“Aging is not last youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” -Betty Friedan. Robert Frost writes a variety of poems. The themes fluctuate throughout each one he writes. Frost shows different phases of life through numerous verses, he uses distinct literary devices to emphasize the feelings and experiences a person goes through during each stage of their existence.
One of the most noticeable characteristics in children happens to be their innocence; Frost uses the poem, “The Exposed Nest” to prove this. (add summary) In the title the first word, “exposed” means the lack of protection for the young birds. The nest refers to the group of birds, which symbolizes all young and innocent life. The only information on the children’s mind happens to be their existence at that moment. Lines 1-3, shows the carefree emotions a child feels,
“You were forever finding some new play
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So when I saw you down on hands and knees,
In the meadow, busy with the new-cut hay” (1-3).
The poet explains how children play and create games for themselves but when their parent sees them struggling while playing in the hay, they offer help. The visual imagery in line 2 shows the parent views the kid who plays in the hay. The child’s whole world revolves around happiness. Parents do anything to protect their children from violence and pain, but eventually, the children notice the harsh world in which they live. (Set up quote)
“The way the nest-full every time we stirred
Stood up to us as to a mother-bird
Whose coming home has been too long deferred
Made me ask would the mother-bird return” (20-24).
The shift in the poem goes from pure to tragic because the children question whether the bird’s parents return, just as many kids think that their parents may not come back. The use of metaphor appears in abundance throughout the poem. The young birds represent the young and virtuous children of World War I. After one completes the stage of innocence and learning, they begin to age.
As people grow older, they experience all different types of love. Frost exemplifies this love through his poem, “To Earthward.” The poem splits into eight stanzas with the first four stanzas about the primal feelings of love and in youth. The last four refer to a deeper attraction that requires maturity. The first stanza talks about the simplicity of love.
“Love at the lips was touch
As sweet as I could bear;
And once that seemed too much
I lived on air” (1-4).
(add a sentence to introduce) The first line of this stanza, “Love at the lips” explains the candor of young love. Frost uses alliteration in the words “love and “lips” to suggest the image of kissing, without actually using the word, “kiss.” The last two lines of the stanza, “and once that seemed too much/I lived on air” allows the poet to emphasize the sweetness of kisses, but the narrator does not need kisses to feel the love of a person, all he needs happens to be air. This idea parallels to the idea of breathing the same air as a love becomes equivalent to the sweetness of a kiss. The second stanza questions,
“That crossed me from the sweet things,
From hidden grape vine springs
Downhill at dusk” (5-8).
The narrator asks the reader a question which allows him to recall the smells that occur in the air. The contrasting smells of “musk” and “honeysuckle” create a sense of presence in the situation. The use of imagery in the flowers, dew, and sweets emphasizes the youthfulness in the narrator and the specific desires in young lovers at the beginning of their relationship. Love often turns into a lifetime commitment.
A true passion for a loved one often results in marriage; Robert Frost describes commitment in the poem, “Putting in the Seed.” His poem proves how little fights causes problems in relationships. However, that does not mean the love fades. It simply means there is trouble that can be fixed easily,
“And go along with you ere you lose sight
Of what you came for and become like me
Slave to a springtime passion for the earth” (7-9).
Sometimes in marriages, one of them just goes through the motions, in this verse the wife is present in the partnership. An allegory of human union links and expresses throughout verses like, “springtime slave.” In result to issues, one thinks a baby can solve all the problems of the couple,
“The sturdy seedlings with arched body cones
Shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs” (13-14)
Lines 13 and 14 show how the poet uses seedlings as a metaphor for a new life. The image of the plant bursting through the earth symbolically represents a baby coming to the world. Mainly when a relationship has babies, it brings a new sense of life to their world until death.
Frost shows the last stage of life through his poem, “My Butterfly.” The theme of the poem shows the sorrow that comes with a loved one and exemplifies the ups and downs of life. When someone first passes, the mourner feels a sense of forgottenness and distance for their loved one.
“But it is long ago-
Since first I saw thee glance with all the dazzling
Other ones” (10-13).
The speaker discusses how it feels like it has been a long time since he sees her. He uses sensory imagery, such as visual to describe how it has been. In the next line, he recalls what she looks like,
“In airy delliance
Precipitate in love
Tossed, tangled, whirled and whirled above,
Like a limp rose-wreath in a fairy dance” (14-17)
The speaker talks about what his love looks like by using visual and olfactory imagery The butterfly symbolizes the metaphor of the one he loves. Throughout the poem, he says how the “butterfly” makes him feel in the early stages of their relationship and how when she dies, he cannot bear to function. (leading into conclusion)
Robert Frost creates various forms of imagery to help readers connect to the poem he writes. The four different poems above all relate to the stages of life and how someone deals with each phase. Unlike most poets, Frost varies in diverse themes of poems.
