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Robert Frost's Use of Nature in Poetry Essay

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Robert Frost's Use of Nature in Poetry

Robert Frost, an American poet of the late 19th century, used nature in many of his writings. Frost was very observant of nature, he often used it to represent the emotion of his characters in his poetry. I will use "West-Running Brook" and "Once by the Pacific" to demonstrate Frost's use of nature in his writings.

Robert Frost was born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco ("American Writers" 150). In 1885, the dying request of his father took Frost back to Massachusetts for the burial. Since Frost couldn't afford to travel back to California, Frost remained there and began his writing. Frost led a simple life. He taught, was a New England farmer, worked in a mill, was a reporter, and …show more content…

The easiness of his writings though criticized by critics, appeal to the common man (US Literature 509). Once in a interview Frost was asked about his thought process during writing. He said: "I sometimes speak from the last thing that happen to me. I was asked today if I think up my poems. I pick up a lot of things I thought of to make a poem, that is a lot of scattered thoughts through the days that are handy for the poem. That's where the thinking comes in." He just thought up poems in his head and wrote them down, not even a rough draft (Lathem 41).

I will discuss two other writers. Their comparison with Frost will help display what opinion Frost is writing from in his poems. Robert Frost's favorite poet was Mathew Arnold, but Frost disagreed with his belief in nature. Arnold expressed his opinion in "In Harmony with Nature" (Brooks 1). Arnold's arrogance of man over nature was stated in the last two lines of his poem. The last lines basically insulted anyone who would attempt to have a friendship with nature. According to Arnold, if man can't surpass nature, then man is nothing but a slave to nature. Frost knew very well the relationship between human nature and nature, and disagreed with Arnold. Frost thought Arnold's opinion was too harsh and Frost's ideas on nature were slightly more compassionate. Frost believed that nature and man are totally

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