unfavorable and even threatening to men, is the place where people struggle for existence. This paper, studying some of Frost’s poems such as “Storm Fear,” “Lodged,” “The Last Word of a Bluebird” and “Out, Out―,” examines the meaning of nature in his poetry. In many of his poems, Frost does not feel unity with nature as it neither inspires man nor gives him peace. In some of his poems nature exists as a menace to man’s survival and the poet metaphorically describes human nature. Frost believes that real nature poetry does not describe nature itself, but portrays human beings in nature. So, Frost’s nature poetry is full of insights and deep understanding of man and life.