楊苗
【Abstract】Robert Frost is one of the most distinguished poets,most of his poems are about the inharmonious relationship between nature and men,Conflicts are like a “thread” appearing in his poems.Frosts true philosophy on men and life contributes to his wisdom and artistic poems.Frost tries to illustrate the conflict between nature and men in philosophy concern.
【Key words】Robert Frost; nature and man; Conflicts philosophy concern
“Beloved”is a term that must always be trusted when applied to artists,and particularly to poets.Robert Frost is consequently one of the most famous writers in the whole of American literature.[1]
As one critic says“Frost is one of the notable craftsmen of the 20th century”.In the industrialization society Frost sticks to appreciating the natural and idyllic life.His poetry is as beautiful as pure daffodils which charming but far away from the crowd,which is good at capturing inspiration from routine work and daily life and probes into the life's philosophy from unique angle,transmitting endless wisdom of life.
T.S.Eliot declared in 1957 that:“Mr Frost is perhaps the most eminent,the most distinguished,I must call it,Anglo-American poet now living ”.In the aspect of Frosts view about nature and man,due to the relationship of them can not keep the balance,F(xiàn)rost can not find the perfection but just the struggling and suffering.Frost contributes his philosophy of the imperfect to his poetic art and his exploration of life.Frosts philosophy of the imperfect reflected in his view of love,arts,success and failure through the poems in Men and nature to discover that his philosophy of the imperfect is the soul of his poetic art.His images are endowed with profound meanings,he also uses metaphor,analogy and symbolism to convey ideas.Frost's poetry is full of the descriptions of conflicts when he wants to explore the relationship between man and nature .It seems that a balance of the relationship between man and nature is broken and ruined.Frost's philosophical thought and his lifestyle contribute a lot to his writing style.Living in the modern period of industrialism,F(xiàn)rost hated the modern world,with its machines,its commercialism,materialism,and its lack of values.In his eyes,all the things in the world were not harmonious.He saw conflicts in life as an eternal theme in his poetry and tried to reveal human morals and experiences or to set up contrasts between ideal and reality or between simple living of the farmers and the sophisticated urban society,to express sympathy for the poor peasants.
Robert Frost mixes up his thought,emotion and insights into the self,the society and the meaning of life are full of conflicts.In the poem“Dust of Snow”,which is one of the pieces that enjoys a very high popularity.his poems are an enviable one in spite of shortcomings,rests on his blending of thought and emotion and symbolic imagery within the confines of the lyric.
Dust of Snow[2]
The way a crow
...The dust of snow
...Of a day I had rued.
A change of mood when the author happened to meet a dust of snow.Frost often lures readers to read paucity as an meaningful scripture but leave us only with suggestions of uncertainty.Frost's depiction of“snow”is in this poem quite a fanaticism for those Romanticist poets who prefer to sing on nature.[3]But besides the nature,there are something else,especially the implication.Life and the unexpected“snowfall”seem to be barren and unfruitful and the days are gloomy.
Frost's poems always attract a wide range of audience due to he can achieve an understanding of the complex emotional themes which are of enough ambiguity to make the readers confuses and contemplate the several possible meanings of each poem.His lyrical voice and scenery description are believed to be disguises of his concealed feeling.He would rather hide himself somewhere in the poem.
When Frost's official biographer,Lawrence Thompson,asked him to make statement on his beliefs,F(xiàn)rost has the suspension between belief and skepticism,piety and rebellion[4].Frost as invalid and fictional that would probably be fool the poor human beings.
Frost poetry is full of the descriptions of conflicts,his images are endowed with profound meanings.Metaphor,analogy and symbolism are the useful and artistic writing skills to convey ideas[5].Critics have explored Frost's poetical theory or ideas of creation,or his poetical images,his Life philosophy,his poetical themes,or even his poetical forms and language.
The relationship between man and nature represents the whole problem raised by the opposition of mind and matter,of man's actual experience,and his feelings,purposes,and conceptions of values.In the poet's eyes,the relationship between man and nature is not harmonious but full of conflicts.
References:
[1]常耀信.美國文學(xué)簡史[M].南開大學(xué)出版社,1995:268.
[2]劉守蘭.英美名詩解讀[M].上海外語教育出版社,2003.
[3]劉守蘭.英美名詩解讀[M].上海外語教育出版社,2003:69
[4]Contemporary Literature Criticism[J].Gale Research Company, Vol.26,1983, p.110.
[5]Stanlis, Peter L.Robertcism[J].Gale Research Company,Vol.9, 1978, p.2I8.