Julia Laffoon

Publication Date

4-1981

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

William McMahon, Frank Steele, Roy Miller

Comments

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Degree Program

Department of English

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

Numerous poems by Robert Frost clearly indicate these fundamental concepts of Frosts the universe consists of three essences--nature, man, and God; each one lives and acts in accordance to the laws of its own private zone, separate from the other zones; the concerns of man should be directed to his zone; man's zone has four internal divisions; distinct barriers exist between woman and woman, between woman and man, between man and man, and between man and society. Although the three private zones are widely recognized by critics of Frost, consideration is generally brief. Also, most critics fail to go beyond a recognition of the divisions or barriers within the zone of man to note and discuss Frost's systematic view of these barriers.

Perception and observation of the various zones and barriers leads Frost to adopt an attitude of full acceptance of the imposed limitations upon mankind. Because man can neither bridge the separation among his zone, nature's zone, and God's zone nor successfully alter his alienation from the other people within his zone, Frost advocates first respect for and then maintenance of all the zones and barriers. To the poet, adherence to man's differences and isolation from others can be a source of delight.

Since zones and barriers constitute a recurring main concept in Frost's works, careful and systematic examination is necessary. This study deals with the recognized and yet in many ways neglected zoning and barrier motif in an attempt to shed a more exact light on this aspect of Frost's poems.

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | English Language and Literature | Literature in English, North America | Poetry

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