The Deeper Meaning of Frost’s Tuft of Flowers
Robert Lee Frost published his first book of poems entitled A Boy's Will in 1913. From this collection come one of several poems that critics and anthologists alike highly regard as both lyrical and autobiographical in nature. One such critic, James L. Potter, in his book entitled [The] Robert Frost Handbook, explains "[that] Frost wore a mask in public much of the time, concealing his personal problems and complexities from his reading and listening audiences" (Potter 48). Through "The Tuft of Flowers," a kind of lyrical soliloquy, Frost "half-intentionally" reveals his personal views on the theme of fellowship (Potter 48).
In the first of three transitions the speaker, most
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The speaker notes that the butterfly flies as far "as eye could see / (but) on tremulous wing came back to me" (17-18). Here, the butterfly seems to parallel the thoughts the speaker has about the field and the delight it brought both of them the day before. The reader can infer from this comparison that Frost, like the butterfly, has enjoyed great beauty, joy, and love at certain times during his life but because the "grass" chokes the beauty in the field, the good times are beset with feelings of loneliness and grief.
The butterfly eventually turns and leads the speaker to a "tall tuft of flowers beside a brook" (22). The significance of the flowers and the brook can not be overlooked, because at this place in the poem the mood suddenly swings from pessimism to optimism. It seems that God was trying to send a message to Frost that the field of life can be filled with beauty and he might not always be alone in his life's work (22). This couplet of the poem is significant because it gives us a clue to how God reveals to the speaker that, although the field of life appears barren, a brook nourishes the ground to give life to the beauty he possesses. In addition, through God's infinite wisdom and mercy, Frost's loneliness and grief will someday again turn back into fellowship and joy.
Frost?s poem delves deeper into the being and essence of life with his second set of lines. The first line states, ?Her early leaf?s a flower.? After the budding and sprouting, which is the birth of nature, is growth into a flower. This is the moment where noon turns to evening, where childhood turns into maturity, and where spring turns into summer. At this very moment is the ripe and prime age of things. The young flower stands straight up and basks in the sun, the now mature teenager runs playfully in the light, and the day and sunlight peak before descending ever so quickly into dusk. The second line of the second set states, ?But only so an hour,? which makes clear that yet again time is passing by and that a beginning will inevitably have an end.
Frost affects the tone through word choice because he uses the word “perish” to give emphasis of the world vanishing. Instead of using words like disappear or leave, he uses perish because it gives the poem a stronger meaning. He also uses the word “destruction” to give the poem an intense feeling. By using this word, he makes the poem deeper and stronger than it already is.
Not only are metaphors utilized throughout the poem, but a literary device known as Imagery is as well. Imagery is alternative as important a device for it allows for the reader to have a clear picture of what the character in the poem is visualizing. Furthermore, it also helps covey the theme the author is aiming to represent to the reader. Imagery is made known in stanza two line three, which states, “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the readers the traveler is coming up with a reason for why one path could be more favorable over the other. The reader analyzes this line of imagery to obtain a clearer representation of the traveler’s decision-making process. Another line where the author uses imagery is in stanza two line five, which states, “Had worn them really about the same” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the reader that the paths are “worn” down, which informs the reader that both of his choices have been equally chosen by people before him. These examples help the reader begin to form the theme of self-justification in decision-making. After analyzing the metaphors and the imagery Frost uses in this poem, the reader can conclude so far that the theme the poet is conveying
In the literal sense, Frost speaks to the seasons and describes his distaste for the weather; however, figuratively he desires to go outside to be a part of the process of spring and feel alive again. In the first line of Frost’s poem, he is ordering the wind to “Come with rain, O loud Southwester!” Speaking literally, he is telling the southwest wind to come with rain so it can melt the snow and bring spring. His use of the word “loud” means he is asking for the wind to come and wake up his household. Figuratively, he is wanting spring to come because it will give him the chance to be outside and enjoy nature. In the next line, he mentions birds when he asks for the wind to “Bring the singer, bring the nester.” During spring, birds come and make their nests and sing because of the warmer
Snow here could represent dullness or loneliness. Frost feels that everything or everyone around him are filled with loneliness, no excitement and everything seems to be the same. Line four in the poem says that “But a few weeds and stubble showing last.” Here it tells us that although dullness, emptiness, or loneliness covered almost everything around him, he could still see some life or excitement somewhere in between. Yet this small bits of life and excitement were nothing compared to the overwhelming emptiness. In the next couple of lines, Frost seems to have forgotten all about the weeds and stubble he saw and put his attention back to the empty, snow covered surroundings. He then looks at the woods near the field and that too have been covered in snow. He also mentioned that all the animals are covered in snow in their lairs. These two lines again emphasize how Frost feels. He knows that there are live around him, yet those life are also filled with emptiness. Soon he even realized that not only the surroundings that were filled with loneliness, but Frost himself are also in it as line eight says, “The loneliness includes me unawares.”
Frost also uses the trees in this poem to represent a way to get away from the cares and trials of life on Earth. He talks of getting away and coming back to start over as if climbing “towards heaven”. He desires to be free from it all, but then he says that he is afraid that the fates might misunderstand and take him away to never return. This is like most of us today. We want to go to Heaven, but we don’t want to die to get there.
It takes a monumental experience to recognise discovery and to that extent the composer’s manipulate their ideas on discovery and represent them in a way that is memorable. Robert Frost’s “Tuft of flowers”, “Mending wall” and Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Wild” have intertwining ideas of Nature and Relationships that leads to emotional and intellectual discoveries. In this speech I will present to you my understanding of how “Representations of discovery are made memorable through the composer’s ways of communicating”.
Although this poem also is connected with nature, the theme is more universal in that it could be related to Armageddon, or the end of the world. Even though this theme may seem simple, it is really complex because we do not know how Frost could possibly
is saying, and Frosts personal pain that he is suffering from that he ingrains into this poem. The
Robert Frost’s ‘Tuft of Flowers’ explores, through the persona’s perspective how every individual is essentially connected in some way. The imagery of mower, “who moved in the dew before the sun” is explored by the ‘bewildered butterfly’ who acts as a catalyst for the persona to discover a “tall tuft of flowers.” The strong visual imagery implies the fresh and intensely meaningful discovery being made by the persona, is as a result of his open-mindedness and the perspective he views the act done by. Overall, it is his perception which allows the persona to unveil the ramifications of
The world, I believe is compared to life, or feelings. He is saying a pleasant and graceful thing will come to an end, and most likely will end in tragedy. Frost also says "I think I know enough of hate". Meaning Frost must of have had a depressing time where he's seen enough hate that ice or fire would do the job. This poem speaks to me in my life.
I interpreted this poem as a very sad one. A love unrequited by the pursued. In the first two lines the poem tells you to forget about the love you share and hear a tale of this. Not to literally forget, but possibly put aside. The man is a winter breeze, cold and rough and sort of roams the land. The woman is a window flower, shut off from the outside. This sets up the separation.
to realize that life and beauty unite all things. Frost writes, “ The butterfly and I had lit upon, Nevertheless a message from the dawn'; (19). By directing the man to the flowers, the butterfly becomes an important character in this poem.
Robert Frost said many times throughout his life that all men share a common bond. In his poem “The Tuft of Flowers” he analyzes the potential of such a bond, in first person. Frost turns an everyday common job, into discovering a common bond with another laborer. The author uses a comparison between aloneness with a sense of understanding to demonstrate his theme of unity between two men. In another one of Frost’s poems “Birches” he imagines walking through the woods looking at all the trees, and seeing the top bending towards the ground. When he sees this he imagines they are bending from kids swinging on them, rather then what is really happening to them. It can be analyzed that Frost had a very definitive appreciation for nature, and a very broad imagination.
Therefore, in the second stanza “Too dark in the woods for a bird,” (line 5), he uses this imagery to express that even birds cannot live in the woods because of how much darkness is present. Birds singing resemble happiness, and the woods and its darkness are showing two scenes contradicting each other, showing in some way the deeper meaning beyond the literal one. Another symbol used by Frost was light, symbolizing hope: “The last of the light of the sun.” In this line he gives a clue to the reader expressing how even though it was dark, there could still be a chance for light to come in those woods for some hope and maybe