Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

“Frost’s poetic style has been described as conversational. Considering in detail

one or two poems, say how far and in what ways you think this is an appropriate

description.”

Robert Frost, although primarily considered a pastoral poet, wrote in a distinctive

conversational style which reiterates his believed potency of natural speech. His

resistance towards using superfluous language could be compared to the

unpretentiousness of nature, which remains a predominant theme in his work. With this,

Frost created a deceptively simple façade for his poetry, which in truth contains

enigmatic substance.

In Frost’s poem, The Black Cottage, is a classic example of his use of a

conversational tone. The poet’s choice of meter, language and poetic devices were

important in maintaining this. A general interpretation of the poem could take the Old

Lady to represent the dead spirit of America and the Black Cottage to represent her

body, hence the dead relics of American heritage. The title; The Black Cottage could be

considered oxymoronic as the word ‘Black’ implies mystery, death and depression

whereas ‘Cottage’ suggests warmth, tranquillity and aesthetic value.

The old lady’s sons have no contact with their mother, although she felt no hurt

because of it: ‘(Nothing could draw her after those two sons./ She valued the considerate

neglect/ She had at some cost taught them after years.)’ This suggests she had raised

them encouraging independence, as many mothers do. The sons could be taken to

represent the present and future generations of Americans, who seldom acknowledge

their heritage or work at saving the dying traditions their country once was prided with.

Using a family setting as a microcosm for the shift in society, makes the idea more

accessible to a larger audience.

The poem is written in blank verse, using iambic pentameter to mimic the flow of

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Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

natural speech and under the absence of rhyme, The Black Cottage can be likened to a

conversation between two people; the latter statement supported by Frost’s choice of

narrative mode. The use of a first person narrative reduces the commitment to

omniscience, although this factor has little significance when put into the context of the

rest of the poem. Despite Frost’s use of first person narrative, the poem has limited

personal intimacy as the poet’s own beliefs are not expressed and no judgement is

passed to subscribe him to the Old Lady’s philosophy. Instead, the Old Lady’s story is

told through the Minister, a man of the church, whom in the case of this poem could be

given an almost God-like status, making him omniscient although an ancillary character.

Gathering Leaves follows a different structure to The Black Cottage as it is set

out in six quatrains, giving the poem a mantra-like feel, similar to a lullaby. Similarly to

The Black Cottage, Gathering Leaves has a literal reading of a man spending all his time

and effort ‘gathering leaves’ and achieving nothing. This could be used as an extended

metaphor representing worthless possessions. In both poems a shift in beliefs and

values is present, along with Frost’s view of the superiority of the soul and nature. From

this, it can be gathered that despite ‘changing priorities’ being a deeper interpretation in

both poems, it is not an obscure concept, making it universal to all people.

The poem employs the use of pastiche and is imitative of Wordsworth’s, The

Ruined Cottage. Although written around one hundred years apart, the same disparity

between the natural world and humanity is demonstrated in their poetry- the principal

connotation in both poems being the importance of keeping belief and resilience. Poetry

critic, Edward E Bostetter explained Wordsworth’s poem suggested ‘Margaret and her

fate and trouble can be seen as a part of endless natural cycle the world goes through.’

This theme can be applied to Frost’s poetry, as he explores the inevitability of negativity,

loss and death in the process of living. In The Ruined Cottage, the cottage falls down but

the woman holds on to her belief and in The Black Cottage, the Old Lady’s traditional

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Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

ideas are compromised by the shift in beliefs in society. Despite this, both characters

refuse to admit defeat. This concept reiterates Frost’s personal belief in dignified self-

reliance, a belief which is present in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. The poem

could be taken as a dark embrace of suicide although the protagonist realises his

responsibilities, (or finds himself in denial?) when all aspects of his life gather meaning

when he believes he will soon die.

Frost employed metrical and literary devices to add to the conversational feel of

the poem. Use of caesurae and enjambment reiterate the lack of structure in natural

speech: “The path was a vague parting in the grass/ That led us to a weathered window-

sill./ We pressed our faces to the pane. “You see,” he said,” The use of these techniques

maintain Frost’s idea of being ‘an ordinary man, talking to ordinary men,’ as the reader

would be saved from interpreting the often pretentious nature of poetry, in particular,

Romantic poetry. Frost incorporated Romantic ideas without restricting himself to the

metrical limitations of the movement.

Gathering Leaves commences: ‘Spades take up leaves/ No better than spoons.’

Whilst literally suggesting the difficulty in gathering leaves, the word ‘Spades’ is

juxtaposed with ‘spoons.’ This device could have been used to emphasise the fatigue

the protagonist would have been experiencing, and in natural speech, juxtaposition is

often used to hyperbolise and demonstrate the extensity of a point which may appear

somewhat insignificant.

In accord with this, Frost’s choice of language was non-superfluous and imitative

of natural speech: ‘ a sort of special picture’ and ‘It always seems to me a sort of mark.’

Despite this apparent simplicity, the literal understanding of the poem as a whole can be

used as an allegory for controversial and complex ideas. This argument opposes Frost’s

conversational tone, as general speech rarely has a deeper level of meaning however,

this argument can be easily dismissed, as the fundamental aim of poetry is to convey

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Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

such deeper level of meaning- this achieved by the intentional use of literary and

metrical devices. Ergo, to some extent, poetry in general, can not be described as

conversational as it lacks syntactic spontaneity, as claimed by Coleridge with: ‘poetry is

the best words in the best order.’

Unlike Frost’s other work, The Black Cottage focuses less on nature, yet deals

with the human soul, suggesting a belief of equality between humanity and nature. The

relationship between humanity and nature is discussed in Gathering Leaves. The

protagonist in the poem spends so much time gathering leaves, all he can hear is ‘great

noise of rustling all day’ demonstrating the extent of his fixation. Throughout the poem it

becomes clear that the protagonist, in trying to collect the leaves, is trying to manipulate

nature although fails to succeed. The main Frostian principle regarding nature is that it is

free and untamed; these ideas can be related to the unpredictability of conversation.

In The Black Cottage, the Minister makes reference to famous people and

places, as many would do in a conversation: ‘That’s a hard mystery of Jefferson’s.’ and

‘He fell at Gettysburg or Fredericksburg.’ This gives the poem a more personal feel and

puts it into context, creating a sense of plausibility. The names of people and places

mentioned are well known and highly regarded therefore the poem could be credited

with social and historical accuracy. ‘Name dropping’ is highly common in colloquial

speech.

Unlike with the Romantic movement, the feelings and emotions depicted in

Frost’s poetry are often delivered with a stoic shrug and are very rarely hyperbolised:

‘But never mind, the Welshman got it planted/ Where it will trouble us a thousand years.’

This lack of serious concern is again, commonly found in everyday situations, where

people are reflecting upon the experiences of others as opposed to themselves. Despite

this, the language used in poetry is usually far more descriptive and sensual than in

conversation, and Frost’s poetry is not exempt from this. Poets pay close attention to

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Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

detail, and find meaning in areas which others could easily discard as insignificant.

Nevertheless, it could be argued that Frost supported a principle belief of Ezra Pound-

one of the fathers of imagist poetry- who stated: ‘you should take out all unnecessary

adjectives. Symbol is enough. When similes are used, they should come as a surprise,

from an angle.’ With comparably less description used in Frost’s poetry than in the work

of other poets, Frost employed the use of phonosemantics, as shown in Stopping by

Woods on a Snowy Evening, for example: ‘To ask if there is some mistake.’ The word

‘mistake,’ whilst having a simple meaning of an error or fault has a masculine ending

giving it a harsh sound hence creating a feel of ambivalent negativity.

Frost asks rhetorical questions in The Black Cottage, as commonly found in

conversation, especially when the speaker feels passionately about a subject: ‘But how

could they be made so very unalike/ By the same hand working in the same stuff?’

Whilst this question requires no definite answer, it offers the reader the opportunity to

consider the poet’s message. The question could, again, be related to the incongruence

between humanity and nature as both could be considered ‘God’s creatures’ yet fail to

live in harmony. When put in context with the poem, it could be taken to represent the

barriers put up within humanity by people who once coexisted peacefully, challenging

the motives of the American Civil War. The Civil War, when viewed in a broader context,

could symbolise the fight between humanity and nature- man kind almost developing a

phobia of the natural world and attempting to sever all ties with it.

Towards the end of The Black Cottage the poem digresses, and drifts between

the Minister’s ideal life and reality. Although this would be intentional, it can be taken to

again, reiterate the lack of focus in everyday speech, as people don’t usually converse

with the intention of reaching a particular goal. The Minister refers to the ‘bees in this

wall,’ which could arguably serve as a reminder of the message construed in the poem-

to defend traditional values. As bees will only attack when provoked, could the

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Jennifer Baker-Jones 12EM English Literature October 2008

demolition of American heritage serve as a good enough excuse? Critic David Perkins

suggested, from Wordsworth’s The Ruined Cottage that ‘at the end of the poem the

narrator leaves as if he feels like he’s been part of an idle dream.’ This expression of

meditative sympathy could be applied to Frost’s work.

In general, Frost’s poetry ends in a way which reflects the nature of humanity, be

it in the final stanza or final few lines. In Gathering Leaves, Frost poses a question to the

audience: ’And who’s to say where/ The harvest shall stop?’ Whilst this makes the

reader consider the moral values presented in the poem, it could be taken to suggest the

fundamental question of life- to stop ‘gathering leaves’ or living life, is the moment you

give up on everything. In addition to this, it could represent the incongruence between

nature and humanity, as people only choose to harvest the crops which will benefit them.

With this question, Frost argues against the latter point, demonstrating his belief that all

nature is of equal value and man does not have the authority to judge or disregard it as

worthless. This idea is potent in the final lines of The Black Cottage, as nature (the bees)

are proven stronger than humanity.

Although Robert Frost’s work is often described as conversational in tone, this

portrayal is arguably only appropriate to a certain extent as the devices universally used

in poetry lack the spontaneity and, in many cases, the discord of everyday speech.

Despite the fact Frost’s poetry has an over simplistic façade, a deeper level of meaning

lay beneath the surface and is open to interpretation in a variety of different ways,

drastically setting it apart from unconstrained conversation.

The Poetry of Robert FROST