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Essay on The Deeper Meaning of Frost’s Tuft of Flowers

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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 …show more content…

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.

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