U N I V E R S I D A D E F E D E R A L DE S A N T A C A T A R I N A
P O S - G R A D U A C S O EM INGLÊ S E L I T E R A T U R A
CORRESPONDENTE
S E X U A L I T Y A N D N A T U R E IN R O B E R T F R O S T ' S L Y RICS
por
D A N I E L A LAPOLI
D i s s e r t a ç ã o s u b m e t i d a à U n i v e r s i d a d e Fe deral de S anta C a t a r i n a
p a r a a o b t e n ç ã o do grau de M E S T R E EM L E T R A S
Florianópolis
D e z e m b r o de Í992
IIs t a cl.i.s s e r t:a ç:a o f o i j u lg a cla a d e q u a d a e a p r o v a d a e iti
sua
forma
Final
p e 1 o P r o g r a m a de P ó s - G r a d u a ç a o em Ing'iës p a r a
a
o b t:e n v a o d o g r a u d e
M E S T R E EM L E TRAS
Üpçao Inglês e Literatura Correspondente
D r a . L é o n o r Sel :i.a r C a b r a 1
COORDENADORA
D r . S y r g :i. a
0R1EW AD0R
I... u :i. a. p r a cl o
B e 1 1 e :i.
BANCA EXAMINADORA
D r . Æ S r g ia I...u i z P r a d o B e 1 l e :i.
o r i h Lw t a d o r
&G<£tjLe~o
Dra. S u s a n a B o r n é o Funck
EXAMINADORA
' K ..
Dr a . An e 1 i se Cor s e u :i.1
EXAMINADORA
Florianópolis,
íí de D e z e m b r o de Í998
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I w ould like to ex ten d my debt of g r a t i t u d e to
Professor
Dr.
S é r g i o Luiz P rado Bel lei,
for
his
invaluable orientation.
All p r o f e s s o r s from the M.A. P r o g r a m from UFSC,
their
lectures
and
sup por t
duri ng the two y e ars
of
my
for
M.A.
course.
Th e
M.A.
CNPq
Program,
for a two y ear s and six
s c h o l a r s h i p and for a t h r e e m o n t h s
mont hs
res earc h s c h o l a r s h i p in
the U n i t e d States.
Professor
Dr.
José
Roberto
O'Shea,
for
his
i n d i c a t i o n s and c o n t a c t s in the Un it ed States.
P r o f e s s o r Dr.
at
G e o r g e Lensing, Prof e s s o r of Englis h
the U n i v e r s i t y of Nor th C a r o l i n a at Chapel Hill,
who
kindly
a c c e p t e d to be my a d v iser d u ring t h ree m o nths of research .
The D e p a r t m e n t of
N ort h
C a r o l i n a at Chapel Hill,
s c h o l a r and a l l o w e d
me to us e
En glish from the
University
which received me as a
the
library
facilities
of
visiting
of
the
inst itut i o n .
Marcelo
EMGEL,
for
N e ves G u i m a r ã e s and
their help and e n c o u r a g e m e n t
Ruiter
Borges,
in the final s t a g e s
from
of
this w o r k .
My family and friends,
gave
me
course.
strength
who,
in one way or another,
and e n t h u s i a s m du ring the y e ars
of
my
M.A.
S E X U A L I T Y A N D N A T U R E IN R O B E R T F R O S T ' S LYR I CS
DA N I E L A LAPOL I
U N I V E R S I D A D E F E D E R A L DE S A N T A C A T A R I N A
1992
Supervising Professor:
S é r g i o L u i z P rado Bel lei
ABSTRACT
The
p u r p o s e of th is d i s s e r t a t i o n is to a n a l y z e the
p r e s e n c e of human s e x u a l i t y in Robert F r o s t ' s poetic
through
the
theoretical
product ion,
a n a l y s i s of t w e n t y - t h r e e n a ture lyrics.
b a s i s th e me thod p r o p o s e d by the Frenc h
H ich a e l R i f f a t e r r e in the book S e m i o t i c s of E o e t c y
Tak ing
Semiotician
(1980),
s tud y a n a l y z e s the g a m e of poe tic language in the texts,
that
as
this
sh owing
a l t h o u g h at t h e m i m e s i s level they seem to be about nature,
they deal with e r o t i c i s m in the s e m i o s i s level.
introduction
In the first ch ap t e r we p r o v i d e the reade r with
an
to the s e m i o t i c me thod we p r o p o s e to
as
consider ,
well as to the t r a d i t i o n a l c r i t i c i s m on Robert Frost.
chapter
part
of
analyzes
l y r i c s which deal with a s s o c i a t i o n s between
n a t u r e and f e male sexua lit y,
e r o t i c p r o j e c t i o n s into nature.
l yri c s
The second
and
with
the
a
speaker's
The final ch apter p r e s e n t s those
whic h deal with an ero tic i n vitation to a
listener,
and
with the account of p o s i t i v e and n e g a t i v e eroti c ex per iences.
conclusion
Robe rt
poems,
shows
Frost's
that
works,
hu man sexu a l i t y is stro n g l y
not only in his
narrative
present
or
but a l s o in his a p p a r e n t l y innocent n a t u r e lyrics.
The
in
dramatic
RESUMO
Este
trabalho
se p r o p o e a analisar a p r e s e n ç a
s e x u a l i d a d e h u m a n a na líri ca de Robert F r o s t ,
de
vinte
e
teórica
o
tri s p o e m a s s o b r e a
método
Riffaterre
no
proposto
livro
natu reza.
pel o
através do
T o m ando
Semiótico
S e m i ó t i c a of E o e t n a
(1980),.
estud o
como
fr ancês
da
base
Michael
este
estudo
a n a l i s a o jogo da l i n g u a g e m p o é t i c a m o s t r a n d o que, ao m e s m o te mpo
em
que
e s t e s p o e m a s líri cos p a r e c e m
apresentam
também
o
tem a
re criar
do e r o t i s m o no
o
real-natureza,
nível
semiótico
da
capítulo
apresenta
ao
li nguagem.
0
primeiro
i n t r o d u ç ã o ao m é t o d o s e m i ó t i c o que se p r o p o e cons ide rar , bem como
os a r g u m e n t o s da c r í t i c a t r a d icional de Robert Frost.
0
segundo
capítulo
c o n s i d e r a os p o e m a s que lidam com a s s o c i a ç o e s entre
elemento
da n a t u r e z a e a s e x u a l i d a d e feminina,
eróticas
do eu líri co na nat ureza.
poemas
e com
projeções
0 c a p í t u l o final a n a l i s a
que a p r e s e n t a m c o n v i t e s e r ó t i c o s e e x p e r i ê n c i a s
positivas
e
negat iva s.
Conclui-se
que o tema
da
um
os
eróticas
sexualidade
h u m a n a e s t á f o r t e m e n t e p r e s e n t e na p r o d u ç ã o de Robert Frost,
não
apenas
nos
nos
poemas
d r a m á t i c o s ou
nar rati vo s,
i n o c e n t e s p o e m a s lí ricos sobr e natureza.
mas
também
leito
TABLE OF C O N TEN TS
CHAPTER I
S e x u a l i t y and N a t u r e in Robert F r o s t ' s L y r i c s
01
C H A P T E R II
A s s o c i a t i o n s B e t w e e n N a t u r e and M a l e / F e m a l e S e x u a l i t y
35
C H A P T E R III
Er otic I n v i t a t i o n s and E x p e r i e n c e s
8i
CONCLUSION
133
WORKS CITED
140
CHAPTER I
S E X U A L I T Y AND N A T U R E IN R O B E R T F R O S T ' S LYRI C S
Robert
American
letters
Lee
is
Frost's
p r e s e n c e in
u n d o u b t e d l y one of the most
c o n t r o v e r s i a l of the t w e n t i e t h century.
high p o p u l a r i t y d u ring his lifetime,
by
the
his tor y
powe rfu l
three
r e c e i v i n g hono r a r y
de grees
four P u l i t z e r prizes, the gold medal from the
Nation al
Institute
cita t i o n
from the S e n a t e of the Un ited S t ates to honor the
of
Arts and L e t t e r s and
in his s e v e n t y - f i f t h birth day.
read
his
work
inaug u ration.
were
du ring
even
an
John
F.
Kennedy's
presidenti al
(348), he was
answer.
His
On
othe r hand,
is, Frost
citi z e n
poems
Robert
sure ly
te s tify
that
already
Whet h e r this has
do with the poet or with the myth is a di fficult
crea t e d
poet
When he read the line "The land was ours before we
the land's" from "The Gift O u t r i g h t "
the
official
In J a n uary 196i, Frost was invited
the most wide l y known poet of Amer i c a n history.
to
of
t i m e s a Doctor of the H u m a n i t i e s and t w e l v e time s a
Doctor of L etter s),
to
and
He achi e v e d an in credibly
a n u mber of u n i v e r s i t i e s (he was t w i c e n o m i n a t e d a Mast er
Arts,
of
he is
as Phi lip Gerbe r observes,
a
que sti on to
great poet.
"... t h e
nation
Frost in the image its need most d e s i r e d , "
" s y m b o l i z e d the peaceful,
s e l f - k nowing,
w h o m every A m e r i c a n d r e amed /of b e c o m i n g "
i
that
and independent
( 0 i/02).
His
i mag e
old
was
man
the
wh o
i n n o cence",
of
typified
and
popularity
one
is
the
the
it is almost
a
result
of
good
d ream of
gran dfa the r,
si mple
the
life
and
wise
"rural
impo s s i b l e to kn ow w h e t her Frost 's
the
p o et's
a c h i evement or of the
m y t h i f i c a t i o n of his image.
It
literary
is
care e r
grandfather,
a l r e a d y known that Robert Frost
tr yi ng
to
fit
the
po rtrait
spent
of
the
his
sweet
c a u t i o u s and full of proverbs, b e c a u s e of the great
p o p u l a r i t y thi s portrait cou ld gi ve him. And it was p r e c i s e l y the
intense
p o p u l a r i t y he a c h i e v e d what kept him from
belonging
the c a t e g o r y of the "great po ets" of the t wentieth century.
assumed
by
the
simplicity
of
theme,
F r o s t ' s poetry,
Pound,
liter ary cano n that,
v o c a b u l a r y and
the
g e o g r aphical
It is
apparent
s e t ting
of
he is more e a sily read than are T. S. Eliot, Ezra
Y eats and others.
reductionist
beca u s e of
to
And w hile this a s s u m p t i o n survives,
lack of inte n s i t y is brought to his poetry,
a
at the
e x p e n s e of the loss of the great subtl e t y his work o f f e r s us.
In
ve ry
raw
fact,
materia l
of
rural s c e n e s and buco lic ima ges are
his
poetry.
This
is
ad ded
to
the
sharp
o b s e r v a t i o n of outer real i t y and to the s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d s t r u c t u r e
of his n a r ratives.
As J a m e s Po tter observes:
His s e n t e n c e s t r u c t u r e
is g enerally
direct
and unc o m p l i c a t e d ,
his diction
rel atively
plain.
T h e r e are no p u r p l e passages, indeed little
rhetoric;
he
leans toward u n d e r s t a t e m e n t ,
if
anything.
It
is a c o m m o n p l a c e that his styl e
is
conversational.
Si milarly, his pros o d y uses common
meters
like iambic tetr a m e t e r and p e n t ameter,
and
follows u n e l a b o r a t e or loose rhym e schemes. We find
little
free verse,
few exo tic
experiments
in
p r o s o d y . <70)
e
It is o b v i o u s l y an e x a g g e r a t i o n to c o n s i d e r
Frost
an
inno v a t o r
literature
of
in
terms
the
experimentation,
of
form.
twentieth
Whi le
cen tur y
the
was
Robert
modernist
mar ke d
by
F r o s t ' s p oet r y surel y remains in the traditio nal
m o d e of t e c h n i c a l v e r s i f i c a t i o n .
On the other hand, his critical
statur e,
label s that c r i t i c s and read ers
as well as the cons tant
attributed
to
mentioning
C l e a n t h B r o o k ' s remark that "much of
hardly
rises
England"
his
work c e r t a i n l y need revision.
a bove
<i06),
the
and
level of the
It
Frost's
vignette
the remark ma de by
is
G e orge
of
worth
poetry
rural
Nitchie
New
which
d i m i n i s h e s Frost as a poet b e c a u s e he is "not very much con cer ned
with
developing a
<i3>.
of
the
These
are
Frost's
work
appa r e n t
deeper
theme.
p h i l o s o p h i c a l l y consi ste nt concept of nature"
obviously
w hich
the
results
of
do not consider the
simplicity
simplistic
fact
that
of his poet ic p r o d u c t i o n we
leve l s of c o m p l e x i t y both in terms
of
formal
can
views
behind
find
sty le and
As R i c h a r d P o i r i e r p o i n t s out,
... eng agi ng y o u r s e l f c r i t i c a l l y with Frost is like
takin g
a trip with an old n e i g h b o r h o o d friend and
discovering
un der the stre s s of travel that he can
on o c c a s i o n
be alto g e t h e r
more m y s t e r i o u s than
you'd b a r g a i n e d
for....
(06)
The
constantly
exte nt
misunderstood
to
may
which
Fros t ' s
be felt in the
work
two
has
been
questionable
l a bels most c o m m o n l y a t t r i b u t e d to him: realist and con servative.
The latter a d j e c t i v e is c l o s e l y re lated to F r o s t ' s r e l a t i o n
the m o d e r n i s t movem ent ,
Frost's
work
with
m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y to the r e l a t i o n bet wee n
and the work of his c o n t e m p o r a r i e s
3
Eliot,
Pound,
Stevens
and
Wi ll iams .
r e s i s t a n c e both
to the e n t e r p r i s e of
imagist move m e n t .
K ern
attacks
In his a r t i c l e "Frost and
way
of
to
h is
Wordsworthian
be
new and that
"radical
renewal
time
Making it New and
his
and
to
Modernism ",
t h i s a s s u m p t i o n sa ying that Frost
old-fashioned
consisted
Frost was c o n s i d e r e d for a long
the
Robert
represented
newness
a
an
b asically
revi s i o n
of
project of a p p r o p r i a t i n g the language of
the
ev eryday
life for p o e t r y "(03).
Frost's
p a r t i c u l a r r e b e l l i o n against
the
boo kis h
r h e t o r i c that m o d e r n i s m was sought to avoid was the crea t i o n of a
theo r y
c a lled
American
many
to
"the
oral
soun d of sense",
thr oug h which
l a n g u a g e to the s t a t u r e of li terary
he
language.
of his l e t t e r s we have g l i m p s e s of his b e l i e f s in
this
theory,
as
when he w r i t e s in a i9i3
Bar tlett:
"The s oun d of sense,
then.
abstract
v i t a l i t y of our speech.
(S e l e c t e d L e t t e c s of B a b e t t Enost,
t h eory
raised
re la ti on
letter
You get that.
to
It is
It is pure sound - pure
80). The central
In
John
the
form"
idea of this
is e x p l a i n e d in another letter a d d r e s s e d to John Bartlett
o n e year later:
I g i v e you a new d e f i n i t i o n of a sentence.
A s e n t e n c e is a sou nd in itse lf on which other
s o u n d s c a lled w o r d s may be s t r u n g . ...
They
are a p p r e h e n d e d by the ear.
They are
g a t h e r e d by the ear from the v e r n a c u l a r and brought
into books, (iii)
In
ot her
lett e r s Frost in sis ts
upon
this
idea,
add ing that the s e n t e n c e - s o u n d s say more than w ords and that they
may
even
conv e y
words"(ii3).
(as
in
irony) "a
m e a ning
opposite
This is the basic d i f f e r e n c e b e t ween what he
4
to
the
calls
the " g r a m m atical s e n t e n c e " and the "vital s e n t e n c e " (140). Wher e a s
the
imagists
( c o n s i d e r i n g l a n g u a g e a group of c l i c h e s that
lost their original c o m m u n i c a t i v e power) we re seeki ng to
images for the
images
eyes thro u g h their art,
issues of v o ice and sound.
capt u r e
Frost was uni ting
for the eyes with imag es for the ear,
had
these
also focusi ng
the
In Robert K e r n ' s view, Frost was
not
" o p p o s i n g i m a g i s m so much as a t t e m p t i n g to r e d e f i n e it, to extend
its
li mits"
go od
examples
poetry.
be
(12).
When
Frost's
narratives
poems,
in fact, pr ovide
of this a p p l i c a t i o n to the sound
one r e a d s "Home
Burial",
of
s e nse
into
for instance, one has to
a w a r e of the d i f f e r e n t t o nes of v oice in the d i a l o g u e bet we en
h u s b a n d and wife. We c ould even say that the
on two levels:
the level of
movem e n t
a c c o r d i n g to
affi rms ,
"Almost all
voice,
d i a l o g u e and
his theme,
sentences
human
operates
the level of physical
d ifferent t ones of voice. As E l a i n e Barry
of his p o e m s are e x p e r i m e n t s in
ways of sayi n g a thin g"
p o e m s is New Englan d;
narrative
(11). The set ting
his c h a r a c t e r s are most ly
beings.
"apprehended
by
Besides,
the
ear"
of
of most of his
Y a n k e e farmers;
he i n c o r p o r a t e s
into
t ones
poetry,
the
fresh
crea t i n g
a u t e n t i c i t y and innovati on.
T h e r e is an oth er important aspect of F r o s t ' s po et ry
that
s t r e n g t h e n s his inc lusion in the ca te g o r y of "m odern poet":
his mod ern view of nature.
that
Frost
is a typic al
T h o r e a u and Word s w o r t h ,
C r i t i c s h a v e assu med for a long
time
"na tur e poet" in the ve rsio n of Emerson,
the one who a d v o c a t e s the s u p e r i o r i t y of
n a t u r e as the "great teacher ", or as the b a c k g r o u n d that p r o v i d e s
the framework
for t r a n s c e n d e n t a l experiences .
In " C o n f u s i o n
and
Form:
Rob er t
Frost
as N a t u r e P o e t ",
Donald Gr einer says
Fro st d i s t i n g u i s h e s b e t w e e n two ideas of nature.
first
(eas ter n
because
nature
idea) h u m a n b e i n g s should look for
is too much for them.
s e c o n d ca tegory,
first.
a
a
the
in
the
saviour,
Frost is inclu ded in
the
w h i l e E m e r s o n and W o r dsworth are clea r l y in the
As John Lynen p u t s it, "wher e a s Wor d s w o r t h sees in nature
m y s t i c a l k i n d s h i p with the hu man mind,
e s s e n t i a l l y alie n"
of
W h e r e a s in
(wes ter n idea) hum an b e i n g s shou ld master nature,
second
that
them)
the woods.
a
of
If F r o s t ' s c o m m o n d e v i c e is
that
proclaimed
attitude
very dark view
nature,
i m p l i c a t i o n s for the winter, the
b e t w e e n s e a s o n s and
conclude
hum an
the
Emerson
tow ar d
with
comp l e x
snow, the
nights,
o u t e r - i n n e r met aph or
be ings' p sychological states,
the s u p e r i o r i t y of the terror
by
as
(145). Most of F r o s t ' s poems (almost one third
prese nt
metaphorical
Frost v i e w s n a t u r e
and
Wordsworth
n a t u r e into
a
over
p l aces
we must
the
re birth
Robert
Frost's
differ ent category.
Th e men tion
of th e t e rro r in F r o s t ' s p o e t r y was first made by Lionel Tri ll in g
in 1959, d u ring a spe ech for the cele b r a t i o n of F r o s t ' s birthday.
It
caused
numerous
a
generalized
shock in the
protests throughout
arguing
the
obvious:
beings'
loneliness
in
audience,
the country.
as
Tril l i n g
well
as
was merely
F r o s t ' s work p r e s e n t s the terr or of human
the
world.
In
his
own
words,
"the
u n i v e r s e he c o n c e i v e s is a t e r r i f y i n g uni verse" (Bab.£Et Enost-L A q
lotEQdUCtiQQ,
155).
In
Griffith
"Frost and the Amer i c a n Vi ew of Nature",
e x p l a i n s that A m e r i c a n w r i t e r s e x p e r i e n c e d
on e
Clark
single
a t t i t u d e to ward n a t u r e for over two c e n t u r i e s - from the P u r i t a n s
to E m e r s o n and Thoreau.
T h i s a t t i t u d e included an a s s u m p t i o n that
6
n a t u r e was the s u p r e m e teacher,
h uman ob se rver .
the P u r i t a n s
realities
w h o s e t e a c h i n g s would e l e v a t e the
Frost s h a r e s this point of view with E m e r s o n and
s i n c e he
builds
bridges
in an E m e r s o n i a n sense.
If we read
l ooki ng for c o n n e c t i o n s with Frost,
Emerson
says
particular
spirit"
that
"Particular
spiritual
outer and inner
Emerson's
bfatune
we immediately feel that when
natur al
facts" or that
facts
"Nature is
are
symbols
of
symb ol
of
the
(20) he s e e m s to be r e f e r r i n g to F r o s t ' s ana log y between
out er w e a ther and inner mood,
the
be tween
other hand,
natu ral
facts and human
as G r i f f i t h advo cates,
life.
Frost also s h a r e s
On
with
E mily D i c k i n s o n and H e rman M e l v i l l e the not ion that n a t u r e may be
a teacher but, most of the times, when one goes to n a t u r e looking
for
answers,
one c o m e s back with empt y
hands.
Besides,
Frost
still h e lds a p o s i t i o n ty pical of a t w e n t i e t h cen tur y w r i t e r - he
does
not
feel
M elv i l l e )
when
useless.
indignation
he
or
anger
r e a l i z e s that his
A c c o r d i n g to Gri ffi th,
(unlike
j ou rn ey
Dickinson
into
and
nature
is
"As a t wen t i e t h cent u r y writer,
imbued with t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y s k e p t icism,
he has been far enou gh
r e m o v e d from the E m e r s o n i a n point of vi ew not to be o u t r a g e d when
it
failed
nature.
li ttle
him"
He
of
(36).
In fact,
Frost neither loves
is a w a r e of its pre sen ce,
her.
" u n r o m anti c",
In
unlike
this
sense,
nor
fears
but k no ws he can ask very
his
t hose of Emerson,
attitude
is
cl early
T h o r e a u and Wordsworth .
F r o m thi s same a t t i t u d e c ome s the " t e r r i f y i n g u n i v e r s e ” of
human
beings'loneliness.
In
real ist
relation
to the othe r label Frost
received
- when on e r e a d s F r o s t ' s p o e m s one may feel that what he
7
b a s i c a l l y does is to u se e v e r y d a y language and c o n c r e t e facts
of
nature
he
to
talk about a great v a r iety of larger
issues.
h i m s e l f p o i n t s out in th e e ssa y "The Consta nt Symbol",
meta p h o r ,
in
of ano the r,
th e
p l e a s u r e of
ulteriority"
c l e a r l y w r i t e s on m u l t i p l e le ve l s of meaning,
portrayals
of
(£4).
feel i n g s
As Regin a l d Cook observe s,
that by r e f i n i n g a th ought to its e s s e n t i a l s you
When
or
When he t a lks about c o n c r e t e things, he
a l s o t a l k s about s o m e t h i n g else.
the leve l s of m e a n i n g . "
He
implying a n a l o g i e s
rural s c e nes or e v ents and
e x p e r i e n c e s p e o p l e face.
knows
poetry is
"saying o n e t h ing and me ani ng another, sayin g one thing
terms
between
As
mu lti pl y
<Ihe B i m e D s i O Q S of Rob ert Erost,
Fros t
descriptions
"he
102).
t a l k s about external r e a l i t i e s of
world,
his
s u f fer an alc hemic
which,
at the end of th e poems,
the
transformation
in
we have the impression that the
w o r d s a c h i e v e a h i g h e r level of s i gnificance.
The w ords s eem
to
m o v e from their s u r f a c e m e a n i n g to an other level of disc our se,
the same way that the objects,
the
level
in
s c e n e s and e v ents d e s c r i b e d reach
of m e t a p h o r or syne c d o c h e .
So much so
that
Frost's
r e c u r r e n t str u c t u r a l t e n d e n c y has been defin ed as a movement from
"s ight"
to " insight"
("Frost's Synecdochism",
379).
In F r o s t ' s
own words,
a poem b e g i n s in " delight" and ends in "wisdom",
"momentary
stay
Erost, 18).
That
against
confusion"
is why the
persona
(Selected Erase
a w a r e n e s s of death,
sleep,
and
"miles
to
the
go"
Babert
who, on the s u r f a c e level,
s t o p s by "the w o o d s on a s nowy evening ", ex per iences ,
level of sig n i f i c a n c e ,
of
on a deeper
a much larger and c o m p l e x enco un ter:
with its peacefu l,
in a
so undless,
the
"dark and d e e p ”
a w a r e n e s s of the many "P rom ises to keep" in the
b e f o r e t h i s final rest.
By the same token,
the
persona
who
woo d" is
chooses
between
facing the
suspecting
with the
problem
that "sig h" and
t raveler that
tr avel er.
Isn't
the
neve r c h o o s e s only
le ctur e
in
Chap el Hill:
real l y
Diyanni's
decision
traveler
on e road,
are
two
roads
suggesting
the same
but is forever mark ed by the
t h e y ' r e not
observation
be ing
linked
that the hu man being
This j u s t i f i e s F r o s t ' s
all of them"
of de cisions,
intrinsically
i960, at the U n i v e r s i t y
"...
human,
d i v e r g i n g "in a yello w
(or the u s e fulness)
cannot take
of the “Road not t a k e n " ?
his
two roads
n a ture
of
co mment
North
poems,
(i960). This also
sigh
during
C a r o l i n a at
much.
They're
justifies
Robert
that
To read F r o s t ' s poetry is to p l u n g e into
w o r k s w h o s e s i g n i f i c a n c e deepens,
w hos e m e a n i n g s
r e v e r b e r a t e , on su bseq uent readings. Later r e a d i n g s
exhi bit th e r i p p l i n g effect ach i e v e d by t h r o w i n g a
s t o n e into a pool of water. The wide n i n g c o n c e n t r i c
c i r c l e s m i rror
the way in which
F r o s t ' s poetic
s y m b o l s e x pand in i m p l i c ation."
(196)
And
yet,
c r i t i c s and r e a d e r s in the past failed to see the wide
complexity
c h o s e to
re lated
believe
to
in
the s i g n i f i c a n c e of F r o s t ' s
poems,
and
the n o t i o n s that Frost was a c onservative,
rea lis t p o e t .
One field of r e s e a r c h that c e r t a i n l y n eeds inquiry,
as a
sig n i f i c a n t part of F r o s t ' s tra n s c e n d e n t a l r e a l i s m
sexual
element
in
Frost's
work.
There is a
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of F r o s t ' s n a r r a t i v e poems,
men
and women in c o m p l e x rel a t i o n s h i p s ,
marr iag e,
good
is
numb er
the
of
in which he p r e s e n t s
facing the p r o b l e m s
of
trying to c o m m u n i c a t e with each other in s pite of their
di f f e rences,
and,
most of
all,
9
in which he
presents
a
very
realistic
"Home
view of women.
Bu rial",
Servants"
totally
which
"The
and
"The
In p o e m s such as "The Witch of
Fear",
"The Hill
Housekeeper",
Wife",
"A
Frost p o r t r a y s
Servant
women
d o m i n a t e d by m e n ' s v i o l e n c e or in their way to
woul d
lives.
The
be
e le me nt
in t h e s e poem s
is
to
either
madness,
the only s o l u t i o n to the fr ustra tion
sexual
Coos",
of
no tably
their
strong,
e s p e c i a l l y in "Home B u r ial" w h e r e we find e v e r y w h e r e e v i d e n c e s of
sexual t h r e a t .
On the oth er hand,
very litt le has been said about
th e
se xu al o v e r t o n e s in F r o s t ' s lyrics.
the
comfortable
stance
C r i tics have
pre ferred
of a n a l y z i n g F r o s t ' s lyrics
sim pl y
as
" n a t u r e lyrics", p e r h a p s b e c a u s e such a n a l y s e s would not thre ate n
th e
p ort r a i t
Moreover,
of the good g r a n d f a t h e r
if
we
concentrate
John
and R i c h a r d P o i ri er
p a r t i c u l a r field
of
Frost's
S e a r s (1989),
the
literature.
"concentric
the sexual element will be
Richard
Wakefield
(1990) have focused their a t t e n t i o n
of res ear ch,
lyrics.
American
our a n a l y s e s on
c i r c l e s " of the poems' s i g n i f i c a n c e s ,
i n e v i t a b l y there.
of
<i985)
on
this
and prod u c e d good a n a l y s e s of some
A l t h o u g h Poir i e r uses
s ex uality in F r o s t ' s
work as a m e t a p h o r for the m a k i n g of poetry, he a l lows the sexual
o v e r t o n e s of the p o e m s to d e v e l o p duri ng his readings.
In th is d i s s e r t a t i o n I intend to a n a l y z e the sexual
and s e n s u o u s e l e m e n t s in Robert F r o s t ' s lyrics,
analyses
mimetic
only
level.
on
t h ose ly rics which deal with
lyri cs
n a ture
at
the
Due to the i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a c h r o n o l o g i c a l study
of h u m a n s e n s u a l i t y in Robert F r o s t ' s work
sensuous
c o n c e n t r a t i n g my
before
(he wrote most of
the p u b l i c a t i o n of his first
book
the
and
s e l e c t e d them thr oughout the later ones), this will be a thematic
i0
study d i v i d e d into two main parts:
A)
Associations
betw e e n
N a ture
and
Male/Female
Sexual ity
- A s s o c i a t i o n s b e t w e e n N a t u r e and Female Sex uality
1- "Th e R o s e F a m i l y "
2- " G o o d - b y and Keep Cold"
3- "Ne ver A g ain Would Birds' Song Be the Same"
4- " U n h a r v e s t e d "
5- "The T e l e p h o n e "
- S p e a k e r ' s own s e x u a l i t y proj e c t e d into N a t u r e
6- "lioon C o m p a s s e s ”
7- "Ghost Hous e "
8- "To E a r t h w a r d "
9- "A D r e a m Pa ng"
10- " W a i t i n g - A f ield at Dusk"
11- " R e l u c t a n c e "
B) E r o t i c I n v i t a t i o n s and E x p e r i e n c e s
- Invitations
1- "The P a s t u r e "
2- "A L i n e - S t o r m S o n g ”
3- "A P r a y e r in. Sp ring"
4- " P u t t i n g in the S e e d ”
- Experiences
1- "In a Val e"
2- "Rose P o g o n i a s "
ii.
3- "Going for Water
4- "All R e v e l a t i o n "
5- "The S t r o n g are Sayin g Nothi ng"
6- "The S u b v e r t e d Flower"
7- "Wind and W i n d o w Fl ower"
8- " D e v o t i o n "
The
choice
of
the
critical
appro ach
in
the
analyses
of the p o e m s was ma de takin g into c o n s i d e r a t i o n
Scholes'
d e f i n i t i o n of the basic d i f f e r e n c e be tween fi ction
po etry,
Robert
and
wh ich
...is bas ed
on the notion of p o e t r y
as
monu m e n t a l ,
fixed
in the word s of the text
and
therefore untranslatable;
while fiction h a s proved
h i ghly
t r a n s l a t a b l e b e c a u s e its e s s e n c e is not
in
its
l a n g u a g e but
in its dieget ic
structure."
(173)
It s eems to me that
Robert F r o s t ' s
the
best
canon is the o ne which is
appr o a c h
to tally
rega r d i n g
b as ed
p o e m as a cl osed entity.
S e a r c h i n g for different
a t h i n g " F r o s t ' s m ove m e n t
is c l e a r l y from sight to insight,
"mat t e r to spirit".
must
not
be
Hi s p o e m s clea r l y
explained
of
data,
interpreting
"ways of sayin g
a
from
"det o u r " that
with extern al da ta but within the realm
of the text. Mo reover, c r i t i c s in
biographical
present
in the
in
spite
Frost's
poetry
general have
of
the
p r e f e r r e d to use
evident
necessi t y
p urs u i n g
significance
in the
s emiotic
approach
poetry
p o e t i c d i s c o u r s e of the text.
I
will
a pply
the
12
to
by Mich ael R i f f a t e r r e in the book Semiotics
proposed
(1980)
because
inseparable
yet,
the
of
Eoetta
it b a s i c a l l y c o n s i d e r s the concept of po etry
from the concept of text
th eo r y
is
(as a closed
e l a s t i c enou g h to
entity);
co nsider
the
and
literary
p h e n o m e n o n to be "a d i a l e c t i c b e t w e e n text and r e a d e r " ( 0 i ).
This
theory
t a k e s int o acc oun t th e fa cts that are " a c c e s s i b l e to
reader
and are p e r c e i v e d in r e l a t i o n to the
the r e s t r i c t i o n s of t hese two p o s t ulates,
theory
may
g i v e a p r e c i s e acc ou nt of the
from sight to insight,
so r e c u r r e n t
Riffaterre
feature.
when
sees
poem"(02).
faces
the
Thro ugh
I b e l ieve R i f f a t e r r e ' s
characteristic
shift
in F r o st 's poetry.
" i n d i r e c t n e s s " as p o e t r y ' s
basic
All p o e t r y t a l k s about one thing through another.
one
as
p o etry one ha s to bear in mind that
it
Thus,
is
an
a c t i v i t y that h a p p e n s in at least two levels. On the one hand, we
h a v e th e " l i t e r a r y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of reality",
Riffaterre
related
p u t s it (0£).
or "m imesis",
At this level every word
is
as
directly
to the th ing it s t a n d s for (l ang uag e is r e f e r e n t i a l ) and
m e a n i n g can be app r e h e n d e d .
S i n c e rea lity is in itse lf s omething
q uite
comp lex ,
f ocu s
and m u l t i p l i e s d e t a i l s in ord er to e n c o m p a s s t his
complexity.
Variation
characteristics
"something
at the m i m e s i s level the text c o n s t a n t l y
of
else",
and m u l t i p l i c i t y ,
mimesis.
thus,
On the other hand,
are
we
sh ifts
natural
the
basic
have
that
that o t he r level of disc o u r s e in which we can
a p p r e h e n d the " s i g n i f i c a n c e " of the poem. The reader can p e r c e i v e
ma ny p o e t i c s i g n s in a p o e m that point to that " s omething
as t h e s e
e l e m e n t s form a p a r t i c u l a r kind
fr om the v a r i a t i o n of mimes is.
in fact,
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by
Riffaterre
formal and
of
else",
unity,
di fferent
says that
p o e m s are,
sema nti c
unity.
So,
he
d e f i n e s " s i g n i f i c a n c e " as "thi s formal and sem ant ic unity,
i n c l u d e s all the i n d i ces of i n d i r e c t i o n "
The
are
all
mimes i s .
Riffaterre
indirection:
to
(or u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s )
in one way or
numbers
Displacing
another
(02).
i n d i c e s of i n d i r e c t i o n
the signs that,
another,
t hree p o s s i b l e
threa t e n
ways
- as in m e t a p h o r and
met onym y),
(when
the
space
signs
out
of e l e m e n t s which are dev oid of m ea ni ng
addition
threatened
by
the
poem.
th e
rhyme,
assonance,
indirection,
with
reader's
are i n t e g r a t e d
of
outside
the
In
can
also
be
with
one
way
or
the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s
of
into
from
crea t i o n
or
In
anot her system,
and that this o t h e r s y s t e m alt ers
The " i n t e g r a t i o n of s i g n s
cr eating
(02).
verisimilitude
that
("When
etc.)
m i m esis
e x pectati ons.
reader p e r c e i v e s
the m i m e s i s level
and
is the agent for the
inconsistency
of
the
paradigm,
of the text
sema n t i c
frustration
a not h e r ,
c o n t r a d i c t i o n and nonsen se" )
in sy mmetry,
to
sema ntic
distorting
is amb igui ty,
- as
of
the
(when one sign c h a nges from one meaning
there
context
which
the
the
a
ano ther
mean i n g of the
mimesis
level
into
h i g h e r level of s i g n i f i c a n c e is a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of semi o s i s "
(04).
The
semiotic p r o c e s s is no thing mo re than the movem ent of
s i g n s from one level of d i s c o u r s e to another.
According
to
Riffaterre,
this
process
In a
first-stage
happens
du ring a sec ond s t a g e of reading.
reading
(heuristic) the r e ader d e c o d e s the meaning of the
apprehending
as
this
of
poem,
all the fact s that are stat ed at the m i m e s i s level,
well as the p r e s e n c e of the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s
threaten
a 1 ways
mimesis.
that
somehow
T h i s read i n g goes from top to bott on of
14
the page,
and the re ader uses as input his
(his a b i l i t y
to
identifying
tropes
competence
wi th
and
and
the
referentiality
ungrammaticalities)
of
s o c i e t y ' s m y t h o l o g i e s and with other
( r e t r o a c t i v e or h e r m e n e u t i c ) reading,
c o m p a r e s element s,
language,
and his
(fam i l i a r i t y with d e s c r i p t i v e systems,
his
second
understand
lin gu ist ic c o m p e t e n c e
literary
with
texts).
the
In
the reader
the
re views
p e r f o r m i n g a stru ctu ral decoding,
b e c o m e s a w a r e of the s t r u c t u r e s that gener a t e the text.
stage
themes,
as he
At
reader p e r c e i v e s that the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s
this
of
the
m i m e s i s level are " v a r i a n t s of the same st ructural matri x"( 06) .
The
through
the
matrix
is
a
semantic
ungrammaticalities
R i f f a t e r r e expla ins,
matrix
is
"The text
repress ed,
the
of
the
given,
visible
mime s i s
level.
f u n c t i o n s like a neur osis:
displacement produces
only
As
as the
variants
all
t h r o u g h the text, just as s u p p r e s s e d s y m p t o m s break out s o m e w h e r e
else
in the bod y" (i 9).
nothing
more
sentence)
it
is
than the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the m a t r i x (a
into more e l a b o r a t e forms.
m e rely
"significance
the
It is wor th ment i o n i n g that the text
the a c t u a l i z a t i o n of a structure.
is sh ap ed like a dou ghnut,
If
is
as
if
either
m a t r i x"(i3).
The
(u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y )
c a l l e d "model" and will g o vern all the other
the
It
the hol e being
m a t r i x of the h y p o g r a m or the h y p o g r a m as
So, matrix ,
or
The m a t r i x is h ypothe tical,
first a c t u a l i z a t i o n of the m a t r i x in the po em
is
word
is
ac t u a l i z a t i o n s .
model, and text ar e v a r i a t i o n s of the same str ucture.
text is me rely a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the m a t r i x into
e l a b o r a t e forms,
The
more
it f u n c t i o n s like a per iphrasis.
co mmon m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of p oe ms result
the c o n f u s i o n bet ween m e a n i n g and si gni ficance.
Whereas
from
meaning
is
the
semantic
significance
"liturgy
is r e l a t e d to the r e a d e r ' s ab ility to
of
a
s e q u e n c e " (12).
ma kes,
as
distance
In
any
ritual
- th e
Significance
experience
of
b e t w e e n t h e s e two levels,
the
to
a
the
circuitous
The
gr eater
the
the more d eveloped the text.
i m p o r t a n t to o b s e r v e that b e f o r e s i g n i f i c a n c e is app reh ended,
the
th e
This
signific anc e.
look like a s e r i e s of i n a p p r o p r i a t e
m a king the text
o t h e r hand,
of
are
is
data,
perception
level
It
ungrammaticalities
the
poem,
perform
the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s of the m i m esis
keys
a
is g e n e r a t e d by a "detour" the text
it m o v e s from m i m e s i s to semio sis.
case,
always
a p p r e h e n s i o n of the m i m e s i s level of
se ma ntic
look like a g e n e r a l i z e d cata chr esi s.
as the text b e c o m e s more de viant and
On the
un grammati cal,
r e a d e r feels that the a r b i t r a r i n e s s of langua ge
di min ish es.
is due to the con cept of " o v e r d e t e r m i n a t i o n " ,
d e f i n e d with
p r e c i s i o n by W i l l i a m Be aucham p:
Overdetermination
refers
to
multiple
m o t i v a t i o n s of language:
it is the inte r s e c t i o n in
a single
sign of two or more a s s o c i a t i v e chains,
such
that
the sign has not only one re as o n
for
bein g act u a l i z e d , but two or three, or five. To the
normal, l i n g u i s t i c links betw e e n wor ds (go vern ed by
grammar
and
lexical d i s t r i b u t i o n ) are a dded the
additional
link s
of s t y l i s t i c
and
prosodi c
s t r uctures,
as well as t hose c o n n e c t i n g the matr i x
and its vari ants: thus s i g n s in p oems seem, d e s p i t e
their
frequent ob scurity,
especially
appropriate
and n e ces sary.
(42)
By
maki n g
overdetermination
li t e r a r y
Being
that
is
di scourse,
aware
of
sig ns
responsible
compensating
t h ese
conc epts,
stro n g l y
for
the
for the
the
motivated,
exemplariness
text's
reader
cata chresi s.
may
conclude
s i g n i f i c a n c e is g e n e r a t e d by two semi o t i c operations:
16
of
sign
production
si gns)
text).
(the
an d
transformation
text p r o d u c t i o n
of mime tic
signs
into
(the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from
poetic
matrix
to
Let us b egin with the former.
The
hypogrammatic
first
operation
derivation;
that is,
a l ways
occu r s
thr ou gh
the sign is p o e t i c i z e d
(it
b e c o m e s r e l e v a n t to the p o e m ' s s i g n i f i c a n c e ) when it r e f e r s to
p r e e x i s t e n t word group,
calls
" h y p o g r a m " ),
to a p a r a d i g m e l s e w h e r e (what R i f f a t e r r e
being,
t e x t ' s m a t r i x (otherwi se,
marked
signs
at the same time,
potential
at
text).
idiolect
(observable
the
The h y p o g r a m is "already a s y s t e m of
least a p r e d i c a t i o n "(£3), and
(observable
previous
a var iant of
the sign wou ld be only a s t y l i s t i c a l l y
l e x e m e or syn tag m).
comprising
a
in la ngu age) or actual
By the same token,
w i thin
the
it
may
(observable
in
the poetic sign may
context of
the
be
be
text)
a
an
or
a
c l a s s e m e ( o b s e r v a b l e r e g a r d l e s s of the given text). H y p o g r a m s are
classified
into t h r e e types:
(or q u o t a t i o n s ) ,
th e
cliches
and d e s c r i p t i v e systems.
The
and/or
S e m e s and presupp o s i t i o n s ,
hypogram
is
formed "out of
a
word's
se mes
p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s " when the p oet i c sign a c t u a l i z e s some
semes
and/or
presuppositions
of the kernel
word
of
of
the
hypogram,
and this word may be in the text or n o t . As R i f f a t e r r e
expl a i n s ,
"The
encyclopedia
of
word"(26).
These
presenting
what
Riffaterre
sememe
gives
of
the kernel word
fu nct ions
like
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n rela t e d to the me a ning
a c t u a l i z a t i o n s s a t u r a t e the
we
could h a v e
the
p r e s u p p o s e s a flutist,
example
g a t h e r e d from
of
the
e n t a i l s an audience,
.1.7
verbal
word
a
of
an
that
sequence,
single
"fl ute "
and c o n t a i n s
word.
which
semes
such
as
P an's ),
" m e l o d i o u s n e s s " ," r u s t i c i t y "
etc.
T h ese
relationship
archaism),
flute
hypogrammatic
semes
but as a
two forms:
epithets
poet i c
also
fall
A stock epi thet
word
derivative,
Daw n" (2 7).
one marked
(the
neologism
or
(the s y n o n y m or homolo gue ).
derivation.
conventionally
the
w o r d s a r e not p e r c e i v e d only as words,
and one u n m a r k e d
hypogrammatic
in
sta ndar d
between
the word in
was
the
Stock
fingered
of
th e n e w or c o n s p i c u o u s word repe a t s the
p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s of its hypo gram,
le xicon.
kind
He a l s o e x p l a i n s that in the n e o l o g i s m and
r e v i v e d ar chai sm,
and
(one
that
e.g.
can
into
this
type
of
is a "per m a n e n t l y
be
analyse d
as
f l e e t - f o o t e d A c h i l l e s or
or
a
rosy-
A h i s t o r i c a l e s t h e t i c s y stem d e t e r m i n e s the
s e l e c t i o n of t h e s e words,
as well as their interp retations.
u n l i k e co mmon a d j e c t i v e s ,
stock e p i t h e t s are w o rds which alr ead y
e m b o d y an ideologic al ethos.
relationship
contrasting
between
with
the
So,
Their p o e t i c i t y c o mes from a special
epithets
and
m e a n i n g of
a c c e s s o r y or con tex t d e t e r m i n e d ,
why stock e p i t h e t s are poetic,
nouns:
comm o n
their
adjecti ves ,
but a p e rmanent
meaning,
are
not
feature. That is
no matter what noun they
modify.
T heir l iterary func t i o n is that of a p o s i t i v e or n e g a t i v e marker,
i nst e a d
that of a d d i n g m e a n i n g to a word.
h ypogram,
actualizes
They already imply
a
usua l l y a d e s c r i p t i v e system, and the a d j e c t i v e usua lly
the s e m e s and p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s of the nuc lea r word
the d e s c r i p t i v e system.
of
As J u l i o P i n t o ex empl if ies,
When m o d i f y i n g the noun "coluna", for example,
the a d j e c t i v e
"ágil" is the echo of a t i m e l e s s
metap hor ,
the one d e p i c t i n g
Greek
c o l u m n s as
maidens
(carya tid s),
whose standard
description
us u ally i n v o l v e s grace ful s l e n d erness. The h y p o g r a m
is
thus a d e s c r i p t i v e system,
some of
the
presuppositions
of which
are a c tuali zed
in the
ad jec tiv e,
maki n g
it
fu nction as a m e l i o r a t i v e
sign.
(22)
R i f f a t e r r e says that the linka ge between the poetic
sign
and
the
actualize
th e
h y p o g r a m is s t r o n g e r in the case
of
the s e m e s of the n u c l e a r word of the
w ords
hypogram,
s e m e s are "the very co re of a w o r d ' s m e a n i n g "(3 i ).
the b a s i c p r o c e s s thro u g h wh ich w o r d s that are usually
as
" o r d i n a r y wo rds " b e c o m e poet i c in the
t h e s e w o r d s a c t u a l i z e semes,
word,
making
the
text.
that
since
This
is
perc e i v e d
Besides,
since
they b e c o m e a metonym of the kernel
c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n poet ic signs and
hypogram
even stro n g e r .
C l i c h é s are "already a c t u a l i z e d in set forms within
the r e a d e r ' s mind "(39),
being part of our lin guistic com pete nce .
As R i f f a t e r r e e x e m p lifies,
the c o l l o c a t i o n of “fleur" and "abime"
b e l o n g s to this c a t e g o r y of hyp ogra m,
beca u s e of the s t e r e o t y p e d
i m age of th e flower on the e dge of the abyss, which a c h i e v e d high
popularity
This
duri n g the r o m a n t i c era,
hypogram
is
c h a r a c t e r i z e d by
l i t t l e n e s s X immensity,
da nger,
etc.
Thus,
b e c a u s e of its
st rong
an ti thes es.
contrasts
such
as
d e l i c a t e X rude, beauty X horror, c harm X
clichés
also
have the m e c h a n i s m
of
seme
act u a l i z a t i o n .
A
descriptive
system
is
a
"network
a s s o c i a t e d with one a n o ther a r ound a kernel word,
with the s e m e m e of that nue 1 e u s " <39).
words
is
the
kernel
word's
sememe,
in
of
accordance
The linkage betw e e n
which
they
wo rds
all
these
share.
A c c o r d i n g to J u l i o Pinto, the d e s c r i p t i v e system ar ou nd "window",
for examp l e ,
" c o m p r i s e s the ideas of opening,
wall, view, etc.,
and
e n t a i l s the o p p o s i t i o n s of in X out,
i m p r i s o n m e n t X freedom,
The
generation
text.
of
Since
smallness X
vastness,
and so on"(E4).
s e c o n d s e m i o t i c o p e r a t i o n r e s p o n s i b l e for
s i g n i f i c a n c e is the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from m a t r i x to
the m a t r i x it self is never a c t u a l i z e d per
se,
text will try to exha u s t the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of v a r i a t i o n in
to
emphasize
the
the
linkage
stated.
The
operation
rules:
conversion
between
order
what is implied and what
of text p r o d u c t i o n is
and
the
ex pansion.
governed
" E xpansion
is
by
two
transforms
the
c o n s t i t u e n t s of the m a t r i x s e n t e n c e into more c o m p l e x forms"<48).
Its
most
metaphor,
which
c o mmon
sign
the
be
mo tion,
in
it self a sign
pro gress,
symbolizing
changes
amp 1 i f i c a t i o ,
high
In most
cases,
in the c o n s t i t u e n t s of the model
s i n c e p r o n o u n s turn into nouns,
the
c o n s t i t u e n t s of the
spectacular climax"(51).
allegory,
transforming
representations,
Riffaterre,
is
arbitrariness
The
In
seque n c e
h e a ding for a
form of
into
complex
to
is a l s o the prin cipal agent o p e r a t i n g
to
the more
exp an sion .
that
According
from
most
are
sentence,
expansion
components
abstra ct
e s p e c i a l l y "fro m the g r a m m a t i c a l con n e c t i v e s " ,
images.
there
It is worth m e n t i o n i n g
simple
a visual
expansion
emotional
This p r o c e s s m akes the read er a w are that
the s e q u e n c e forms a tex tual unity.
into
extended
n ouns into g r o u p s and so on.
" g r o w lon g e r and longer and more and more complex,
remove
the
etc. E x p a n s i o n a l w a y s t r a n s f o r m s one
i n t o se vera l e q u i v a l e n t signs.
grammatical
the
pe rip hrasi s,
and the s i m p l e r e p e t i t i v e s e q u e n c e s (the amp 1 i f i c a t i o ),
would
tension,
e x a m p l e s are
comm o n
2«
"substitute
lang u a g e
forms,
t r a n s f o r m i n g them
transformation
of
abstract
thus,
into f i g u r a t i v e sign s is the
is
much
syntagm.
mo re
than
met onym" (58 ) .
an e n l a r g e m e n t of a
Expansion,
lexeme
into
a
It is a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e for the detour the reader has to
f o l l o w in ord er to be a w are of the i n v a r i a n c e in the variance.
Conversion
"transforms
the
constituents
of
the
m a t r i x s e n t e n c e by m o d i f y i n g them all with the same
factor"(63).
Since
orie nta tion ,
a h y p o g r a m a l w a y s has a p o s i t i v e or n e g a t i v e
conversion
t r a n s m u t a t e s the h y p o g r a m ' s m a r k e r s (from p o s i t i v e to
n e g a t i v e or vice versa),
sentence.
creates
Th er efore,
c h a n g i n g the c o n s t i t u e n t s of the mat rix
instead of c r e a t i n g a
a formal unity.
permutation,
the
m e t a p h o r and me tonym.
in
a
Baudelaire
( nor m a l l y
of
wh ich does not involve, b e s i d e s the
sema n t i c t r a n s f e r that occu r s
in
the
R i f f a t e r r e g i v e s the e x a mp le of c o n v e r s i o n
p ro se poem in whic h the mi me s i s
posi t i v e )
c o nver sion
We can find the most common e x a m p l e
m a r k e r p e r m u t a t i o n in irony,
marker
detour,
is
presented
in a
code
of
of
mat ernity
m inus
sign,
r e p r e s e n t i n g sorrow. When c o n v e r s i o n a f f e c t s d e s c r i p t i v e systems,
it p e r m u t â t e s the ma rk er of the kernel word, prod u c i n g therefore,
th e
transmutation
conversion
of all the other w ords of
is comb i n e d with expansi on,
e x t e r n a l hy pogram.
In such cases,
complex
forms
of exp an sion ,
complex
fo rm s
that also repeat
matrix"(75).
the
system.
it is not re lated to
When
an
c o n v e r s i o n r e g u l a t e s the more
whic h is limited
"to
t h ose
features characteristic
T here is mark i n g wit hou t perm utation,
of
more
the
s i nce t her e is
no e x t e r n a l h y p o g r a m to oppose.
R i f f a t e r r e d e v o t e s an e n t i r e chap ter of his book to
th e c o n cept of "I nterprétant",
related
to
one of the most
important c o n c e p t s
the shift from m i m e s i s to semiosis.
Si
He
quo tes
the
definition
of i n t e r p r e t a n t
who b r o u g h t
forth the idea:
from the Amer i c a n p h i l o s o p h e r Peirce,
A sign s t a n d s far. s o m e t h i n g to the idea which
it p rodu ces,
or modifies.. .
That for which
it
stands
is call e d
its o b i ect
; that
which
it
conve ys,
its roeaQiotg;
and
the idea to which
it
g ive s rise, its iQtenp.r.etaDt ■ <8i)
R i f f a t e r r e r e s t r i c t s the term,
a p p l y i n g it only for si gns
whose
f u n c t i o n is "to g u i d e the read e r in his c o m p a r a t i v e or stru ctu ral
r e a d i n g " < 8i ) .
They
are s i g n s wh ich repr ese nt the e q u i v a l e n c e of
two " s i g n i f y i n g s y s t e m s ”,
c o d e s or texts".
and t e x t u a l .
in
model,
la ying
"two
i n t e r p r e t a n t s are m ediating texts,
the p o e m or a l l u d e d to"(8i).
interpretants
perti nen t to
"two
He a l s o c l a s s i f i e s i n t e r p r e t a n t s into lexematic
Tex tua l
quo ted
w o r k i n g like puns,
These t e xts
down the rule of the p o e m ' s
"either
contain
idiolect.
a
Lexe matic
(or dual signs) are m e d i a t i n g words, whic h g e n e r a t e
t e x t s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h i n the poem (or one text that must
be u n d e r s t o o d in two diff e r e n t ways), or else they p r e s u p p o s e two
h y p o g r a m s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y " ( 8 i ). The dual sign may be u n d e r s t o o d as
an
" e q u i v o c a l word s i t u a t e d at the point where two s e q u e n c e s
s e m a n t i c and formal a s s o c i a t i o n s i n t e r s e c t "(86).
the
other
to
is
very
s i n c e "the s e q u e n c e is mi xed with the one in which
the
e q u i v o c a l word righ t l y b e l o n g s " (86).
the
dual
elsewhere,
In eit her case,
text to whi ch the dual sign also p o i n t s
c l o s e at hand,
of
sign
or
may
be
due
to
The a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s of
homophony
with
anot h e r
it may be due to a c o i n c i d e n c e betw e e n
the
word
dual
sign and the othe r word both in sound and morpho log y.
In
some cases,
the "ghost text" is fle shed out in
the
poem:
a
description
the
t akes
p lace
"that
actualizes
or n a r r a t i o n the two c o m p e t i n g meanings,
other,
or
derivation
So,
derivation
a l t e r n a t e l y " (91).
did not exist,
to exist,
In
other
one
words,
after
if
the dual sign would lose its
the dual sign g e n e r a t e s a text.
as
this
effect.
In other cas es (in
the c a s e s of h y p o g r a m g e n e r a t i n g dual signs), the ghost text
word's
o th er
usually
a
r e f e r e n c e ) must be de du c e d by the
po te n t i a l
competence.
In
cliche
this
case,
wh ich
is
part
reader.
of
(the
It
is
the
read e r ' s
the dual sign re fers to a
hypogram
infer r e d by the reader.
A
t i t l e can also be a dual sign.
The role of
the
t i t l e is “to in form the re ader and f a c i l i t a t e acce s s to the
by s t a t i n g its subject,
title,
at
its genre,
the same time,
or its code"(1 00) .
its own p o e m is located),
Dual
titles
matrix
but
can
as
a
code
(
"ins t e a d
which
shar e s
and
rea der
interpretant
is
is
to
find
his
hermeneutic
of
a
interpretant,
in
clues...
the
a fragment of that text actually quoted in
the
p o e m it s e r v e s to i n t e r p r e t "(109), as for example,
At this point,
it is clear that,
an epigraph.
alth o u g h at
the
level the poem s e e m s to add i n f o r m a t i o n s to i n f o r m a t i o n s
(meaning
level
text,
gram mar
In the case of the textual
same
of bein g s y m b o l i z e d by a word refe r r i n g to the text
the
mimesis
the
or even point to a text not as a
a r e p o s i t o r y of lexic on
c o n v e n t i o n a l dis c o u r s e ) .
significance
it is fun c t i o n i n g like a dual sign.
point to anot h e r text which
of its own poem,
When the
i n t r o d u c e s its own po em and re fers to
a n o t h e r text o u t s i d e the p o e m (e xplaining w h ere the
of
text
of
is a p p r e h e n d e d t h r ough the p o s i t i o n of words),
significance
we
have
the
same
i n f o rmation
at
the
being
repeated.
As
Riffaterre
puts
it,
"the
mim etic
syntagmatic,
the s e m i o t i c one is p a r a d i g m a t i c " (89).
clear
the
that
semiotic
reader's
transfer
role is the
text
is
It also seems
most
important
in
from m i m e s i s to semiosis.
The whole
p r o cess
h a p p e n s in the r e a d e r ' s mind,
the
and it is the reader who p e r c e i v e s
t h e s e m i o t i c c i r c u l a r i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of poetic texts. Althou gh
he
p e r f o r m s a s t r u c t u r a l d e c o d i n g of poe tic language,
perceives
the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s as stum b l i n g b l o c k s
tends
read
to
distortions.
the
That
poem
is
f a s c i n a t i n g " ( i66) .
unresolved.
to
why p o e m s are "endlessly
They
Besi des,
obed ient to m i m esis
are
constantly
he
still
and
still
get
rid
of
rereadable
and
reso l v e d
and
being
the fact that "any u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y within
the p o e m is a sign of g r a m m a t i c a l i t y e l s e w h e r e " (i64) leads to the
fact that p o e t i c l a n g u a g e is like a game.
observe
that
reader's
matrix
s i n c e the s e m i o t i c unit is the
decoding
saturation
by
<165).
It is also important to
text
itself,
of the text is li mited b e c ause of the
the
This
semantic
and
contrasts
formal
with
featu res
the
po em's
of
many
the
its
poss i b l e
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of p o e m s at the m i m e s i s level.
The
po et ic
language
as
p r e s u p p o s e s the p r e s e n c e of the author,
In
of
This
"word
relationship
hypogram
is
a u t hor,
a
b e t ween
In such cases,
hypogram
game"
also
the send er of a message.
t h e c a s e of p o e m s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by nonsense,
"scrambling".
the
a
and
one comm o n type
text
is
called
the words, p h r ases or s e n t e n c e s of
are found in the text with their o r d e r s changed.
<
ty pical case which c o n f i r m s the
in tention of the
a s t r o n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the word game.
In
mechanisms
analyses
final
chapter
Riffaterre
analyses
some
of r e a d e r - p e r c e p t i o n which are typical of poetry.
th e
illustrates
formant,
his
perception
th e
of a text as member of
point with the p r ose poem),
nonsense
as an art ifac t,
a
g enre
humor as
(and
a
and genr e induced
He
text-
obsc uri ty
I
(that
is,
when o b s c u r i t y r e s u l t s "f rom an i n t e r f e r e n c e
g e n r e ' s s t r u c t u r e s " )i50.
relevant
to
Since
of
t h e s e a n a l y s e s are not
the pr esent d i s s e r t a t i o n ,
the
di rectly
I will not be
co ncerned
w i t h them.
Riffaterre
of t h e
p r o v i d e s the reader with many
a p p l i c a t i o n of his
Due
to
the
translations
examp 1es
t h eory to f ragments of Fre n c h
poems.
th e d i f f i c u l t y to p e r c e i v e s u b t l e semioti c p r o c e s s e s
Riffaterre's
of
the poems,
I have
chosen
to
i l lustrate
m e thod with W i l l i a m B e a u c h a m p ' s a n a l y s i s of a
by E m i l y Dick i n s o n .
in
poem
B e a u c h a m p ' s a n a l y s i s is ba sed on R i f f a t e r r e ' s
theory.
Ended, ere it beg an The t itle was s c a r c e l y told
When the p r e f a c e p e r i s h e d from c o n s ciousness,
The story, unreveal ed.
Had
Had
That
The
it been mine, to print !
it been yours, to read!
it was not our p r i v i l e g e
interdict of God.
With
the
absence
of
the
initial
orie n t a t i o n
p r o v i d e d by a title, B e a u c h a m p b e g i n s his a n a l y s i s by listing the
d a t a we p e r c e i v e at the m i m e s i s level: v a r i o u s ellipses,
of
s e m a n t i c a l l y rela ted w o r d s
read),
a
series
of
(title,
antitheses
preface,
(ended/begun,
story,
a series
print,
mine/yo urs ,
privilege/interdict)
and the p r e s e n c e s of a first -pe rso n narr ator
(mine) and of an a d d r e s s e e (yours).
to
some
ungrammaticalities:
begi ns,
the
mystery
of
He also calls our
something
the
cannot
addressee's
end
a ttention
before
identity,
and
it
the
u n e x p l a i n e d fact of the st ory be ing under interdict.
The
before
it
two
began?"
most
importan t
of
"book",
presuppositions.
negated.
end;
in
our
in lines 2, 3, 4 and line
"p reface",
t w o n o u n s are c o m p o n e n t s of the third).
presupposition
ended
The pronoun "it" of the first question is easily
a s s o c i a t e d with the "title",
components
("What
and "Why did it end"?) are answered
s e c o n d - s t a g e r e a d i n g - more precise ly,
8 respectively.
que stions
which
and "story" (the
first
In fact, all of them are
is a c t u a l i z e d in
its
semes
Thus, every line of the poem c o n t a i n s a seme or
of
book
(it) and all of them are
systematically
The s tory of the poem does not have a b e g i n n i n g nor
its t i t l e - in ste ad of announcing,
b a r e l y told;
its p r e f a c e does not e x p lain or introduce,
but it is "unrev eale d".
book r e c e i v e s an inter dict
in stead of a permission.
The
an
ide ntif yi ng the book - is
s tory is not a rev e l a t i o n ,
by the reader:
and
and the
Besides,
the
real clue c o m e s when two a n t i t h e s e s are linked
m i n e / y o u r s and p r i n t/read.
s p e a k e r and th e ad dressee,
a
The first p r e s e n t s the
and the sec ond t r a n s f o r m s them into a
writer/sender
and
r e a d e r / r e c e i v e r in an
communication.
B e a u c h a m p c o m m e n t s that
unrealized
act
of
. . .given what
we know is one of the common
tenors
for which c o m m u n i c a t i o n
imag es s erve as
ve hicl es;
and gi ven the long literary t r a d i t i o n of
commiting
a speci al type of e m o t i o n a l l y
char g e d
m e s s a g e to c o l l e c t i o n s of lyric poe ms (books with
26
title,
p r e f a c e . . . ) that are a d dressed to a special
o ther
- we are led to c o n c l u d e that the story
in
ques t i o n is a love story.
The spe ake r is a lover;
the addr e s s e e ,
a beloved.
A love story in book
code.
<4i)
Beauchamp
o v e r d e t e r m i n e d by
this
in
goes
the fact that we h ave a strong
act of c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
that
of
on sayi n g that the love
story
p r o h i b i t i o n of
S i n c e in lit er ary trad i t i o n
the R o m a n t i c n i n e t e e n t h centu ry)
is
the
(notably
most
common
s u b j e c t of i n t e r d i c t i o n is i m p o s s i b l e love, the love in t h i s poem
is
c o n d e m n e d by taboo,
a love that n eeds to remain
unreve aled .
B e a u c h a m p puts all this data in R i f f a t e r r e ' s terms:
Th e m a t r i x of the poem is som e t h i n g like "forbidden
love".
make
The model is "story",
it
a
fu nctio nal
unauthorized.
The
e x p a n d e d by v a r i o u s me tonyms,
synonym
of
book,
unwritten
p o e m is base d on tw o hypo gram s:
form e d from the s e m e s and p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s of
which
because
the first is
"book",
saturating
th e p o e m from b e g i n n i n g to end. As B e a u c h a m p p o i n t s out:
In our poem,
it is as if the word "book" were
l ogi c a l l y
d i s sected,
first
into its material,
s e q u e n t i a l parts: the title, the preface, the story
itself;
then into its social aspects: the writing,
the pr int ing, the reading.
(43)
The
sto ry",
whi ch
(story).
of
clearly
generates
hypogram
the
r e fers to the
matrix
(love)
cliche
and
the
"love
model
T h e s e h y p o g r a m s are thus r e s p o n s i b l e for the p r o d u c t i o n
poetic
presents
s e cond
signs.
As for
"expansion"
the
tex tua l
and " conversio n".
pr od uction,
On one hand,
e x p a n d s the m a t r i x " f o r b i d d e n love" into more
for ms (lines 2, 3, 4, for example,
2.7
r e s t a t e what
this
poem
the
poe m
elaborate
is sta ted in line
i).
The
f rom
ef fect of e x p a n s i o n is also felt in the
abstract
abstract
book,
to f i g u r a t i v e forms (the
love
is e x p a n d e d in t e rms of
transformation
non-expression
a
concrete,
of
the
f i gu rative
w h o s e e x i s t e n c e is denied, m a king it a f i g urative form for
the a b s e n c e of the e x p r e s s i o n of love). C o n v e r s i o n is r e s p o n s i b l e
for
th e i n v e r s i o n of m a r k e r s whic h t r a n s f o r m s the c o m p o n e n t s
the
b o o k - h y p o g r a m from real to non - e x i s t e n t ,
book.
from book to
of
non­
It c o n v e r t s the c o m p o n e n t s of the b o o k - h y p o g r a m , thus, with
n e g a t i v e marke rs.
Beauchamp
the
concludes
his a n a l y s i s by stat i n g
that
p o e m a c t u a l i z e s an act of c o m m u n i c a t i o n betwe en spe aker
addressee,
not
w hic h is about anot h e r act of c o m m u n i c a t i o n that
actualized,
love.
and
because
And yet,
rem ain,
showing
Because
of
it was the e x p r e s s i o n of
a
was
forbidd en
the ques t i o n s spot t e d at the m i m e s i s level still
that
that,
poeti c
l a n g u a g e is really a
word
the aim of the semi o t i c a n a l y s i s
is
game.
not
to
e s t a b l i s h the m e a n i n g of the p o e m but to e sta b l i s h "the s t r u c t u r e
of
meaning
within
a
- the
way s i g n i f i c a n c e is
reader's
g enerated
enco u n t e r with a text"(46).
and
That
pro duc ed
was
what
B e a u c h a m p tried to do.
Frost's
operating
read
offer
intense
such as "A Pray er in Spring",
Revelation",
and
m i m e s i s level.
unmanageable
semiotic
also
on the two levels of di scours e.
poems
Robe rt
poe ms
so
In fact,
"The
As
Pasture" ,
("The
an e x a m p l e of the p r o c e d u r e s
r e a d i n g s of this study,
2.8
cannot
from
"All
the
Frost m a n a g e s "great
u n k n o w n s by m e a n s of small knowns "
367).
games,
one
many o t h e r s withou t a d e p a r t u r e
As Nor man d Holl a n d obser ves,
Fr ost",
word
Brain
of
of
the
I will anal y z e one of the most
i n t e n s e poems,
and p e r h a p s the most bea utif ul,
c o n c e r n i n g sexual
overt o n e s .
P U T T I N G IN THE SEED
You c o m e t o fe tch me from my work tonight
When s u p p e r ' s on the table, and we'll see
If I can l e a v e off bu rying the w hit e
Soft p e t a l s fall en from the a p p l e tree
(Soft pe tals, yes, but not so b a rren quite,
M i n g l e d w i t h these, smoo th bean and wr inked pea;
And go a l o n g with you ere you lose sight
Of what y o u c a m e for and b e c o m e like me,
S l a v e to a s p r i n g t i m e pa ssion for the earth.
How L o v e b u r n s thro u g h the P u t t i n g in the Seed
On t h r o u g h t h e watc h i n g for that early birth
When, just as th e soil t a r n i s h e s with weed,
The s t u r d y s e e d l i n g with ar ched body comes
S h o u l d e r i n g its way and s h e d d i n g the earth crumbs.
Our
oriented
by the title,
labor.
At
farme r
- working
petals
from
q uite
h e u r i s t i c re ading of this sonnet
the
w h i c h leads us to a context
m i m e s i s level,
we have a p e r s o n a
d u r i n g a s p ring evening,
an a p p l e tree.
inappropriate
bean
presence
and
pl anting.
dinner
the seeds,
with
a
soft
white
it
seems
the
tree,
the
altho u g h t h e r e is no reason for
they are m i n gled with
m a i n t a i n i n g our fo cus in
He
beloved
later,
country
- prob a b l y
w r i n k l e d pea",
his
of
b u r ying
to bury pet a l s fallen from
under t h e earth,
tells
pri mar ily
As the reade r feels that
p e r s o n a h u r r i e s to e x p l a i n that,
their
is
that
"smooth
the
act
of
when she in vites him to
they will s e e if he will be able to stop
bur yin g
but, c u r i o u s l y enough, not to go to dinner, but to go
her until she f o r g e t s why she came.
This is the
sit uation
p r e s e n t e d in the octave.
The
when
se stet
b e g i n s with a m a rked c h a n g e
the p e r s o n a d e s c r i b e s the act of p l a n t i n g and the
in
tone,
se ed ling
"shouldering
its way" thr ough the earth.
Not hin g in
(from lines i to 8) t h r e a t e n s the mimesis.
through
line
9
the
word
" passion"
the
octave
But when our ey es run
suddenly
brin g s
an other
d i m e n s i o n to the poem. P a s sion goes out of the context of natural
labor in w hich the t i t l e and the o c t a v e were included, espe c i a l l y
w hen the p e r s o n a is caught
in a s t ate of sla very to th is passion.
The s a m e h a p p e n s with the w ords "Love" and "Putting
in the See d"
word
(with ca pital
" b i r t h ” also
the
when
in line 10.
possible
the
double
which c o n t i n u e s in line 13 with the
image
s e e d l i n g as an arche d "body", and c u l m i n a t e s in line
we
see
this body " s h o u l d e r i n g " its way and
e art h crumbs.
The read er fini s h e s the poem with
the
that h a p p e n s
process
suspicion
produced
In line ii,
c h a l l e n g e s the reade r to a
m e a n i n g for the poem,
of
letters)
that
it
at
also
by d i s p l a c e m e n t
the
thro w i n g
good
m i m e s i s level,
involves
(some
a
slight
s igns
14
and
off
idea of
with
a
ungrammaticalities
cl early
ch an g e
from one
m e a n i n g to ano ther ).
In
passed
th e
r e t r o a c t i v e reading,
u n n o t i c e d b e c o m e more pert inent.
many
feat u r e s
that
The spe ake r d e s c r i b e s a
p r o c e s s of losing o n e n e s s into p a s s i o n that will happ en at night,
at su pper time,
when he is b u r y i n g w hite petals,
not
"barren",
m i n g l e d with s m ooth bean and w r i n k l e d pea.
Now, the word pas si on
immediately
it
reveals
its
sig n i f i c a n c e :
i n t r i n s i c a l l y human to the context,
r e a d e r ' s d e c o d i n g of the text.
the
Putting
brings
g u i ding the d i r e c t i o n of the
Then, the way "Love b u r n s thr ough
in the S ee d" is coher ent with the pa ssion
earth. The s p e a k e r is clearly
s omethin g
speaking
about
human
for
the
conception
throughout
the w h o l e text.
When his be loved arrives,
they
will
se e if he can resi st the p l a n t i n g of the not "ba rr en " p e t a l s from
an " a p p l e " tree (with its bibl i c a l c o n n o t a t i o n s of sin),
with b e a n and w r i n k l e d p e a (the rich seed),
she f o r g e t s why sh e went there,
becoming,
that p a s s i o n sexual a c t i v i t y involves.
line
9 on,
w h ich
conception
composed
is
the
by
" P u t t i n g in the Se ed"),
the
child
through
like him,
earth.
interesting
descriptive
the
system
sexual act
the wait
Not
aro und
and
this
line
only
s y n t a c t i c a l 1y
sest et,
as
five r h y m e s (ABAB ABAB CD CD E E ) .
to the oct ave ,
E l a i n e B arry o b s e r v e s (86).
fecundity
speaker
x
tarn i s h e d .
is
the
fus es
beloved,
a
burial
series
of
of
a typi c a l
i dea
in
in
the
(formally)
in the same
En glish
sonnet,
it
that is,
the o c t a v e and offe r s a speci f i c
speaker
belongs
way
that
in the poem:
x birth, smo oth x wr ink led, whi te x
d e v e l o p m e n t of thought of an Italian one;
one
in
F r o s t ' s poem
It e m b o d i e s
And a l t h o u g h the r h yme sche m e of "Putt ing
same
very
quatrains
Line 9
oppositions
way
sonnet.
sonnet
alth o u g h its rhy me puts it
the fus i on of th e two l e v e l s of di scourse,
huma n
is
A l t h o u g h the E n g lish sonnet has t h r e e
and a c o u plet with s e v e n r h y m e s (ABABCEiCD EFEF GG),
the
finally,
" s h o u l d e r i n g " its
the S e e d " is a v a r i a t i o n of the E n g l i s h
t erm s o f rhyme.
human
("Love" burn i n g in
for the " b i r t h ”,
coincidentally,
potential
a l s o in t e r m s of the proso dic s c h e m e of the
in
presents
a slave to
And from the begi n n i n g of
who c o m e s with a r che d "body",
the
"Putting
go ing with her until
all the i n d i c e s of indi r e c t i o n point to a
hypogram,
mingled
in the Seed"
presents
it
example
the
develops
in
the
i n v i t e s his love to go with him until
she
sestet.
The
becomes
a s l a v e to the " s p r i n g t i m e pass i o n for the
earth",
and
illustrates
hi s
intentions
describing
the
c o n c e p t i o n t h r o u g h the c o d e of plant ing .
text
w ould be "ero t i c invit atio n",
"Put t i n g
in
the
Seed",
which
proc e s s
of
human
Thus, the m atr i x of the
and the model
establishes
is
the
the
title
meta phorical
a s s o c i a t i o n b e t w e e n the c o d e of p l a n t i n g and human fertility. All
the
p o etic
regardless
"love",
signs
of
are
the
its
the
their
fecu n d i t y
"passion",
"birth",
"body", and
way" carr y their ero ti c mea nin g r e g a r d l e s s
planting
- two a c t i v i t i e s which are c lo se ly
the
e x pansion,
transformation
since
the
whole
from
Plan t i n g
m a t r i x to text
text is an
and
rela ted
c h i l d r e n are c u l t u r a l l y st ated w ays of o v e r c o m i n g
Fin ally ,
of
They c o m p o s e a d e s c r i p t i v e sys tem
human wish of o v e r c o m i n g the p a s s a g e of time.
having
me aning
words
also b e l o n g to the c l i c h é a s s o c i a t i o n bet ween
h uman
the
have
"Putting in the S e e d ”,
the co ntext of the give n text.
and
(they
g iven con te xt) s ince
"to burn",
"shouldering
classemes
is
extended
to
and
death.
made
by
meta p h o r
of
"Put t i n g in the S e e d ” and human fecundity.
Afte r the sema n t i c trans fer s, the iambic p e n t a m e t e r
sonnet
d e s c r i b e s s o m e t h i n g more than a night of plan t i n g in
speaker's
life.
It
is
actu a l l y
fecu n d i t y for human bodies.
a
night
of
the
conceptio n,
of
Love will burn during the sexual act,
as well as d u r i n g the wait for the child,
and durin g the c h i l d ' s
birth. At the end of th e poem, the way the seedling is pre sented,
as an
ar ch ed body " s h o u l d e r i n g its way", p l aces the birth
ch ild
as
intertext,
the
result of human sex.
where
the
poet ic
We
s i gns
arrive,
(which
thus,
are
u n g r a m m a t i c a l ) b e c o m e coherent in the semiotic grid.
of
at
a
the
text u a l l y
A mon g
Richard
the
of
Poirier's,
decoding
its
of
imagery.
exploiting
survives
the
in
the
many
interpretations
of
t his
E l a i n e B a r r y ' s and Daniel B a r n e ' s
the
text
through
the
e mphasize
stron g
sexuali ty
D a niel B a r n e even c o m m e n t s that Frost
"sympathetic
some
parts
of
magic",
the
a
Unite d
folk
custom
Stat es" )
poem,
of
may
be
("which
"having
i n t e r c o u r s e in a fres h l y sown field in order to insur e s u c c e s s of
th e c r o p s "
(02).
And yet,
of t h i s sonnet,
p e r h a p s b e c a u s e of the n a r r a t i v e s tructure
or perhaps,
as R i f f a t e r r e puts it,
want to get rid of th e d i s t o r t i o n s of the poem,
decode
"series
the
of
text
o b e d i e n t to mimesis,
frail, b e g i n n i n g a gain w i t h each rereading.
33
we
we still tend to
demonstrating
r e v e l a t i o n s " the poem b r ings are
because
always
that
the
temporary,
NOTES
i P o e m s A 2 , A3,
A 4 , A5, A7, A8, Ai0, Aii, Bi, B3, B4, B7,
and B9 w ere taken from S e l e c t e d E a ems Qf BatieEt Enasit (1963); and
p o e m s Ai, A6, A9, BE, B5, B8, and Bli were taken from Ihe E’
QetEH
of Boheiit E c Q s t (1979).
2
A c c o r d i n g to J u l i o C.
M.
P i n t o a sem eme is a "sem antic
unit in a give n
semantic
field,
w h e r e a s s emes are semantic
m a r k e r s ”. The s e m e m e "cat" is op p osed to the s e meme
"dog",
for
examp le,
b e c a u s e of the seme
"feline", absent in the se meme
" d o g " . (Notes, i7)
34
C H A P T E R II
A S S O C I A T I O N S B E T W E E N N A T U R E AND M A L E / F E M A L E S E X U A L I T Y
It
the
sexual
and
critics
is
ele ment
or
to
p r o m i s i n g coun try.
women,
as
l ang u a g e .
deal
In
a
inn ocence
an alyze
way,
rea ders
in
eve r y t h i n g
write
great thin g s about
his
huge
and
He did all that, of course, but he a l s o wrote
b o d i e s and sex. Somet ime s, expl ici tly.
At other
literary
i s s u e s his p e r s o n a e faced in his poems.
this
with
will
c h a p t e r I intend to a n a lyze t h o s e
a s s o c i a t i o n s between
sexuality.
I
association
(made by the
begi n
with
the
n a ture
lyrics
and
which
lyrics
male/female
pr esent
an
m a l e sp eak e r) betwe en n a t u r e and female
and then I will p r o c e e d in the a n a l y s i s of the
w h i c h pres e n t the s p e a k e r ' s
"The Rose
poetry.
to
In both ways, he w r o t e b e a u t i f u l l y and sub tly about one
In
sexuality,
comfortable
an ar ti st w h o felt at home with the game of
of t h e s t r o n g e s t
which
Frost's
or
as if he had the o b l i g a t i o n to teach a moral to his
grandchildren,
ti mes,
in
easy
h a v e c o n s t a n t l y expe c t e d
F r o s t wrote,
a bou t men,
not
lyrics
own sexu a l i t y proj e c t e d onto nature.
F a m i l y " is a good p o e m to open the first group,
it r e p r e s e n t s the c a t e g o r y in its purest sense.
THE R O S E FAMI L Y
since
The r o s e is a rose,
And was a l w a y s a rose.
But t h e t h e o r y now goes
That th e a p p l e ' s a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I su ppose.
The dear only k nows
What will next p r o v e a rose.
You, of co urse, are a rose But w e r e a l w a y s a rose.
In
our heur ist ic read ing of this p o e m ,
the
first
line s e e m s to e cho G e r t r u d e S t e i n ' s famous line "a rose is a rose
is
a
r o s e . .."
"rose",
foll o w i n g
Stein.
makes
and we see the p e r s o n a
th e
pla y ing
Afte r the d e f i n i t i o n that
nonsense
associations
suddenly
is
created
a
used
thro u g h
rose",
the
distortion
t a k e s us back to the gr ou nd when the
"he",
s ince
by
"the
makin g the reade r feel
of
am ong d i f f e r e n t s e m e m e s from lines 3 to 8.
hi s b e l o v e d with a rose.
word
"A ro se is a rose", the pers o n a
un usu al a s s o c i a t i o n s such as "the a pp le is a
that
the
sam e d e f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n p r o c e s s
pear is a ro se" and “the p l u m is a rose",
is
with
voice
the
Line
9
associates
At this point we c o n c l u d e that the voice
lite r a r y
trad i t i o n
does
not
allow
the
process
of
a s s s o c i a t i o n man/rose.
In
our
defamiliarization
attention
to
of
the
hermeneutic
language
dual
i n t r o d u c i n g its own poem,
where
text
the
is
s o m e h o w fades
title
"The
Rose
the
away
as
Family".
obviously
of
the diff e r e n t
we
pay
Besides
the titl e also p o i n t s to a n o ther text,
read er finds c l u e s to the rea ding of the
family, a group
Amon g
reading,
This
the b o t a n i c a l
definition
the
rosaceae
plants
have a f i v e - p e t a l e d
corolla.
belonging
rosaceae
which
sub-families
of
poem.
to
the
f a m i l y we
may find not only the rose itself, but al so
tree, the peach tree,
th e plum tree,
Thus,
the apple
the pear tree, the
tree,
and others.
to 8
are p e r f e c t l y c o n s i s t e n t on ce we are
cherry
all the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s from lines 3
aware
of the
actual
hypogram
(the r o s a c e a e f a m i l y ' s d e f inition)
si nce
apple,
plum
and pear
are
shar e
this
same
merely
superordinate
take
us
to
(the
the
co-hyponyms
rosaceae
ground
which
family).
suddenly
u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y : "You, of course,
Now
reveals
what
s e emed
itself
are a rose".
to
as the true
It is in t eresting
that the fee ling of f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n is made stron ger by the words
"of cours e",
doesn't
w hich c o n t r i b u t e to mask the only a s s o c i a t i o n
b e long
to
the hypog ram .
Line 9, thus,
d i m e n s i o n to what s e e m e d to be a game
According
to the voice,
only
which
one
rose/rose,
he
since
considers
accidental
to
the
b e a r s the
that
b r i n g s another
with the idea of roseness.
association
beloved/rose
s a m e c r e d i b i l i t y as the
is
the
association
the s p e a k e r w o r k s with a co ntrast b e t w e e n what
be
essential
r o s e s (apple,
r oses
(rose
plu m and pear).
and
woma n)
and
W h e reas the ess en tial
r o s e s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d to be r oses for a long time, the a c c idental
(false) r oses are p r e s e n t e d as s t r a n g e inno v a t i o n s of
In
s p i t e of that,
b e l o v e d / r o s e should be the a s s o c i a t i o n
c o u l d c a u s e s t r a n g e n e s s in the reader,
a
woman
family).
may
At
f rom
all
which
for it is i n c r e d i b l e that
be a r o s e (woman does not belo ng to
And yet,
moder nit y.
the
rosaceae
it is s u r p r i s i n g l y true.
the p r o s o d i c level,
line 9 is
the o t h e r s in met rical terms.
The poem
also
diffe ren t
is
basi c a l l y
c o m p o s e d of a n a p e s t i c d i m e t e r lines (pure in lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 8,
and
10).
Lines
1,
6,
and 7 are comp o s e d by one iamb and
one
anapest,
whereas
anapest.
It is d e f i n i t e l y a t u r n i n g point both in pros o d y and in
the
development
line
of
9 is c o m p o s e d by two
the poem.
trochees
and
What this line s u g g e s t s
one
is
the
c l i c h é h y p o g r a m forme d by the a s s o c i a t i o n woma n/r ose ,
so str ongly
maintained
numb er
by tra dition.
It wou ld be i m p o s s i b l e to
the
poets
w h o s o m e h o w w o r k e d with this idea thro u g h o u t the diffe rent
times
of liter ary hist ory ,
hardly
exp loited.
feeling
The
a l t h o u g h the c l i c h é itself is
result of this stro ng t r a d i t i o n
still
is
the
of f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n we have when we read lines 9 and
id.
But what does this h y p o g r a m have to do with s e n s u a l i t y ?
If we o b s e r v e that th is c l i c h é h y p o g r a m is based on
seme
actualization,
woman/rose,
delicacy,
wo man,
the
actually
or
notice
related
perfume)
to
are
smell,
into
a
sensual"
se me m e
the c o n n e c t i o n a s e n s u o u s one.
to
emoti on.
The
in
the
metaphor
rose
(beauty,
the
T hese
s e me me
s emes
are
instead of being r e l ated to the
beloved
of
this
is p r i m a r i l y a
poem,
as
b e l oved
to
touch. The p o e m is t r a n s f o r m e d in front of our eyes
love
lyric,
w h ose m a t r i x is s o m e t h i n g
or "You are b e a u tiful".
potential
(the
r o s a c e a e family).
by expa n s i o n ,
the
that
also re lat ed to
b e l o v e d of so many other poems,
see,
one
will
rela t e d to the senses,
intellect
the
semes
sof tne ss,
m aki n g
we
cliché
like
"You
are
This m a t r i x has two hy pograms:
woman/rose)
and
one
actual
The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from m a t r i x to text
(the
o c curs
s i n c e the v o ice b e g i n s with ros e/ rose , m oves on to
apple/rose,
pear/rose,
association
beloved/rose,
plum/rose,
and
to
finish
by conversion,
with
his
true
s i nce we have
a
c o n v e r s i o n of m a r k e r s (woman, wh ich is an esse nt ial ro se does not
b e l o n g to the r o s a c e a e hypogra m,
w h i l e pear, plum, and appl e are
accidental
r oses which b e long to the hypogram).
have seen,
is a dual sign
(an i n t e r p r e t a n t ),
The title,
as we
r e s p o n s i b l e for the
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the poem.
A l t h o u g h R.
the
poem
to
importance
F.
F l e i s s n e r c o n s i d e r s the p u r p o s e of
" s a t i r i z e Stein",
of
he c alls our a t t ention
the numb e r five in the text.
( m u l t i p l e of five),
five b otanica l elements,
We
have
i0
in lines 2,
concluding
bounds
that
3,
4,
the
lines
five w or ds in lines
i and i0, a c o m p o s i t e six and four and then the reversal
six
to
four and
and 5 (which result in five w ords each)
line 9 ( six words)
we hav e e s t a b l i s h e d " .
"goes beyond
the
requisite
He also says that the dash at
the
end of the line p r o v i d e s an o p e n - e n d e d effect, so that the number
of w o r d s of this line is u n i m p o r t a n t
five, as he su gges ts,
five
p e t a l s (a
s e r v e s to bu ild an image of a flower
c o m p o n e n t of the r o s a c e a e family)
only r h y m e of the poem.
Among the other
John D. S w e e n e y and J a m e s
final s t atement,
(2ii). The use of the number
Lindroth
critics
observe
the p o e m b e c o m e s a beaut ifu l
uni ted by the
of
that
association
impl ici t
between
fe male
this
poem,
"thro ugh
love lyric"
As we h a v e seen, the p e r s o n a links wo man and rose,
the
s exu a l i t y and
with
the
(56).
show i n g
nature
may
in a c l i c h e as s i m p l e as "You are a rose".
G O O D - B Y AND KEEP COLD
Thi s s a ying good - b y on the edge of the dark
And the cold to an orch a r d so young in the bark
R e m i n d s me of all that can hap pen to harm
An o r c h a r d away at the end of the farm
All winter, cut off by a hill from the house.
I don't want it gird l e d by rabbit and mouse,
I don't want it d r e a m i l y nibbled for browse
that
be
By deer, and I don't want it budded by grouse.
(If c e r t a i n it woul d n ' t be idle to call
I'd s u mmon grouse, rabbit, and deer to the wall
And warn t h e m away with a stick for a gun.)
I don't want it s t i r r e d by the heat of the sun.
(We made it s e c u r e against being, I hope,
By s e t t i n g it out on a n o r t h e r l y slope.)
No o r c h a r d ' s the w o r s e for the wi nt riest storm;
But one t hi ng about it, it musn't get warm.
"How o ften a l r e a d y y o u ' v e had to be told,
Keep cold, y oung orchard. Good -by and keep cold.
Dread fifty a b o v e more than fifty bel ow."
I have to be g o n e for a seaso n or so.
liy b u s i n e s s a w h i l e is with dif fer ent trees,
Less c a r e f u l l y nurt ured, less fruitful than these,
And such as is d o n e to their wood with an axM a p l e s and b i r c h e s and tamaracks.
I wish I c o u l d p r o m i s e to lie in the night
And think of an o r c h a r d ' s ar boreal plight
When s l o w l y (and nobo d y come s with a light)
Its heart s i n k s lower under the sod.
But s o m e t h i n g has to be left to God.
In
"Good - b y and Keep Cold" the p r e s e n c e of
s e x u a l i t y is
much
m o r e subtle,
which
with
a parting .
deals
persona
since
and the title i n t r o d u c e s
At the m i m e s i s level
wh o says g o o d - b y to an orch a r d
he's
female
we
a poem
have
(probably an a p p l e
so c o n c e r n e d about the d a m a g e s caused by the
a
tree,
heat),
and is r e m i n d e d duri ng h i s p a r t i n g of many differ ent t h i n g s which
may c a u s e h a r m to this spec i a l or chard,
th e house".
"cut off by a hill
In four n e g a t i v e s e ntences,
from
the speaker s t a t e s what
he d o e s not want to h a ppen to th e tree: he does not want it to be
e i t h e r t h r e a t e n e d by rabbit,
bro wse .
the
cold.
place
about
The
He
sun",
mouse,
also does not want
grouse, or t r a n s f o r m e d into
it to be "stirred by the heat
and e x p l a i n s that t h e tree has to,
a bove
all,
of
keep
He e x p l a i n s his n e c e s s i t y to go, but e m p h a s i z e s the special
this
orchard has in his mind.
He w i shes he
c ou ld
think
it e very night, but c o n c l u d e s that th is is the rol e of God.
poem,
comp o s e d by a n a p e s t i c t e t r a m e t e r lines,
40
s e e m s to
be
c l e a r and plain,
In
not i n v o l v i n g tempor al or spacial d i s l o c ations.
s p i t e of that,
the read e r feels that some u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s
s l i g h t l y threa t e n the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of reality.
When we first read lines 9,
that
some
nons e n s e .
ling u i s t i c
and ii,
s i g n s are d i s t o r t e d in order
we
to
uncomfortable,
produce
even
By the same token,
though
we
are
informed
line 18 make s
about
a p p r o p r i a t e weather c o n d i t i o n to the survival of the tree.
C o l d " is aggressiv e,
and
feel
It is c e r t a i n l y a n o n s e n s e to "summon" a n i m a l s and warn
t h e m to stay away from a tree.
us
10,
without any appa ren t reason.
the
"Keep
L i n e s 27, 2 8 ,
29 also seem to b e l o n g to anot h e r level of disco urs e,
as if
we are deal i n g with a much m o r e s e r i o u s subject.
In our h e r m e n e u t i c reading many thi ngs which passed
almo st u n n o t i c e d b e c o m e rel e v a n t to our decodin g of the text. The
first
five lines alre a d y c l a r i f y that the context se em s to be one
of a p a r t i n g rela t e d with death.
e d g e of the dark",
The speaker says g o o d-by "on the
which may mean both the p roximity of night or
the
p r o x i m i t y of the d a r k n e s s i n volving the
the
earth.
young"
Besides,
the
dead
spea k e r says goo d-by to
p e rson
under
someone
"so
that he ends up r e m e m b e r i n g "all that can h a ppen to harm"
t h i s person.
This is o b v i o u s l y a p e c u l i a r feeling for t h o s e
who
e x p e r i e n c e the ea rly deat h of a loved one. Like t hese people,
the
p e r s o n a s t a t e s what he fear s to ha ppen during the winter. Rabbit,
mouse
and
growse
funct ion
here like
representations
(as
in
al l e g o r y ) of all the s igns which deal with d e s t r u c t i o n and decay.
Th e dead pers on sh ould not be confi ned ,
the earth.
Only
f u n c t i o n i n g as
4.1.
ni bbled or b u dded
representations,
under
t hese a n i m a l s
can be s u m m o n e d by the d e s p e r a t e speaker.
As the s p e a k e r s h o w s his conc ern with the isolation
of
the
the
dead
"heat
one d u ring th e winter,
of the sun",
he's also
lines produce strangeness,
coherent
warm
in a tree conte xt:
d u r i n g the winter,
so.
This
Now we u n d e r s t a n d why
even though they are
the
perf e c t l y
Ue u s u a l l y think about p e o p l e get tin g
and a c t u a l l y hope they can m a n a g e to do
to
us b e f o r e we d e c o d e the text in a death
talks
hi s
people
will
The speaker,
abou t his b u s i n e s s with "diffe ren t trees",
life
will go on,
throughout
with
and
using the e u p h e m i s m
g a v e t h i s pe rson a special t r e a t m e n t
man
person
u nde r
the
compared
may be h i s A n n a b e l Lee,
earth,
with
the
although
thei r d e v o t i o n
was
other
fruitful
the
is),
sinks
the
lower
cannot
be
P o e ' s poem (364/365), s i n c e they
their
their
he
the p e r s o n a of our text
s p e a k e r in
of
he
The spe aker
whose heart
d e v e l o p d i f f e r e n t r e s p o n s e s to the dea th of
to
other
in the p a s t . If this speak er
(and lite r a r y t r a d i t i o n p o i n t s out that
dying
that
death. The other t rees are "less
c a r e f u l l y n u r t u r e d " and less fru itful than this one.
a
then,
He a l s o men tions the fact that
b e away for "a s e a s o n or so",
comparison between journey
not
implyi ng
that he will meet and rela t e
his life.
tree
alth oug h we are still
a w a r e that this huma n b e i n g is a c t u a l l y dead.
is
context .
s h o w s that in our first r e a d i n g we already d e c o d e the
as a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a h u m a n being,
The
for
T h e wish of the s p e a k e r that this person may "keep cold"
aggressive
is
with
and m e n t i o n s that the p l a c e c h osen
t h i s b o d y wa s on a " n o r t h e r l y slope".
next
concerned
b e l o v e d in
life
tre es that are c o n t r a s t e d with the
belov ed.
quite
orchard
ones (" maples and b i r c h e s and tamar ack s"),
But
similar.
are
not
and line 23
a
present s
work ing
s u g g e s t i v e open end ed dash when talki ng about a
in
"their wood with an ax-",
c l e a r th e c o n n e c t i o n wom a n / o r c h a r d ,
s pea k e r 's m a c h o wish to
gun",
wish
warn
the
Thes e signs seem to
sieep.
animals
"with a
stick
t rus t God,
of course,
who will be
In
for a
It also j u s t i f i e s his
p r o m i s e that he wou ld think about her b e f o r e
But,
mak e
which is s t r e n g t h e n e d by the
p r o t e c t i n g the rest of his beloved.
to
man
going
to
the s p e a k e r cannot do anyth ing else but
r e s p o n s i b l e for her in the future.
Riffaterrean
terms,
the
text
contains,
from
b e g i n n i n g to end, p art s of the d e s c r i p t i v e sy stem around " d e a t h ”.
We
have
p e r son,
the
sadness,
we hav e the act of sa ying good-by,
the c o n c e r n s
comfort
thus,
obviously
"death
of
the
since
a
loved
relationship
one",
between
and
woman
and
are crea t e d t hr ough dist o r t i n g
and d i s p l a c i n g
(in line 1 8 ,
th ey b e long to a p otential h y p o g r a m ,
from
matrix
God.
model
is
to text o c c u r s
the
orchard.
The
(lines 9,
i0,
The poe tic
are
The
The m a t r i x is
and from 27 to 29 we
shift of mean ing from orch a r d to woman).
transformation
the
dead
and finally,
of
is a poten t ial d e s c r i p t i v e system,
ungrammaticalities
and ii>,
the euphemism,
of put tin g the dead one in the hands
hypogram,
allegorical
(la men tations) ,
the
hav e
signs,
class emes .
thro ugh
The
exp ansi on,
s i n c e a l l e g o r y is the pred o m i n a n t d e v i c e in the p o e m .
Critics
G e o r g e Nitchie ,
means
merely
for example,
that
(59), w h i l e W i l l i a m
th e
interpret
"one
" c h i l l e d dread of loss,
po em
in
c o n s i d e r s it to be
cannot
Moyn i h a n
this
d i fferent ways,
a
poem
which
a l w a y s think about e v e r y t h i n g "
sees it as
a
poem
dealing
with
or of the rest r a i n e d d e v o t i o n
t hat
43
w h e l m s up at a p a r t i n g "
(350). Ri ch a r d Poir ier
is
the
one
who
comes
I
he
mentions
the
c l o s e r to
comparison
(193).
what
between
Although
" j o c u l a r and
a
dyi ng
Poirier
sly
have
shown,
orchard
ends
insider's
up
s inc e
and
a
dying
considering
v i e w of
loved
the
one
text
as a
G o d's jus tne ss" (i95),
he
m a n a g e s to d e c o d e a p p r o p r i a t e l y the last five lines of the poem.
In my r e a d i n g of the poem I would like to point
the c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n
that w o m e n h a v e been
our c u l t u r e ,
dead wome n and
associated
intrinsically
strong
linked.
the
So,
to
be
original sin.
death,
since
dead
woman,
undertones
deat h
and
sex.
a l s o m a k e " Good - b y
Thus,
a dead
are
lover
im plies
a
The lin ka ge betw e e n
by
the
semantically
dealing
indirect.
clearly
that
that what
cultural
expressed
this
the
particular
cult ura l
also made
The
is
the
st ro n g e r
It is a
s u b s t i t u t i o n of woman
must
be
said
by
for
fact
sexuality
allegorical
sexuality .
44
in
this
association
or chard
ind irection,
real l y bein g said has s o m e t h i n g
So,
poem.
s e x u a l i t y are often r e p r e s s e d and
something
taboos.
t h r ough
with
sexual
sensuous
a l l e g o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p woman/or c h a r d .
that s t a t e m e n t s
indicating
In
and Keep Cold" a
l i n k a g e b e t w e e n deat h and s e x u a l i t y is
with
sex
woma n a l s o r e p r e s e n t s the cultural a s s o c i a t i o n
The
shows
in
and death is so s t rong that the death of a loved woman
th e
between
a fact
If sexual
and
love
on e with the other.
is a c o m m o n lite r a r y m o t i f in our culture.
poem,
death
c u l t u r a l l y speaking,
c u l m i n a t i o n of love,
desire
eroticism
temporary
It is
death for a long time
b e g i n n i n g with E v e and the
i n t e r c o u r s e is a kind of
represents
with
sexuality.
to
poem
to
do
must
be
nature/female
N E V E R A G A I N W O U L D BIRDS' S O N G BE THE SAHE
He would d e c l a r e and cou ld h i m s e l f believe
That the b irds t h e r e in all the garden round
F r o m havi ng hea rd the d a y l o n g voice of Eve
Had added to their own an oversound,
Her tone of m e a n i n g but wi thout the words.
A d m i t t e d l y an e l o q u e n c e so soft
Could only have had an i n f u e n c e on birds
When call or la ughter c a r r i e d it aloft.
Be that as may be, she was in their song.
M o r e o v e r her v o i c e upon their voi ces cross ed
Had now p e r s i s t e d in the w o o d s so long
That p r o b a b l y it neve r would be l o s t .
Never again wo uld bird s' song be the same.
And to do that to b i r d s was why she came.
Again W ould Birds' Song Be The
"Never
presents
elements
allegorical
of
nature.
relationships
A
first
reading
r e v e a l s that the text deals with the
We a l s o n o t i c e that
a
spe ake r
betwe en
of
Same"
also
characters
and
this Engl i s h sonnet
myth of the Garden of Eden,
talks
about
someone's
o p i nion
in w h i c h the b i r d s of the ga rden w e r e infl u enced by E v e ' s tone of
mean i n g ,
and i n c o r p o r a t e d
this i n f l u e n c e
end of the poem, we have the in format ion
in their song. At the
that Eve
into the w o r l d to c h a nge the song of the birds,
that, a l t h o u g h we are aware of
the
presence
a c t u a l l y came
It is inte r e s t i n g
of
a “ He"
b e l i e f is b eing de scribed,
we feel as if the speaker is
s t a t i n g his
There
own
and he in the mind
opinion,
of
is no d i s t a n c e
the reader.
r e a d i n g that we rai se some ques tio ns:
t o n e of m e a n i n g without
add s o m e o n e ' s song to
the w o r d s ?
w hos e
actua l l y
betw een speak er
It is also during t h i s first
Wh o is He?
Is
What
is
E ve's
it possi ble for b irds to
their s ong?
In a second s t a g e of r e a di ng we already n o t i c e that
all
ungrammaticalities
are
p r o d u c e d by a
frustration
of
our
expectations;
way.
to
that
is, the myth is not being told in its sta ndard
We h a v e s o m e o n e ' s o p i n i o n about a p r o c e s s which is sup posed
have
never
happened
h eard
of.
in
the
So,
we
g a rden of Eden,
have
a
but
typical
which
case
of
we ha ve
sem an ti c
i n d i r e c t i o n p r o d u c e d by d i s p l a c i n g and dis tort ing . The first clue
comes
in lines 6,
7,
and 8 when,
e l o q u e n c e is d e s c r i b e d as "soft",
or l a u g h t e r c a r r i e d it aloft".
through
synes the sia,
E ve's
a c h i e v i n g its apex when
"call
It is clear that call or laughter
h e r e a r e r e l a t e d to a sexual ex perience:
of
Adam
and
w i t h o u t words,
also
Eve.
to the erotic en cou nter
This also e x p l a i n s E v e's "tone
meani ng"
w h ich would be an er otic intention. Their love is
b e i n g d e s c r i b e d in line i0 when we have the statement
"her v o i c e upon their v o i c e s c ro ss ed".
thi s cros s i n g
v o i c e s c l e a r l y p o i n t s to the m a l e / f e m a l e encounter.
the p o e m ,
erotic
that
Alth o u g h the a l l i t e r a t i o n
in V may be a l l u d i n g to the n o i s e of the wind,
Adam,
of
of
At the end of
the fact that Ev e came into the worId with the role of
i n i t i a t i o n is e m p h a s i z e d clea r l y enough.
but all men,
"He" is not only
and Eve could be d e s c r i b e d as all women.
w h o l e p o e m is a c t u a l l y about the c h a n g e s e x p e r i e n c e d with
initiation.
The
erotic
Af te r Eve, birds' s ongs won't be the same.
The m a t r i x of the poem is, thus, erotic initiation.
The
hypogram
"softness",
are
(sex) is po tential,
"c ros sin g",
a c t u a l i z e d in sem es
"cal l " , a n d "laughter".
i d i o l e c t s ( o b s e r v a b l e in the
the model
expansion,
cont ext
is E v e ' s tone of meaning,
s i n c e the w hole sonnet
"ero t i c ini tiation".
of
such
These poet ic sig ns
the
given text),
and the text is g e n e r a t e d
by
is an expa n s i o n of the s e n t e n c e
We also have a l l e g o r y sinc e b irds and
46
as
Adam
actually
represent
men,
and
Eve
represents
women.
It
is
i n t e r e s t i n g to o b s e r v e that the s e m e m e "song" is only applied to
" b i r d s ”,
neve r to Eve,
voice
was
seems
to
erotic
the
her e l o q u e n c e is soft
i n c o r p o r a t e d into the birds' song.
sugg est
The
the i n n o c e n c e that e x i s t e d
in itiat ion,
the last
although
in
and her
word
"song"
b i rds
befor e
and this e x p l a i n s the mark of re sentment
line ("And to do .that to b i r d s was why she came").
voices
cross ed,
t h e d e s i r e s fused in the sexual
through erotic experience,
n a t u r e was humani zed.
b e c a u s e of t h i s h u m a n i z a t i o n ,
though,
in
When
act
and,
It was p r ecisely
that n a ture was corrupted,
losing its r o m a n t i c q u a l i t i e s of puri t y and innocence.
It is also
i n t e r e s t i n g to o b s e r v e that, a l t h o u g h the p e r s o n a t rie s to detach
h i m s e l f from Adam, h e ' s a l s o a man, k n o w i n g
the p r e s e n c e of Eve br ought to his own
so d i f f i c u l t
("He").
for the
r e ader
ex actl y what c h a n g e s
song.
to s e p a r a t e the
As D e n n i s Vail p o i n t s out, the p o e m
love and the way it t r a n s f o r m s
That is
one's
why it is
sp eaker from Adam
is
"ob v i o u s l y about
awareness
of
everything"
(57) .
A l t h o u g h Robert Kern s e e s the poem as a "med i t a t i o n
on o r i g i n s "
(both l i n g u i s t i c and po etic),
he e m p h a s i z e s that
c a m e into the wor ld to h u m a n i z e n a t u r e (i6).
b r i l l i a n t l y o b s e r v e s that
to
the
"sou nd
Ri chard
Wak e f i e l d
E v e ' s tone of meaning may
of sense",
and adds that this
be
rel ate d
sound of sens e is
"something
of whi ch the man can be a w a r e only by
havi n g
the
(195).
the
best
his
woman"
R i c h a r d Poi r i e r
is,
again,
s u m m a r i z e s what we ha ve seen in our decoding,
attention
intercourse
on
the
discovering
of
Adam
included the call or l a u g h t e r "
47
Eve
and
(169).
known
one
who
concentrating
Eve,
"whose
The poem
is
brilliantly
developed
-From
a c o n n e c t i o n mad e by
the
nar ra to r
b e t w e e n the p r e s e n c e of fem ale s e x u a l i t y in erotic ini tiation and
one
aspe ct
of n a t u r e (the
bir d s ' s o n g ) .
Through
a l l e go rical
r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n men,
women and c h a r a c t e r s from the myth of
th e
ma le p e r s o n a t alks about the
Garden
which
are
of
Eden,
a
p r o d u c e d in the wo rld by the erotic p r e s e n c e
changes
of
the
women .
UNHARVESTED
A scent of r i p e n e s s from over a wall.
And c o m e to leave the r o u t i n e road
And look for what had m a d e me stall,
T h e r e sure enough was an a ppl e tree
That had eased itsel f of its summer load,
And of all but its trivi al fo liage free,
Now b r e a t h e d as light as a lady's fan.
For t h ere th er e had been an a p ple fall
As c o m p l e t e as the a p p l e had given man.
The gr ound was one c i r c l e of solid red.
May s o m e t h i n g go a l w a y s unh arv ested!
May much stay out of our stat ed plan,
A p p l e s or s o m e t h i n g f orgotten and left,
So s m e l l i n g their s w e e t n e s s would be no theft
R e f e r e n c e s and ima ges of the biblical Eden are also
found
in "Unharve s t e d " ,
s u c c e s s i v e surpri ses .
on
a " r o u t i n e road"
w a l l ”.
an
At the m i m e s i s level,
feels
a
"scent of
a
persona
ripe n e s s
wal ki ng
from
He stops and looks for the object of that smell and
apple
foliage.
which may be c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a text of
tree
whi ch had eased itse lf of its a p ples
and
over a
sees
heavy
He m e n t a l l y c o m p a r e s the tree with a lady's fan b e c a u s e
the tree s e e m s to be very light, b r e a t h i n g free from all "but its
trivial
foliage".
He sees many a p p l e s on the groun d
48
fo rming
a
"circle
of s o l i d red",
and m e n t i o n s that this apple fall was so
c o m p l e t e "as the a p p l e had given man".
may a l w a y s go u n h a r v e s t e d ,
He w i s h e s that
som ething
as a p p l e s or so me other fruit, so that
p e o p l e can smell t heir scent of r i p e n e s s without stealing it from
someone.
The c o n s t a n t
f e a t u r e s that can be isolated from the
multiplicity
of m i m e s i s are s e m e m e s that suggest the myth of the
B i b l i c a l Eden
(a pple tree, apples,
signs
suggest
w hich
fall, theft),
an ero tic h y p o g r a m
linked with some
("scent
l a d y ' s fan, c i r c l e of solid red, sweetness ).
In
of
the
ripeness,
first three
l i n e s we h a v e a p e r s o n a who le aves a r o u t i n e road, not b e c a u s e of
an
i ma ge
or a
of r i p e n e s s " .
makes
him
from.
Then
scene,
but
Something
" s t all"
we
because
of
an
ephe mer al
rela t e d to one of his
and
have
look
an
f l o w e r s and h eavy foliage,
for
apple
w h ere
tree
s e nses
that
eased
co mes
its
fruit,
of
b r e a t h i n g "as light as a lady's fan".
s i m i l e c o u l d h a v e been m a d e b e t w e e n tree and fan,
word
"lady" i n d i c a t e s that the p r e s e n c e of a woman
is very impo rta nt here.
we a l s o have an " a p p l e fall",
man".
The
word
frequently
most
(linked
with
In the s cene of our
poem
fall.
with sin).
" c i r c l e of s olid red" on the g r ound
s t r o n g l y r e m i n d s us of b lood
want
the apples.
49
our
culture,
and
whi ch
are
In this s cene we also have
(formed by the apples)
re la t e d
of
The spe aker k n o w s that
h uman b e i n g s got a c q u a i n t a d e d with sex
imp ort ant t a b o o s in
associated
s p e a k e r d o e s not
the
" c o m p l e t e " s u g g e s t s total decay and a s ense
b e c a u s e of an apple,
(the
but
so c o m p l e t e "as the apple had given
w h o l e n e s s r e l a t e d with the biblical
death
su dde nl y
odor
This
an a p p l e tree)
"scent
with sex
Someone
did
and
not
death.
a
which
The
want them
either.
T h e s e a p p l e s are u n h a rvested,
remind
the s p e a k e r
"scent",
"lady",
out of hi s
that
his
plan.
The
without t a k i n g the apples,
he
own e r otic de sire (note the words
"solid red") must go u n h a r v e s t e d too,
stated
myth. And
fo rg otte n on the ground to
remaining
s p e aker only s m ells their
scent
invert ing the logical s t r u c t u r e of the
feels c o m f o r t a b l e with
the feeling that
"smelling
thei r s w e e t n e s s is no theft".
The p o e m s e e m s to talk about an u n h a r v e s t e d
desire
the
road.
He
s p e a k e r feels,
does
leav ing it,
terms.
part
not have any p u r p o s e s rel ated
like the a p p l e s on the ground,
of it,
to
routine
this
desire,
u s e less in practical
and the sp eaker feels s a t i s f i e d with this ephemeral
It is im portant to o b s e r v e that t h e r e is no fru s t r a t i o n in
speaker
happ y
as he r e s i s t s hi s su dden phys ica l
need.
He
seems
to be away from sin (which is u n d o u b t e d l y linked with
here),
and at the end of the poem,
something
that
out of his
T he "scent of r i p e n e s s " is the only v i s i b l e and enjo y a b l e
odor.
the
which t a k e s him
erotic
we
a l w a y s go u n h a r v e s t e d " ,
he s t ates his wish that "may
out of our "state d plan",
nee d not sin for it (the act of ste aling
related
to
sin).
re s i s t a n c e " ,
Thus,
th e
sex
m a t r i x of
our
is
p oem
so
cnythicaly
is
"sexual
a c t u a l i z e d in many s i g n s such as the act of leaving
the r o u t i n e road, the scent of r i p e n e s s without the tak ing of the
apples,
s ign s
the
the u n h a r v e s t e d f r u i t , and the c i r c l e of solid red. These
b e l o n g to the actual h y p o g r a m "Garden of
myth
appears
transformation
since
from
with
its
logical
structure
m a t r i x to text o c c u r s
Eden",
al though
inver ted .
thro u g h
The
convers ion ,
all the fea t u r e s r e l a t e d to the gard en of Eden have
their
signs changed
(from p o s i t i v e to n e g a t i v e and vice versa). Whereas
in t h e m y t h an act of s t e a l i n g is r e s p o n s i b l e for human fall,
our p o e m t h e r e is a r e s i s t a n c e to
matrix
is
"sexual
actualization
s t e a l i n g the apples. Sin ce the
resi s t a n c e " ,
the
text
presents
of t h o s e s i g n s of the h y p o g r a m which are
with this
ma trix.
potential
hypogram
It
is worth m e n t i o n i n g that we
" e r o t icism",
in
the
coherent
also h ave the
r e s p o n s i b l e for our decoding of
the s p e a k e r ' s sexu al desire.
Although
we
do
not
have
a
b e t w e e n w oman and a s p e c i f i c part of nature,
u n d o u b t e d l y a s s o c i a t e d with the apples,
of
ri pe n e s s .
"seductiveness
(261).
Richard
of
Poirier
an
Eve"
the
the
"la dy' s
and the scent
presence
fan"
of
the
c o m parison
A l t h o u g h M o r d e c a i M a r c u s b e l i e v e s the main imp etus of the
p o e m is to d e m o n s t r a t e
sweet r a d i a n c e
planning"
and
"how u n p l a n n e d
warn
things
us against the
<i55), he m e n t i o n s
the
sexual
text.
the poem,
T h e s e sexual e l e m e n t s
have
dangers
their
own
of
too
much
un der ton es,
as
well
as t h e i n v e r s i o n of th e bibli c a l Eden, which are
in th e
ass o c i a t i o n
female sexu a l i t y is
the tree,
mentions
in
direct
so
outs t a n d i n g
are actu a l l y the m a t r i x
a c t u a l i z e d t h r o u g h the Garde n of Eden hypogram.
THE T E L E P H O N E
"When I was just as far as I could walk
F r o m h e r e today.
T h e r e was an hour
All still
Whe n le a ning with my head against a flower
I h ea rd you t a l k .
Don't say I didn't, for I heard you say You s p o k e from that flower on the w i n d o w sill Do you r e m e m b e r what it was you said ?"
of
'First tell me what it was you thought you heard
"Hav ing found the flower and driven a bee away,
I leaned my head,
And hold i n g by the stalk,
I liste ned and I thought I caught the word What was it? Did yo u call me by my name ?
Or did you say S o m e o n e said 'Come'- I heard it as I bow ed. "
"I may have thought as much,
but not alo ud."
"Wei 1, so I came ."
Another
poem
which
presents
u n d e r t o n e s is the a p p a r e n t l y innocent
dialogue
poem
has
"The Tel epho ne" . This short
which comb ine s,
" p a s s i o n with d o m e s t i c i t y "
furt h e r and r e a d s the
"transforms a
sexual
often been c o n s i d e r e d by the c r i t i c s
e x a m p l e of a "we" poem,
p o w e r of t h e will.
strong
an
as Judi th Oster states,
<i09). Frank L e n t r i c c h i a go es a little
poem
in t e r m s
In fact,
landscape
as
of the
importance
of the
it s eem s that the voice, as he says,
in
his
d e s i r e to
o v e r c o m e isolati on"
(183). What we see in our first r e a d i n g is a d i a l o g u e b e t ween two
lovers,
p r o b a b l y at the end of the day, when the
from a walk w hich began in the
as a man,
w a i t s at
morning.
p e r h a p s b e c a u s e cu ltura lly,
home
while
the man is
lover that at a cert a i n point
"all still",
which may mean
away.
of
his
"at
come
back to the
e l a b o r a t e s the story, say ing that he
flow er
and
heard
his b e l o v e d
The
is
his
as
was
Laurence
that his
a
an hour
Perrine
(here).
bee
talk i n g from it.
his
b e l o v e d wished
departure
d rove
the one who
spea k e r t e l l s
walk, t h e r e
noon",
p l a c e of
imagine the speaker
the woman
s u g g e s t s (i2) when he felt an i ntuition
h i m to
We
spea k e r retu rns
away
He
even
He
from a
adds
t h e i n f o r m a t i o n that she was t a l k i n g from
sill.
He s e e m s r eluctant to give a
heard,
a s k i n g her if she can
q u e s t i o n to him,
agrees
that
a l o ud".
He
and
he says that
she
the
whole
suspicious
said
thought
C o m e ”.
that,
Then,
she
"but
not
return,
is
obviously
inco nsistent
with
s i n c e it is built upon a fiction c r e a t e d by the
ma king two fl ow ers o p e r a t e like
t h r o u g h which he h e a r s what he wishes.
our
retroactive
re ading
we
become
with the d r a m a t i c i nterplay be twee n the
more
lovers.
The
d a s h e s of u n c e r t a i n t y and the only two lines a t t r i b u t e d
w oman
harmonious
suddenly
become
she
belo v e d .
certain
relevant,
to
threatening
the
We cl early have a sp eaker
We a l s o h a v e a s t r a t e g y for a d e s i r e to c o m e true.
The s p e a k e r w a l k s alone,
where
more
a t m o s p h e r e of the mimesis.
and a de sire.
is.
But
In a way,
t h i n k s about his lover and goes back to
he w a n t s his wish to be felt
also
by
his
we can feel he c a r r i e s his d i s c o u r s e with
a
a g g r e s s i v e n e s s when he t ri es to indu ce his lover to take
role
he
he h e ard her,
heard
"Som e o n e
have
poem
In
th e
what he
reme m b e r it. S ince she r e t u r n s the
He p l a y s with his fantasy,
telephones,
the
of
p o i n t s out that that was the reaso n for his
verissimi1itude,
five
p r e c i s e account
the p o e m e n d s with an a t m o s p h e r e of harm o n y and ro manticism.
But
man.
may
a flower at her window
you
designed
for
her.
he i m m e d i a t e l y orders:
say ~ " .
When
he
first
"Don't say I didn't,
T h i n k i n g that she underst ood ,
he s a y s
w h e r e she s p o k e and asks her if she can reme m b e r the
obviously
can't,
says
words.
that
for I
from
She
she doesn't know yet what he is t a l k i n g about.
Then,
he d e s c r i b e s his a c t s of leaning his head,
away,
and
h o l d i n g the flowe r by the stalk.
driving a
bee
T h e s e s i g n s suggest
his latent sexu al desire,
(with all
he
its a t t r i b u t e s of softn ess ,
holds
(which
it by the stalk
d el ic acy,
(by its body),
a sexu al one,
most c o n v i n c i n g way:
language
and d r i v e s a bee
He r o m a n t i c i s e s it,
th e best me ssage,
re ac tions.
First,
messag e:
is
But he is not sure of
and t r i e s to figur e it out
what
by
her
it was; then, he asks
finally, he d e c i d e s for a simp l e and
"Come". But he p l a y s with his b e l o v e d saying
that " S o m e o n e said Come".
If she d e n i e s it she will have to admit
that s h e h a s a rival in love. Her agree men t, thus,
one:
wish
t r a n s f o r m i n g it into a
he sim p ly asks her what
her if she c a l l e d his name;
meaningful
His
away
and he t rie s to put it into p r a c t i c e in a
in w hich she will respond.
be
flower
fragrance, etc.),
w a s e n j o y i n g the s w e e t n e s s of the flower).
clearly
wo uld
s ince he leans his head to the
is a very weak
"I may h a v e thou ght as much, but not aloud". Wo uld n' t
it be
s i m p l e r for her to say "Y es"? It s e e m s she has to a g r e e with him,
but is not w i l l i n g to.
hers elf .
Thus,
than
seems.
it
sexual
"The
inducti on,
desi re" ,
actualized
followed
by the bee,
is
by
inte r p l a y
bein g
a
s hows
roman t i c
evidence
poem
of
and
playful
the m a t r i x of the p o e m is
"sexual
s i gns such as the flower
the stalk,
(the
and fi nally c l a r i f i e d
model),
by
the
All s i g n s be long to the h y p o g r a m “sex", and this
the
cliché
associations
FIower/woman,
bee/man,
The c l i c h é h y p o g r a m is p o tential and the poe tic signs
are c l a s s e m e s .
the
of
s e m i o t i c terms,
m e s s a g e "Come".
sta l k / b o d y .
dramatic
i ns te ad
In
it, but not for
T e l e p h o n e " is a much more intr i g u i n g
The
fantasy.
hypogram
Yes, she may have thought
The p o e m is g e n e r a t e d by expa nsi on,
s i n c e we have
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the m a t r i x into many si gn s thr o u g h o u t
the
text.
It
is
introducing
rele v a n t
a
text about the tel ep hone ,
w h i c h o n e h u man b eing
(the woman),
to o b s e r v e that the
title,
instead
introduces a
of
text
in
(the man) t ries to c o m m u n i c a t e with another
w h i c h is a s s o c i a t e d with a flower.
t h e f l ower may be a te lephone,
In this
sense,
s i nce it was the object wh ich made
t h e l i n k a g e in th e mind of the speaker.
L a w r e n c e P e r r i n e would not a gree with this reading,
c o n s i d e r i n g the p o e m a "love poem",
the
conventional
beloved,
kisses,
strategies
pr om ises,
flower/telephone
comparable
in
by
shape
of
love
poe try
that
daffodils"
M o r d e c a i M a r c u s o b s e r v e s that a
"early
(i2).
possible
desire
guiding
T e l e pho ne",
association woman/flower,
and s t a l k / b o d y .
On the other
hand,
After
between
s i nce
we
have
which is d e v e l o p e d here
the
our struc tur al
of
sexual
ag ain
into
the
bee/man,
E r o t i c i s m is highly pr esent in the text,
it o n e m o r e e x a m p l e of
the
were
fail to se e the s u b t l e u n d e r t o n e s
"The
of
telephones
ten sion
l o v e r s is imp li ed t h r o u g h o u t th e poem ( 6 9 ) .
d e c o d i n g we cann ot
(praise
etc.). He als o e x p l a i n s the conn e c t i o n
stat i n g
to
r e g a r d l e s s of the a b s e n c e of
making
a s s o c i a t i o n between a comp onent of nature
and f e m a l e s e x uality.
All
these
five
p o ems develop the
same
pattern:
t h r o u g h an a s s o c i a t i o n of a part of n a t u r e with fe ma le sexuality,
the
p e r s o n a s d e s c r i b e a desire,
a comment,
a comparison
or
a
wish.
In "The R o s e F a m i l y ” we h a v e female s e x u a l i t y linked with a
rose,
in " G o o d - b y and Keep Cold " the linkage is w o m a n / o r c h a r d ;
" N e v e r A g ain W ou ld Birds' Song Be The Same",
fema le s e x u a l i t y
linked
with the c h a n g e in the birds' song;
in
strong
a s s o c i a t i o n is mad e betw e e n woman and a p p l e tree;
in
is
"U nhar vested", a
and in
"The
Telephone"
t h e r e is a s u b t l e link b e t ween
t e l e p h o n e ) and a woman.
and
the
next
a
flower
(the
The basic d i f f e r e n c e bet wee n t h e s e texts
o n e s lies in the fact
that,
although
the
male
p e r s o n a e x p r e s s e s his w i s h e s and d e s i r e s in thes e five poems,
does
not
pr oject
them
into nature.
What he does
is
a
he
mere
association
b e t w e e n what he sees and fe male se nsu ali ty.
next texts,
as we will see, the p e r s o n a will see n a t u r e and will
pro je ct his own d e s i r e s o n t o the scene,
In
the
r e g a r d l e s s of the female
presence.
MOON COMPASSES
I s t o l e forth dimly in the drip p i n g p ause
B e t w e e n t w o d o w n p o u r s to see what ther e was.
And a m a s k e d moon had s p read down c o m p a s s rays
To a c o n e m o u n t a i n in the midn igh t haze,
As if the final e s t i m a t e w e r e hers;
And as it m e a s u r e d in her calipers.
The m o u n t a i n stood e x a l t e d in its place.
So love will take b e t w e e n the h ands a face. . . .
In
dripping pause
the
moon
"Moon
"between
Compasses"
spreading "compass
the
exact
itsel f
through
were
rays"
caliper.
to
a
He
as if
compares
of th e subje ct w h o loves it.
t itle
and
compass
and
a
sees
exal t i n g
the
moon
this e x a l t a t i o n
rays to the e x a l t a t i o n of a b e l o v e d ' s face
the
in
mountain,
mou nta in,
hands
Donne's
stops
The s p e a k e r o b s e r v e s that the rays
d i a m e t e r of the
a
spea ker
two down p o u r s " , at midni ght ,
it by the light of the rays.
have
a
between
the
We also n o t i c e that both the
m e n t i o n of " c o m p a s s rays"
image in "A V a l e d i c t i o n
remind
Forbidding
us
of
John
Mourning,"
making
the t i t l e f unc t i o n like a dual sign,
w h e r e s i g n i f i c a n c e may be found.
presents
many
details
r e t r o a c t i v e reading,
and
place.
shifts,
we
perceiv e,
in
our
thin g we n o tice is that the moon and the
two d o w n p o u r s (the rays),
dripping
pause,
being h i m s e l f e x a lted in
his
Then we h a v e the image of the moun t a i n illu m i n a t e d by the
moon,
the
Altho ugh the m i m e s i s of the poem
tw o li nes p r e sent a spea k e r located in a
between
to
a cons t a n t sign in the vari ati on.
The first
first
s i n c e it p o in ts
and
then a face i l l u m i n a t e d by two hands.
light of the mo on and the han ds work like
t hey s u r r o u n d an object,
interesting
detail
i m a g i n e s the moon
like a cone,
the
compa sse s,
with their rays.
is m e n t i o n e d in line
measuring
The downpours,
6,
when
since
Anot her
the
speaker
mountain like a caliper.
This
b r i n g s a n o t h e r inst r u m e n t to the context, which s o m e h o w cont r a s t s
w ith
the com pass .
between
work
s u r f a c e s or the t h i c k n e s s of objects,
with
compass
The c a l i p e r b a s i c a l l y m e a s u r e s the
is
partially
circularity.
mentioned
open,
b a s i c function.
r e m i n d i n g us of a cone;
Compasses"
when
its
legs
the
are
and not b e c a u s e of its
The calipe r, on the other hand,
w h o s e func t i o n is a p p r o p r i a t e in the poem.
in
whereas compasses
It s e e m s that in "Hoon
b e c a u s e of its form
distances
is the instrument
The size of the
rays
the t h r e e ima ges a p p e a r as if they were m e a s u r e d by a caliper
in the h a z e of the night.
Malediction
Forbidding
It s e e m s that, although both D o n n e ' s "A
M o u r n i n g " and F r o s t ' s
work
with m e a s u r i n g instruments,
about
love.
In D o n n e ' s text,
they develop
"Moon
C o mpasses "
d ifferent
ideas
the concept of c i r c u l a r i t y is used
to i l l u s t r a t e the r o l e s of two p e r s o n s who live a "refined love".
57
The
woman
moves
a
compass).
d o e s not s e e m to mov e (she is the
foot),
but
lit t le when t h e man m oves (he is the other foot of
the
Th e f i r m n e s s of the woman, as in the compass,
man c o m p l e t e a circle,
l ove d o e s not
and t h e y
fixed
e n d i n g w he re he begins. So, their refined
fear a b s e n c e and separatio n.
do not n eed to m i s s
do not c a r e if they are
sensory pleasures.
separation,
and
mak es the
"eyes,
Their s ouls are
one,
lips and hands". The lovers
apart, b e c a u s e their love is not made of
T h eir spir i t u a l
t h eir
love m a k e s them s tand physical
s o u l s work u n ited in a c o m p a s s
of
love
(9 i ) .
In
love
"Moon C o m passes",
on the other hand,
in t e r m s of two h a n d s which touch a face.
these two
while
hands
exalting
measure
it,
the
Like a
we see a
caliper,
e x t e n s i o n and wi dth of the
in the same way the moon and th e
face,
d ownpours
m e a s u r e the e x t e n s i o n of the m o u n t a i n and of the speaker. Love in
t h i s text
and
is v i s i b l y p h ysical,
it does not exist in
it is e p i t o m i z e d "at midni ght ",
each other.
poem
We can decod e,
when the two lov ers em br a c e
then, the e l l i p s i s at the end of the
as a c o n t i n u a t i o n of the p arts of the body,
"f ace "
separati on,
as a s y n e c d o c h i c word for the w h o l e body.
and
the
word
"So love
will
t a k e b e t w e e n the h a n d s a face", an arm, a body. And h e r e is where
the m a t r i x is deco ded.
and
t h e m a t r i x is a c t u a l i z e d in many
s pea k e r ,
(they
all
The text is re ally about " s e n s u o u s love",
moon/mountain,
are m e a n i n g f u l just
hands/face.
poeti c
The se
signs:
s igns are idi ole cts
in the co ntext of the text)
b e l o n g to the h y p o g r a m "com p a s s rays",
c o m p a s s is o b s e r v a b l e in D o n n e ' s text).
downpours/
and
which is actual
they
(the
The h y p o g r a m is formed by
its p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s ,
hands,
s i n c e rays p r e s u p p o s e a sender
moon) and a r e c e i v e r
model
(speaker,
mountain,
(downpours,
beloved).
The
is th e pair s p e a k e r / d o w n p o u r s and the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
from
m a t r i x to text o c c u r s t h r o u g h expa nsion, s ince we have a group of
i m a g e s w h ich c u l m i n a t e in the main one,
what w o u l d be,
thus,
which is face/hands.
th e role of D o n n e ' s text in our
poem?
And
It
s e e m s it is the o n e of p r o v i d i n g an ill u s t r a t i o n of the different
roles
of
the
compass
im ages in the
poems.
The
C o m p a s s e s ” is a dual t i t l e b e c a u s e it explains,
way,
th e
t itle
in a
different
p l a c e of the s i g n i f i c a n c e of its own poem thr oug h
l o c a t i o n of the c o m p a s s in D o n n e ' s text.
In
"Sub Rosa:
Five-F’
e t a l e d F l o w e r " R. F. F l e i s s n e r a r g u e s that Frost
appropriated
Donne's
image
in
his poem
(209).
and r i d i c u l e s his sta tement
final
stand
ellipsis
the
observer
rays
speaker
of a scene,
and
and
with
finally,
power of love"
"possibly
the
"as
Frost's
ob liquely
that
Donne".
from
a
to the p e r c e p t i o n th rough m e t a p h o r of
transfiguring
the speak er,
for
m o v e s through t h ree stages:
t r a n s f o r m i n g th e scene,
of "the
moon
would
after
m ountain,
may
the
the
For
mere
the
perc e p t i o n
(23). tiordecai M a r c u s sees
hav ing
whic h
to
the
Roger Slakey
d i s a g r e e s with F l e i s s n e r ,
Slakey ,
"Moon
made
love",
"conno te
wo r s h i p f u l s t a t u s of a fema l e figu re by a
the
seei ng the
bes tow al of
dominating
male
one”
(15i ) .
Our
impo rta nt
poem
is
attitudes
M o u rning",
signs
totally
about
decoding
pass e d
the
unnoticed
different
sensuous
sensuality
of
is
text
to
the
s h ows
critics.
from D o n n e ' s in t e rms
love.
In
partially
that
of
many
F r o st 's
different
"A V a l e d i c t i o n For b i d d i n g
negl e c t e d
thro u g h
the
g l o r i f i c a t i o n of s p i r i t u a l
who
It
love.
"Moon Com p a s s e s " s h o w s a speaker
s e e s in two i m a g e s of n a t u r e an an alogy with s e n s u o u s
is
wor th
variants
(the
n o t i c i n g that the m a t r i x is
three
images).
At the prosodic level,
is a l s o built with t h r e e r hyme groups.
d o e s in this text
ephemeral
imag es
actualized
in
love.
three
the
poem
What the s p e aker b asica lly
is to proje ct his concept of true love into two
of
nature,
d e m o n s t r a t i n g the
importance
s e n s o r y p l e a s u r e s in this p a r t i c u l a r point of his life.
GHOST H OUSE
I dwell in a lonely h o u s e I know
That v a n i s h e d many a summ er ago,
And left no t race but the cellar walls,
And a cell a r in whi ch the daylight falls,
And t h e p u r p 1e - s t e m m e d wild r a s p b e r r i e s grow.
O'er r u i n e d fenc e s the g r a p e v i n e s sh ield
The w o o d s c o m e back to the mowi ng field;
The o r c h a r d tree h a s grown one co pse
Of n e w wood and old w h e r e the w o o d p e c k e r chops;
The foot p a t h to the well is healed.
I dwell with a s t r a n g e l y achin g heart
In that v a n i s h e d a b o d e t here far apart
On that d i s u s e d and fo rgotten road
That has no d u s t - b a t h now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats t u m b l e and dart;
The w h i p p o o r w i l l is c o ming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enou gh away
Full many a time to say his say
B e f o r e he a r r i v e s to say it o u t .
It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I k n o w not who t h e s e mute folk are
Who s h a r e the unlit p l a c e with me _
T h o s e s t o n e s out under the l o w -l imbed t r e e
D o u b t l e s s bear n a m e s that the m o s s e s mar.
They are t i r e l e s s folk, but slow and sad,
T h ough two, c l o s e - k e e p i n g , are lass and lad,_
With none among t h e m that ever sings,
And yet, in view of ho w many things,
60
of
As sweet c o m p a n i o n s as might me had
"Ghost
rich
Hous e "
is a po em which s t r i k e s us for
imager y and s i m p l e diction.
persona
The m i m e s i s level
its
presents
a
d w e l l i n g in "a lonely hous e" that doesn't exist anymore.
It d i s a p p e a r e d in a c e r t a i n summer,
and the cellar w a l l s are the
o n l y r e m a i n i n g part of it. The p e r s o n a c o m m e n t s that the daylight
falls
and the wild p u r p l e r a s p b e r r i e s grow in it.
We
are
also
i n f o r m e d that g r a p e v i n e s grow over the "ruined fences", the woods
ar e
all
over the place,
w o o d p e c k e r chops,
s e e m s that
house.
the or chard tre e grew one
and the footp ath to the well is
this co ntext
Flowers,
trees
and
b irds
presence
whippoorwill,
of
a
but
life and mo vem ent,
such a tu mbling,
It
is
folk"
are acting as
if
"tireless
"fo r g o t t e n road",
black
ghost
they
are
bats
and
of
even t h e s e c h a r a c t e r s be long to a con tex t
s i n c e they are p r e d o m i n a n t l y p e r f o r m i n g
darting,
but
slo w and sad",
cann o t read their names,
a
of
acts
hu shing, cluc k i n g and flu t t e r i n g about.
the p l a c e with the speaker.
folk,
It
In the next two s t a n z a s we have
only in th e fifth s t a n z a that we get to know
s hare
the
restored .
is not the most a p p r o p r i a t e for a
e n j o y i n g a b e a u t i f u l spr ing day.
the
copse,
that
"mute
They are d e s c r i b e d
and although
the
as
speaker
he a s s u m e s they are a man and a
woman,
v i e w i n g the so many sweet c o m p a n i o n s they had in life.
The
reading
contrast
birds,
dim,
is
to
first
thing
we r e a l i z e
in
our
that the rich ima gery actually s e r v e s to
the e l e m e n t s which embo dy a ghost
flowers,
plants,
the daylight,
the star
hermeneutic
provide
a t m osphere.
a
The
(al tho ugh it is
it is a su mmer star), and the rest o r e d foo tpa th to the
well
all
belong
to
ferti lit y,
wh o
are
a context
o-F
life,
harmony,
and
and they c o n t r a s t with the spea ker and the mute folk,
in
interesting
a c o n t e x t of death,
that
the
speaker
s t a g n a t i o n and
is
the
true
r e p r e s e n t s a s t a t e of c o m p l e t e s t a gnation.
elements
synchronism
ar e m o v i n g and f e r t i lizing,
decay.
ghost,
It
is
sin ce
he
W h e r e a s all the other
the spe ak er d w e l l s in
the
ghost h o u s e "with a s t r a n g e l y a c hing heart". His s o l i t u d e is such
that
he even p r o j e c t s h i s de sire,
are a man and a woman,
and
supp o s i n g that the mu te
" c l o s e - k e e p i n g " under the earth
(the lass
the lad are v i s i b l e even at the pr osodic level of the
s i n c e each s t a n z a is c o m p o s e d by two i n t e rcalated rhy me
His
d e s i r e is o b v i o u s l y a sex ual one,
on e
to
integrate
himself
surrounding represents.
to
folk
w hich
visib le.
among
th e
speaker
in
the
context
of
since
decay,
is
s adness,
s t a g n a t i o n sememe.
and the mute folk
f ertility
be lo ng
is
c o m p o s e d of s e m e s
d e ath
and
and
s l o w n e s s are
First,
house
level.
This
presuppositions,
semes
of
relat ed
we have the fact that the way to the
well
(with its i m p l i c a t i o n s of renewa l) is
have
the s u p o s i t i o n that th e dead p e o p l e are man and woman.
his
rest ored;
then,
is a ghost b e c a u s e he is not e x p e r i e n c i n g one aspect
masculinity:
he
is not living hi s
sexua lit y,
he
f e r t i l i z i n g like the o t h e r e l e m e n t s of nature. The matrix,
is
the
we have tw o important
d e t a i l s that lead us to c o n c l u d e that this s t a g n a t i o n is
speaker
his
p e rfectly
feature s of the ghost
B e s i d e s t h i s hypog ram ,
with a b s e n c e of sex:
the
At t h i s point, the h y p o g r a m of s t a g n a t i o n
They are th e only const a n t
hypogram
groups).
si nc e this d e s i r e is
the c h a n g i n g m u l t i p l e d e t a i l s of the m i m e s i s
potential
poem,
is
we
The
of
not
thus,
the d e s i r e for f e r t i l i t y t h e s p e a k e r p r o j e c t s o n t o t he scene.
62
The
matrix
transforms
is t r a n s f o r m e d into text
th rough
ex pansion,
the m a t r i x s i gns into several semioti c sign s
text. Th e model
is the first
which
in
the
line of the poem, which p r e s e n t s the
p e r s o n a livin g in a lonely house.
M o r d e c a i M a r c u s sees the sp eaker p r ojecting h i m self
o n t o a di stant scene,
proba b l y r e t r i e v e d by memory. He says that
the s c e n e is p e r m e a t e d with grief,
considers
his
the lass and lad as r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of the s p e a k e r and
lover
brou g h t
fe rtility and evanescence, and
as th ey were not very
friction"
confirming
the
(23).
long
ago,
S ince we do not
statements
above,
it
be fore
have
is
textual e l e m e n t s
better
o u r s e l v e s to the te xtual e v i d e n c e s p o i n t e d out in
Richard
Wakefield
that
the
supposing
that
W a kefield,
nature's
the
spea k e r imbue s the dead
"they
p oem
vi tal ity.
are c a p a b l e
like
of
p r e s e n t s human
pe ople
sexual
deat h
he fails
C o m p asses",
this
desire
decoding.
with
of
presence,
love"(i52).
counterpoised
to give a
is
"Ghost
p r e s e n t s a p r o j e c t i o n of the
d e s i r e o nto a s c e n e full of n a t u r e element s.
poem,
our
and he m e n t i o n s the
of the s e m i o t i c s t r u c t u r e s of the poem.
"Moon
restrict
For
with
A l t h o u g h his read i n g of the poem is base d on
c l o s e o b s e r v a t i o n of textual signs,
acco unt
to
says that the poem is about "the movem ent
n a t u r e to r e c l a i m an a b a n d o n e d house" <i52>,
fact
experience
a
d e s i r e for
f ulf i l l e d by se xuality.
TO E A R T H W A R D
L o v e at the lips was touch
63
In this
fe rti lit y
precise
House",
speaker's
particular
which
may
be
As sweet as I c ould bear;
And o n c e that s e e m e d too much;
I lived on air
That c r o s s e d me from sweet thing s
The flow of _ wa s it musk
F r o m h i d d e n g r a p e v i n e s p r ings
Down hill at d u s k ?
I had the swirl and ache
F r o m s p r i n g s of h o n e y s u c k l e
That when t h e y ' r e g a t h e r e d shake
De w on the knuckl e.
I c r aved s t r o n g sweets, but those
S e e m e d s t r o n g when I was young;
The petal of the rose
It was that stung.
Now no joy but lacks salt
That is not d a s h e d with pain
And w e a r i n e s s and fault;
I c r a v e d the stain
Of tears, t h e a ftermark
Of almost too mu ch love,
The sweet of b i t t e r bark
And b u r n i n g clove.
Wh en s t i f f and s o r e and sc arred
I tak e away my hand
F r o m leaning on it hard
In g r a s s and sand,
The hurt is not enough:
I long for wei ght and stren gth
To feel th e e a rth as rough
To a l 1 my l e n g t h .
Frost's
texture
is
of
quite
turbulent
defined
poems.
purposes"
that "e verythi ng is a
(i960
Lecture,
H a r v ard
a p p r o p r i a t e to d e s c r i b e the plur a r i t y
r h y t h m of "To E a r t h w a r d " .
In fact,
of
gamble,
a
Univ e r s i t y )
images
and
the text has been
by the c r i t i c s as on e of the most emot ional
of
Frost's
At first sight, the rich m u l t i p l i c i t y of m i m e s i s m a kes the
p o e m look
text
c o m ment
and
like a r e s e r v o i r of purpose s,
reader.
We
see
th e
6A
a lit era ry g a m b l e between
mimesis
presenting
a
spea ker
(prob abl y an old one) loo k i n g back and anal y z i n g the c h a n g e s time
has p r o d u c e d in his p e r s o n a l taste. When he was young, he e nj oy ed
the
sweetness
of
g r a p e v i n e spr ing s,
the
rose.
The
preferences,
informed
and
k i s s ("Lo ve at the
lips"),
the s p r a y s of h o n e y suckle,
first
that
with pain".
a
it
musk
of
and the petal
of
four s t a n z a s deal entirely
the
with his early
is only in the fifth stanza
that
"Now no joy but lacks salt / That is
The p o e m might be d i v i d e d in
first half (the
first
four
stanzas)
two
not
parts,
focuses
we
are
dashed
s ince
the
on the swee t n e s s
of the s p e a k e r ' s life and the seco n d half (the last four stanzas)
on
the
presence
of
into b i t t e r s w e e t .
bitterness,
which
transformed
sweetness
Now the s p e a k e r c r a v e s "the stain / Of tears",
and s e e k s the m i x t u r e of p l e a s u r e and pain when he leans hi s hand
in
g r a s s or sand in an
fe ature
sweet
of the mimesis,
and bitter,
each
thus,
movemen t.
The most
striking
is the const ant cont rast be twe en
w h ich a c h i e v e s its apex in the o x i m o r o n
sweet of b i tter bark".
in
earthward
"The
We a l s o n o t i c e in our first r e a ding
s t a n z a the first t h r e e lines are Iambic trime t e r
that
lines
and the last one is an Iambic d i m e t e r line.
The rhym e s c h e m e
a l s o regular,
CDCD,
p r e s e n t i n g the p a t t e r n ABAB,
is
E F E F ... until
the last s t a n z a OF’
O P . We a l s o have a s e r i e s of a l l i t e r a t i o n s such
as
"Love
at the lips",
"Seemed strong",
"Down hill at dusk",
"strong
sweets",
" b i tter bark", and "s tiff and sore and scarred",
whic h make the read e r feel the stro n g m u s i c a l i t y of the text.
whole text
also
is h a r m o n i o u s and s u r p r i s i n g for its rich imagery.
n o t i c e that the t i t l e d e s c r i b e s the moveme nt
from sweet
The
We
to
bitter in the s p e a k e r ' s life, which c u l m i n a t e s in the last stan z a
when
t h e s p e a k e r s t a t e s that he longs "for weight and
to feel t h e earth
air").
He
(earth c o n t r a s t s with the stateme nt
performs
an e a r t h w a r d move men t
in
the
stren gth "
"I lived on
s e nse
that,
c h a n g i n g hi s p r e f e r e n c e from sweet p l e a s u r e s to bi tter pleasures,
he s e e m s to be nearer the earth.
The
retroactive
movement
ba sic
read i n g
d e c o d i f i c a t i o n which take s p l ace in our
is
th e
observation
that
this
is not h a p p e n i n g in a g e n e r a l i z e d way.
e a rthward
It is a movement
that h a p p e n s in one field of the s p e a k e r ' s life.
We n o t i c e
that
the first h a l f of the p o e m b e g i n s with the word "Love" and in the
second
half
"Love",
(stanza
explaining
aftermark
clearly
"Of
6)
the speaker ment i o n s
ag ain
that now he s eeks the tears,
almost too much
presents a change
love".
in his
The
the
word
wh ich are
earthward
way of facing
the
movement
love.
In
the
b e g i n n i n g of the poem “L o v e at the lips was touch" as sweet as he
c o u l d bear.
senses)
Thi s "Love at the lips" (a love e x p r e s s e d thro u g h the
wa s the swee tness,
boyhood.
He
lived
the
the st rong sw eets he cra ved
sensuous
pleasures
of
his
in
s exuality
e n t i r e l y for their s w e e t n e s s (the musk of g r a p e v i n e sp rings,
s p r a y s of hone y s u c k l e ,
of b i t t e r bark". We n o t i c e that,
t h e m i m e s i s level,
which
stain,
the w o r d s " L o v e “,
bitter bark,
r e c u r r e n t s i g n s of the text.
with
(kiss,
two
basic hy pogr ams:
g r a p e v i n e springs,
with their "sweet
among the m u l t i p l i c i t y of images
"sweet" and the
b e l o n g to the "bit t e r " h y p o g r a m (pain,
tears,
the
the kiss, the petal of the rose). Then, he
b e g a n to enjoy the p l e a s u r e s dash e d with pain,
on
his
clove,
sore,
wearin ess,
hurt,
(presented above)
s p r a y s of hone ys uckl e,
66
fault,
rough) are the
We also noti ce that we are
bit ter
nouns
and
de aling
sweet
the petal of the
rose),
whi ch are fused to d e s c r i b e the evol u t i o n of the s p e a k e r ' s
love.
This
love,
transformed
into
which was p r i m a r i l y a se nsu o u s
a
d e s i r e for being one with
one,
the
is
now
other.
The
s p e a k e r e x p e r i e n c e s a move m e n t t o w a r d the earth, he w a n t s to feel
it to all his length.
which
is
the
se x u a l i t y .
last s t a g e in th e d e v e l o p m e n t
He
seeks
t h r o u g h o u t the text
a
The last s t a n z a c l e arly talks about death,
different
kinds
of
of
the
speaker's
sensu o u s
pleasures
(no tice that all l i nguistic signs lead us
c o n text of s e n s u o u s love) and this e v o l u t i o n ends up with
"swe et
title
of b i t t e r bar k" of death.
its elf
potential
are
or
a
more
one:
h y p o g r a m s "Sw eet " and "Bitter "
a c t u a l i z e d in
their
semes
and
"Toward
the
death".
(or P l e a s u r e and
pr esupp o s i t i o n s ,
The
Pain)
and
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of m a t r i x to text is m a d e thr oug h exp ans ion ,
the
the
The m a t r i x of the text is
specific
to
the
sinc e
m a t r i x is l i t e r a l l y e x p a n d e d into m u l t i p l e images until
its
a p e x in the last stanza.
Joh n
Babeiit
Enast^
6d
Robert
D o y l e Jr.
Analysis
m e n t i o n s in Ihe EoetlCH
that the first
half
of
the
Qf
poem
p r e s e n t s " b r e a t h l e s s young love" w h e r e a s "ma tur ity " c h a r a c t e r i z e s
t h e s e cond h a l f (177). He a l s o m e n t i o n s that the s p e a k e r p r e s e n t s
" phy sical
to
a s p e c t s of love" (180) and a f f i r m s that the p o e m see ms
say that
"so p u r e and i n t e n s e a love is g e nerated by
and full living that e m b r a c e s all expe r i e n c e ,
be v i e w e d t h r o u g h wet ey es"
poem
"hov e r s
resonances"
between
(181).
sensuous
(108) and that
genuine
even if it has
to
M o r d e c a i Mar cus says that the
presentation
and
metaphorical
"the s p e a k e r ' s desi r e to h a v e h i s body
full y pres s e d ag ainst the e arth s u g g e s t s an e x p e r i e n c e so inte n s e
67
that
it may be a p r o m i s e of c o m p l e t e fulfillment
On th e
oth er hand, L a w r a n c e T h o m p s o n says
the " c l o s e bond betw e e n
h u m a n love and
love to b e auty in nature"
B a b e n t EeqsL,
i85).
Sh eehy
Ihe
links
the
the
poet
of
undoubtedly
so inten se that
Ev en a fter our decoding,
dir ection,
"To
experience
<2i9).
of
it s eems a
although
we
are
desire
the c u l m i n a t i o n of his love,
onto
nature,
In
this
the
lover
the
r e servoir of
and
<i59)
and
with
the
text
is
meanings.
th e m i m e s i s still tends to lead us in a
s e q u e n c e of semi o s i s ,
t o w a r d death.
shows
physi cal
Ear t h w a r d "
As I have said,
circuitous
for
text
Ant and I h o u g h t q£
L o u i s U n t e r m e y e r sees "a less
development
different
that the
<i09).
the t r a n s f e r e n c e of that
(Eine and Icsj.
a l most u n e a r t h l y p a s s i o n " s p e a k i n g in
Donald
in de ath"
sense,
aware
a sp eaker
that,
t a lks
performing a
in
about
the
his
movement
the sp eaker p r o j e c t s his desire
using e l e m e n t s of the natural world to
illu s t r a t e
d i f f e r e n t p h a s e s of his s e x u a l i t y .
A DREAM PANG
I had w i t h d r a w n in forest, and my song
Was s w a l l o w e d up in leaves that blew away;
And to the forest edge you came one day
(This was my dr eam) and looked and p o n d e r e d long.
But did not enter, though the wish was strong:
You shook your p e n s i v e head as wh o would say,
"I dare not _ t o o far in his f o o t s t e p s s t ray _
He must seek me wou ld he undo the w r o n g . ”
Not far, but near, I stood and saw it all,
Behind low b o u g h s the tre es let down outside;
And the sweet pang it cost me not to call
And tell y o u that I saw does still abide.
But 'tis not t r u e and thus I dwell aloof,
For the woo d wakes, and you are here for proof.
In
"A
D r e a m Pan g" the basic confl ict of death
68
as
c u l m i n a t i o n of sexu al
love is much the same. The hybri d sonnet
(a
m i x t u r e of Ital i a n and English) p r e s e n t s a n a r r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e in
w h i c h a p e r s o n a d e s c r i b e s a d r e a m when he w i t h d r a w s into a forest
and is f o l l o w e d by his belo ved .
The beloved,
though, c ome s as far
as th e e d g e of the forest and d o e s not enter.
omniscient
str ong ,
wrong
narr a t o r ,
says
that
her
boughs"
The speaker,
s i n c e he is
hidden “Behi n d
s e e s the w h o l e s c e n e and fe els an in tense wish
but
decides
concludes
the
not to do that,
text
sayi n g
that
feeling a "sweet
the
as an
wish to ente r is
she d e c i d e s not to go far in his footsteps,
in g o i n g away from her.
her,
although
The speaker,
incident
low
to
call
pang".
was
not
He
very
s i g n i f i c a n t s i n c e they are t o g e t h e r as the morn ing rises.
Our
Dream
r e t r o a c t i v e r e a d i n g is mark ed by the t i t l e
Pang" w h i c h f u n c t i o n s like an inte rpretant
pointing
poem
to
may
a c o n text of dream,
be
found.
(Frank
Lentricchia,
exam ple),
t o w a r d s the p o e t i c l a n d s c a p e s
in
the
F r o s t ' s work, n o t a b l y
house,
of
dreams,
as it is in F r o s t ' s canon.
for
the flowers,
title),
w h e r e the s i g n i f i c a n c e of
In the l a n g u a g e
i n t r i n s i c a l l y s ymbolic,
(dual
dire c t e d
considered
as
"A
the
language
is
Many c r i t i c s
their
attention
rec urrent
symbols
e x p l o i t i n g the fu nct ions of th e brook,
the b i r d s and the woods.
A c c o r d i n g to
L e n t r i c c h i a the act of going in to the w o ods (the op enin g s c e n e in
our text)
world"
the
is an act
(87).
woods
of going "de epe r and deeper into a l i m i t l e s s
M o r e than an E m e r s o n i a n
are
to Len t r i c c h i a ,
"a
enco u n t e r with
m e t a p h o r of
the
self,
the i r r a t i o n a l "
w h i c h s o m e t i m e s r a d i a t e s "the d e s t r u c t i v e urg es of s e l f " (88).
We
are i m m e d i a t e l y r e m i n d e d of p o e m s such as "Stop pin g by W o o d s on a
Sno wy
Evening"
or "The D e m i u r g e ' s Lau gh" in which
the
persona
e i t h e r r e f u s e s to ent er in to the w o o d s and is saved or e n c o u n t e r s
a powerful evil
also
fo rce d e e p into them.
In "A Dream Pang" the woo ds
s y m b o l i z e the " d e s t r u c t i v e u r g e s of self" in the s ense that
it r e p r e s e n t s the s p e a k e r ' s d e s i r e for a c o m p l e t e fusion with the
b eloved ,
are
which woul d o n l y be p o s s i b l e through death.
in bed,
The lovers
and the s p e a k e r d r e a m s that he goes away from
e n t e r i n g the woods.
It is i n t e r e s t i n g that we see this
her,
entrance
as a p o s i t i v e act, as D e n n i s Vail obser ves:
The odd p h r a s e "in forest",
with
no
arti cle ,
s u g g e s t s a u ni versal cate gory rathe r than
a l o c a t a b l e o b j e c t (....) . The feeling is r e i n f o r c e d
by the s p e a k e r ' s
failure to say that
he has
"withdrawn"
from
(the
implication
is
"from
everything
else").
This puts the e m p h a s i s on what
he has w i t h d r a w n to,
and the act of w i t h drawal
is
m a d e to look forward,
r a ther than backward, and so
gi ven
its own p o s i t i v e value.
(6i)
The first t w o li nes by D e n n i s Vail o b v i o u s l y rela t e
to
the
fact that the w o o d s funct ion s y m b o l i c a l l y in
representing
a
s tate of "not me",
coul d ha pp en in death.
the
withdrawal
diminishment
other.
up
This
which
since death m eans both
edge
(death is a b s e n c e of
of
the
his f o o t s t e p s or not.
woods,
reason for his act of losin g himself.
the
“s w a l l o w e d
voice). Then,
s eems
to
be
s i nce "she" was the only
He k n ows she d e c i d e s not to
into the w o o d s b e c a u s e he is wrong and he must go back
70
a
w o n d e r i n g if she
The sp eaker
e x t r e m e l y c o n c e r n e d with her h e s itati on,
ente r
self"
of p r o g r e s s
When the spea k e r e n t e r s the w o o d s his song is
foll o w
poem,
of self and the c u l m i n a t i o n of the fusion with
belo v e d goes to the
s h ould
j u s t i f i e s the feeling
a r i s e s in the reader,
in leaves" and b l o w s away
his
of "abse nce of
the
to
where
sh e
allowing
“sw eet
is (in a d r e a m context his o m n i s c i e n c e
him
to d e c o d e her signs).
fusing c o m p l e t e l y with her,
continuation
which means both
a
the
and the s w e e t n e s s of the
of their h u man sexuali ty.
d well a l o o f b e c a u s e
complete,
He sees it all and feels
p a n g " b e c a u s e he do es n't call her,
p a n g of not
is
He says that he did
when the "wood wakes",
not
she is with him,
in
bed, p r o v i n g that a l t h o u g h they did not a c h ieve total union, they
ar e still u n i t e d in thei r h uman condi tio n.
characterized
life/death
by
The
potential
represents
should
many s y m b o l s whi ch suggest
or
beloved/speaker,
self/self
remain
and
song/silence,
hypogram
the
His d r e a m was,
other
(note
the
the
forest edge/f ore st,
life/death
(a
hypogram
s p e a k e r and hi s b e l oved
decid ing
thus,
confrontation
oppositions
reality / d r e a m )
of
symbols)
whether
they
in thei r natural s o l i t u d e of two d ifferent
human
b e i n g s or seek the fusion and c u l m i n a t i o n of love in death. Since
the
s p e a k e r ' s only s o l u t i o n
th e
woo ds)
(after his lover's re fusal to
is the r e v e r s e of the wi thd raw al,
the m a t r i x of
poem
is s o m e t h i n g like " i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a total union
sex"
or
characters
"total union in death".
can
only
B a r t h e s d e f i n e s in
In their human
e x p e r i e n c e the
enter
" U n k n owable"
through
condition
that
the
the
Roland
L o v e n l s liliacQUicse:
I am caught in this c o n t r a d i c t i o n :
on
the one hand,
I b e l i e v e I know the othe r
better
than a n y o n e and t r i u m p h a n t l y assert my k n o w l e d g e to
the othe r
("I k n o w you _ I'm the on ly one who
reall y k n o w s you!");
and on the other hand,
I am
often
struck by the o b v i o u s fact that the other is
imp enetrable,
in tra ctable,
not
to be
found;
I
cannot
open up the other,
tra ce back the othe r ' s
origins,
solve
the riddle.
Wher e does the other
come from? Who is the o t her?
I wear m y s e l f out, I
7i
shall n e v e r know
The
matrix
expansion,
(i 34)
"total u n i o n in deat h" is t r a n s f o r m e d into
text
by
and many s y m b o l s func tio n like c o m p l e x r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s
of h u m a n values.
Although
in
the symb o l i c read i n g of a re cur ren t
F r o s t ' s p o e t r y s h o u l d make our d e c o d i n g of the
critics
the
text
distance
from his lover,
the range at which he can be
but
subsumed"
Dennis
(49).
the s p e a k e r " p i c t u r e s a
dr eame d,
something
spea k e r s t r u g g l i n g "to
Wakefi eld ,
mentions
not
the
Rich a r d
ex ample,
Vail
s t a t e of s e p a r a t i o n
that might happen _...
(62). G e o r g e N i t c h i e
(77),
between
pro blem ,
whereas
sexual
it
love
seems,
o u t s i d e the woods.
Richard
and
find
the
for
right
involved
ends up c o n s i d e r i n g that
as
only
and yet,
some t h i n g
a very real
p e c u l i a r l y sees the poem as a r e mote
e c h o of A d a m ' s and E v e ' s b r i e f s e p a r a t i o n
fall"
easier,
in g e n e r a l rea d "A D re am Pang" in terms of s e p a r a t i o n in
w o o d s r a ther than on the contrar y.
threat
image
immediate ly b e f o r e the
Poirier exploits
po etic
ma king
the
(64).
connections
The
is the c o n f u s i o n betw e e n s e p a r a t i o n in
When the lovers a re outside,
basic
and
they e x p e r i e n c e
the lim ite d u nion of sex; when they are in the woods, they may be
one in a m i x t u r e of s e l f and other, a l t h o u g h they have to g i v e up
their huma n lives to feel the “d e s t r u c t i v e u r ges of self".
W A I T I N G - A F I E L D AT DUSK
What t h i n g s for d r e a m t h e r e are when s p e c t e r-like,
M o v i n g a long tall h a y c o c k s lightly piled,
I e n t e r a l o n e upon the s t u b b l e field,
F r o m w h i c h the laborers' v o i c e s late ha ve died,
7S
And in the a n t i p h o n y
And risi n g full moon,
Upon the full m o o n ' s
And lose m y s e l f amid
of a f t e r g l o w
sit me down
side of the first haycock
so many alike.
I d r e a m upon the o p p o s i n g lights of the hour,
P r e v e n t i n g s h a d o w until the moon prevail;
I d r e a m upon the n i g h t h a w k s peopli ng heaven,
Each c i r c l i n g each with vag ue unea r t h l y cry,
Or p l u n g i n g h e a d l o n g with fierce twang afar;
And on the b a t ' s mu te antics, who would seem
Dimly to have made out my secret place,
Only to lose it when he pirouettes,
And seek it e n d l e s s l y with purbl ind haste;
On the last s w a l l o w ' s sweep; and on the rasp
In the a b y s s of odor and r u stle at my back,
That, s i l e n c e d by my advent, finds onc e more,
After an interval, his instrument,
And t r i e s once _ t w i c e _ and th rice if I be there;
And on the worn book of o l d - g o l d e n song
I brou ght not here to read, it seems, but hold
And freshen in this air of w ithering swee tness;
But on the m e m o r y of one absent most,
For w h o m t h e s e lines when they shall greet her eye.
We a l s o deal with a co ntext of d ream in "Wa iti ng
Afield
at Dusk", when a s p e a k e r w ai ts for the girl he loves, and
d r e a m s about s o u n d s and lig hts in a mowi ng field. The p o e m begins
when
the
p e r s o n a ( " s p e c t e r - l i k e " ) w a l k s among p i l e s of
and e n t e r s into a s t u b b l e field,
voices
"late
have
died".
c o n s i d e r i n g that the
haycock
laborers'
The s t u b b l e and the a b s e n c e
of
the
l a b o r e r s ' v o i c e s e m p h a s i z e that the sp eaker is in a p l a c e of work
(a
daily
reason
place) at night,
for being t h e r e is not a p ractical one.
"antiphony"
moon,
whi ch lead us to c o n c l u d e
of
scene .
This
be
ind i c a t i o n
language
and
his
He m e n t i o n s
the
d a r k n e s s and light of a f t e r g l o w and rising
and sits among h a y c o c k s all alike,
an
that
losing h i m s e l f in
full
the
fusion with the s c e n e or with the nat ur al world may
of the d r e a m
context,
a c t i o n s are symb olic.
s ince
the
Then he d r e a m s
speaker's
about
"the
opposing
light s of the hour / P r e v e n t i n g s h a d o w until
p r evail",
people
thei r
and lists many s o u n d s and b e i n g s which,
t he nat ural scenery.
" u n e a r t h l y cry",
of th e b at's
of
in his dream,
nighthawks
of t h e
"m ute ant ics "
s w a l 1o w 's s w e e p ;
and its a l t e r n a n c e of s o u n d and silence.
dream
the
moon
with
and th eir mo vement of "plung ing he adlong
with f i e r c e twang afar";
p u r b 1 ind pir o u e t t e s j
He d r e a m s of
the
and
and of
their
the
rasp
Finally, he ment i o n s his
"the worn book of o l d - g o l d e n so ng"
that
he
brought
t h e r e to fr eshen it in th e " w i t h e r i n g s w e e t n e s s " of the air,
his
most
important dream,
the d r e a m of
the "memory
and
of the one
a b s ent" for whom he d e d i c a t e s the lines of his own poem.
In
certain
un ity
a
s e c o n d s t a g e of rea d i n g we b e c o m e
e l e m e n t s that,
of
a hypo gra m.
in the s y m b o l o g y of dream,
aware
compose
First we have a daily place
in
a
of
the
night
co ntext;
then, the " a n t i p h o n y of a f t e r g l o w " which is an a ntiphony
of
opposition sun/moon
the
(which s y m b o l i c a l l y
m ale and the femal e e l e m e n t s ) ;
and
sounds,
beloved.
The
"old-golden
of
the
we
the
and finally, among the many b e i n g s
have an e m p h a s i s
fact
represents
on the
d r e a m of
his
absent
that the speaker m e n t i o n s a worn book of
song" w hich he i n t ends to fr eshen in that sweet
na tural world is a l s o imp ortant,
s ince
it
suggests
an
air
a
p r o x i m i t y of po et ic s o u n d with nat ura l sound. What t h e s e e l e m e n t s
sugg est
is not only a h y p o g r a m of "Wai t i n g "
p o e m also p o i n t s out),
(as the t itle of the
but a h y p o g r a m of "erotic
waiting".
All
the s y m b o l s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e ca rry an e r otic i m p l i c a t i o n of place,
a t m o s p h e r e and action.
appropriate
antiphony
place
The desert mowi n g field at night s eem s an
for an erot i c e n counter.
The
image
of
the
betw e e n sun and moon has a s t rong impact on the reader
in
t e r m s of the e n c o u n t e r b e t w e e n the ma le and
c e r t a i n l y w a i t s for his b e l o v e d
for
her
with
freshened
a
with
sensual,
and
(a worn
sounds.
book)
which
His love is very
he r e f u s e s the P l a t o n i c
book of poetry.
female.
He
(the risin g full moon), but waits
book of p o etry
nat ural
the
will
be
earthly
and
love s uggested by the
old
The m a t r i x of the p o e m is "Waiting for his lover"
and
th e
h y p o g r a m "ero tic w a i t i n g "
is formed by
symbols
work
in the d r e a m cont ext of the poem.
the
m a t r i x is the m e n t i o n of the p l a c e (the s t u b b l e
the
m a t r i x is t r a n s f o r m e d into text by expansion,
which
The first a c t u a l i z a t i o n of
field)
and
sinc e we
are
d e a l i n g with s y m b o l s and their c o m p l e x rep resentations.
"Waiting”
is
not
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s by th e critics.
th e
poem
read
with
peculia r
R i c h a r d Wake f i e l d is one who sees
as a p o s s i b i l i t y of c o n c i l i a t i o n bet ween two
lovers
in
that/
gives
whic h it is "the m a n ' s d e s i r e to return
rise to p o e t r y "
(i92/i93).
separate
and
expla in
Mordecai M a r c u s
about
"the only b l a n k - v e r s e poem in £i ficty_Ls Will",
the
s p e a k e r "dreams most on the absent beloved,
fulfil l
its
talks
sayi ng
that
for she
could
or at least s h a r e the d r e a m s in which he in dul g e s in her
absence"
(29).
A l t h o u g h M a r c u s does not exp lai n his statement,
he a f f i r m s that the book of o l d - g o l d e n song is F r a n c e s P a l g r a v e ' s
Gaidea
Iteasuce
emphasizes
symbols
of
"allusion
scenery,
rich
the
(29).
Richard
d r e a m cont ext
P o i rier is
only
(a lt hough he does not
one
who
decode
the
the dream) m e n t i o n i n g that the book of p o e m s
to
po etic
sound"
among the natural
whic h is e m p h a s i z e d by the sp eaker
text
the
precisely
b e c a u s e of its
7 !::;
( 66).
s y mbology
sounds
is
of
an
the
" Waiting" is a
of
ero tic ism ,
which
n e e d s to be
"A D r e a m Pang",
d r e a m s of an
d e c o d e d in the d r e a m context o-F the poem.
As
the p o e m is a l s o a p r o j ection, sinc e the s pe ak er
erotic
w a i t i n g for his beloved,
using e l e m e n t s of
n a t u r e as s y m b o l s to e x p r e s s his sexua lit y.
RELUCTANCE
Out t h r o u g h the fi el ds and the wo ods
And over the w a l l s I h a v e wended;
I h a v e c l i m b e d the h i l l s of view
And l o oked at the world, and descended;
I h a v e c o m e by the h i g h w a y home,
And lo, it is ended.
The l e a v e s are all dead on the ground,
S a v e t h o s e that the oak is keeping
To ravel t h e m one by one
And let t h e m go s c r a p i n g and creeping
Out over the c r u s t e d snow,
When o t h e r s are sl eeping.
And th e dead le aves lie h u d d l e d and still
No l o nger blo wn hith e r and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The f l o w e r s of the w i t c h - h a z e l wither,
The he art is still ac hing to seek,
But t h e feet question " W hith er?"
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a tr ea son
To go with the drift of things,
To y i e l d with a g r a c e to reason,
And b o w and accept the end
Of a love or a s e a s o n ?
"Reluctance",
is r e m a r k a b l y musical .
the c o n c l u d i n g p oem of 6 B d h I s Will,
A c c o r d i n g to E l a i n e Barry,
a "y out hf ul r o m a n t i c ” in the t r a d i t i o n a l manner,
he s i n g s instead of t a l k i n g
ar c h a i c d i c t i o n
as
well
rhymes.
as
(22).
("I h a v e wended",
th e t r a d i t i o n a l
This explains,
"Ah,
when",
image s and the
the sp eaker is
and t h at's
why
to Barry,
the
" L o ”, etc.)
regularity
The poem, m a i n l y c o m p o s e d by a n a p e s t i c lines,
of
(23),
the
p r e s e n t s in
each
s t a n z a five lines with t h r e e b ea ts and the last
t w o beats.
the
At the m i m e s i s level,
end of a journey,
wo ods ,
over walls,
world
is
s t a nza.
He
that t h e
describes
When
he
connected
the
to
looked at
"it is e n d e d ”. This
with the imagery
of
ground
the
(“Save
In the last stanza,
th e
heart
to
the c r u sted snow of
next
those
winter,
the s p e aker says that it is a tr eason
accept with g r a c e the end of
"a
love
In the first s tage of reading,
combines
t h eme with p r o s o d y in the s e n s e that each s t a n z a
final
It
t a l k s about the end of a seaso n
of
is only in the last line that ano th er
i n t r o d u c e d with the word " L o v e ”,
th e text.
it seems that
or
the
a
poem
(with
line of two beats) p r e s e n t s a s h o r t e n i n g in the
way t he spea k e r
vitality.
the
and the w i t h e r e d flowers of the witc h-
season".
its
the
oak is k e e p i n g " and whic h will distu rb the sleep of the
a ster that is gone,
haz el.
goes home,
leav e s on the
o t h e r s in th eir time to fall),
last
this romantic spe aker desc r i b e s
c l i m b e d "the h i l l s of view",
immediately
with
m e n t i o n i n g that he walked thr oug h fields,
"and descended".
"it"
line
same
w a rmth
and
context
is
e x p a n d i n g our c o m p r e h e n s i o n
of
The word is i n t r o d u c e d casual ly,
almost im per cep tibly,
as a s i m p l e i l l u s t r a t i o n the s p e aker makes.
In spi te of that, we
immediately
feel that its i m p o r t a n c e is much greater in semio tic
terms.
With this new level of d i s c o u r s e unveiled, we start
r e a d i n g the text as a d o u b l e - l e v e l e d c o n s t r u c t i o n that talks,
on
the m i m e s i s level, about the end of a season; and on the semiotic
level,
wa s
about the end of a love. C o n s i d e r i n g that a human p r o b l e m
brought
up
to the context,
77
the first s t a nza
talks
about
movements
fields,
made in a s t a t e of love.
woods,
humanity.
in
walked
thr ough
and c l i m b e d w a l l s a c h i e v i n g "the h ills of view" of
He
"descended".
The spe ak er
l o oked
Now,
at
the
world
"it is ended".
with
loving
ey es
but
We note that the "it" ment i oned
our first r e a d i n g r e f e r r e d to s o m e t h i n g not clea r l y speci fie d
by the speak er.
ended
next
N o w we can d e c o d e it as if it r e fers both to
s e ason and an e n d e d love.
two
flowe rs,
stanzas
suggest
off cont a c t with the earth,
signs
All the images p r e s e n t e d in the
the end
of
(absen ce
appears
suggests,
the s o u r c e of life" (76).
o b v i o u s l y b e l o n g to a h y p o g r a m of
fertility
of
"a c o n g e a l e d i m p e n e t r a b i l i t y that cuts
they a p p e a r with p e r m u t a t i o n of markers;
snow,
fer tilit y
de ad leaves) and th e image of "cr usted sn ow"
a c c o r d i n g to D e n n i s Vail,
an
"f ertility",
that is,
with a m i n u s sign ("dead"
the lone a ster "is gone",
All
these
al though
each sign
leaves,
of
"crust ed"
and the flo wers "wither"). This
p o t e n t i a l h y p o g r a m is th e c l i c h e a s s o c i a t i o n between fertili ty in
n a t u r e and h uman f e rtil ity.
concludes
that
Now,
in the last stanza, the speaker
it is a t r e a s o n to "go with the drift of
things"
and to accept the end of a love or of a season. The m a t r i x of the
poem
may
be
s p e c i f i c one
activity").
described
the
title
("Reluctance
i t self
in
("Re luc tance" )
accepting
the
or
end of
is
reluctance
matrix
a
more
sexual
It is impo r t a n t to o b s e r v e that the end of a love is
in t e r m s of lack of f er tility and not in t e r m s of
s p e a k e r m i s s i n g his b e l o v e d as a p a r t i c u l a r special
model
the
the
to
fall
m e t a p h o r in which
accept t h e end of summer.
the
spea k e r
person.
The
s h ows
his
The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
into text is m a d e by e x p a n s i o n c o m b i n e d with
of
conversion,
s i n c e we have a s u c c e s s i o n of imag es of fe rti lity c o n v e r t e d
78
the
with
a m i n u s sign .
Denn i s Vail is the only cr itic
who talks about the
e r o t i c d i m e n s i o n the word love b r i n g s to the poe m (76),
E l a i n e B arry says that
not
the
end
Mordecai
h uma n
of a
Marcus
the text
unwillingnes
between
love"
to
Thompson
as a
accept
we
"represent
(3 9 ) and
dramatization
that
which
John
of
man's
is"
sees the main focus of the poem
(Eirie and Ice.;.
(66).
the
ana logy
dead
Ihe £uct and Ihcmaht of B'obert Ecost,
1 0 3 ).
on the other hand, a f f i r m s that the poem s u g g e s t s
"the d e p a r t u r e from p a r a d i s e "
only
"quiet
(24).
"the futili ty of try ing to r e v i v e a dead fall or a
G e o r g e Nitc hie ,
level
poem is
at all but the end of a love"
as well as f e e l i n g s for nature",
sees
Lawrance
se ason
emo tion al pivot of the
say s that the s c e n e and the actions
relations
D o y l e Jr.
"the real
althou gh
of " R e l u c t a n c e "
by f o l l o w i n g
(77).
suggests
the
As we can see,
the
di ff e r e n t readings,
circuitous
sequence
of
mimesis
and it
semiosis
is
that
can a p p r e h e n d the two leve ls of poet i c discourse.
"Reluctance"
this
c hapt er,
speaker's
since
it
c l o s e s the se cond group of lyrics
also r e p r e s e n t s a
s e x u a l i t y into nature.
pro j e c t i o n
of
As in the early poems,
of
the
nat ure
fu n c t i o n s like a scre e n in wh ich the s p e a k e r ' s sexual d e s i r e s are
desig ned .
In "Moon C o m p a s s e s " n a t u r e i l l u s t r a t e s the p r e s e n c e of
sensuous
love in the s p e a k e r ' s life.
In "Ghost
elements
provide
a
fer tility.
time
Pang "
the
spea k e r
with
Hous e"
contr ast
of
natural
life
and
In "To E a r t h w a r d " the spe a k e r t alks about the c h a n g e s
produced
in
his
way
of
facing
and " W aiting" s p e a k e r s project
79
love;
and in
in d r e a m s s e n s u o u s
"A D ream
desires
in
r e l a t i o n to thei r lovers,
s our c e .
sexual
All t h e s e poems,
u sing n a t u r e as their me taphorical
-Fusing the s i m p l e and the subtle, show
u n d e r t o n e s w hich have been d e c o d e d throu gh the
of what t e x t s say by "in d i r e c t i o n " ,
we h a v e to c o n s i d e r when we
awar e n e s s
which is the basic prin c i p l e
a n a l y z e the ga me of poet ic language.
>30
C H A P T E R III
E R O T I C I N V I T A T I O N S AND E X P E R I E N C E S
Much
more
i n t riguing and int en se than
the
po ems
about e r o t i c a s s o c i a t i o n s and p r o j e c t i o n s are the ones whi ch deal
w ith e r o t i c i s m in t e r m s of i n v i t a t i o n s and exp eriences.
usually
so
eroticism
simple
and
direct that we
end
up
They are
thinking
was an o b v i o u s c o n c e r n in F r o s t ' s poetry,
and the few
s t u d i e s on the s u b j e c t s h o w us ho w d i fficult it is to c h a n g e
stereotyped
i m age
of Fr ost as a n a t u r e poet.
that
Frost's
the
apparent
r e a l i s m is so s t r o n g that, even thoug h hi s lite rar y p r o d u c t i o n is
full
of i m a g e s c o n c e r n i n g h u m a n love and
poems
were
synecdochic
problems.
often
human
r e a d with the main fo cus on
sexuali ty,
nature
i m p l i c a t i o n s to s o m e of hum an beings'
But
and
his
its
psychological
as t h e a n a l y s e s of the last two g r o u p s of "na ture
l y r i c s " will show, as soon as we unveil th e s u b t l e m o v e m e n t s from
mimesis
to
semiosis
we r e a l i z e how
rich er
and
more
complex
first g roup of poem s a n a l y z e d in this
chap ter
F r o s t ' s l y r i c s may be.
The
is
t h e on e w h i c h d e a l s wit h e r o t i c i n v i t a t i o n s made by one lover
to a n o t h e r ,
a
poem
Eoens,
and t h e o p e n i n g poem of t h e gr oup is "The Pas tu r e " -
w h i c h a p p e a r s on p a g e i of
and
Selected Eoenis.
of
Boston,
Coroelete
"The P a s t u r e " is c o n s i d e r e d by
&i
\
North
the
majority
of
critics
as an e p i g r a p h both to
Frost's
pastoral
p o e t r y and to his p r o c e s s of poet i c making.
THE P A S T U R E
I'm g oing but to cl ean the p a s t u r e spring;
I'll only st op to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the w a ter clear, I may):
I shan' t be gone long - You come too.
I'm going out to fetch the little calf
T h a t ' s s t a n d i n g by the mother. It's so young
It t o t t e r s when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan' t be gone lon g.- You come too.
The eight iambic p e n t a m e t e r lines that c o m p o s e "The
P a s t u r e ” present
listener,
a
m o n o l o g u e b e t w e e n a speak er
in an e x t r e m e l y s i m p l e language.
and
a
silent
In the first s t a n z a a
s p e a k e r i n f o r m s the lis tener that he is go ing to c lean the leaves
of a p a s t u r e s p r i n g and adds that he may wait to "watch the water
c l e a r ” in t h i s pas tu re .
and
asks
s ays
th e
he's
mothe r",
when
Then, he says that he won't be g o n e
list e n e r to go
with him.
In the s e cond s t a n z a he
g oing to fetch a litt le c a l f “t h a t ' s s t a n d i n g by
the
and, a c c o r d i n g to him, this c a l f is so you ng it t o t t e r s
his
mother
"lic ks it with her
s t a t e m e n t that he won't be g o n e long,
more
long
t i m e to go with him.
tongue".
He
repeats
the
and asks the liste ner
one
Even in a first reading of this short
lyric we a l r e a d y r e a l i z e that the p o e m is an eager i n v i t a t i o n
a
list ener ,
know,
w h o is p e r h a p s a li ttle he sit an t to respond.
r e p e t i t i o n in lan gu a g e u s u a l l y w o r k s like a virus,
e x t r a p o s s i b l e m e a n i n g s to the w o r d s uttered.
"I
sh an 't
i n v i tation,
be
gone
no m a tter how many m i m e t i c facts are
82
As we
adding
The r e p e t i t i o n
lon g. - You come t o o ” m a kes
us
to
feel
p r esented,
of
that
is
th e mai n p u r p o s e of th e poem.
puts
an
emphasis
on
the
At the same time,
invit ati on it self
this re pet it ion
and
not
on
the
a c t i v i t i e s the s p e a k e r is about to perform.
If we read the
will
p o e m foc usin g on its str uctu re,
we
see that both s t a n z a s pr esent i n d i c a t i o n s of a stra t e g y
to
c o n v i n c e th e l i s t e n e r to go with the speaker.
the
In the first stanza
s p e a k e r s a y s h e ' s g oing to clean a p a s t u r e spri ng
that
he
will '‘
o n ly" stop to rake the leaves
away.
"on ly " i n d i c a t e s tw o f a c t o r s in th is situa tio n:
be
a f r a i d to go with the speaker,
th e c o m p a n y of the li st ener.
and
The
adds
sememe
the listener may
and the speaker re ally
wants
Then the s p e aker says he "may" also
wait to w a t c h the w a ter c lear in the pa sture, but s t a t e s he won't
be
gone
long.
He
is c e r t a i n l y c o n c e r n e d
about
assu r i n g
the
l i s t e n e r h e / s h e d o e s n ' t h a v e to worry about a p o s s i b l e dela y when
they
are
in
the p asture,
and this a c t u a l l y
brings
into
the
c o n t e x t a p o s s i b l e e r o t i c d i m e n s i o n to the poem. The spea k e r also
states
he will fetch a very young litthe calf from
adding
th e
totters
plans
that the calf,
when the m o t h e r licks it.
,
liste ner :
and
information
he
b e c a u s e of
its
its
After the s t a t e m e n t s
mother,
youth,
of
his
e m p h a s i z e s that he won't be gone long and asks
the
"You c ome t oo." It is inte r e s t i n g that, as John Swee ney
James
invi t a t i o n ,
Lindroth
we
have
dashes
i n d i c a t i n g " h e s i t a t i o n and e x p e c t a n c y "
Since
introductory
obser ve,
"The
Pasture"
p i e c e to his work,
was p l a c e d by
before
each
(16).
Frost
it s e ems logical that it
as
is
an
a
statement
from the a u t h o r a d d r e s s e d to the reader,
whic h aims to
convince
this r e ad er to join the poet in his c o u ntry activiti es.
This
is a l s o e m p h a s i z e d by the first a c t i v i t y the poet
to p e r f o r m ,
p a s t u r e sprin g",
facts.
The poet w an ts us to
"clean
and rake away th e leaves of the m i m e s i s to
"watch t h e w a t e r clea r " and see the deep "truth" of
that is b e y o n d th e s u r f a c e of the water.
w atch
about
s i n c e it r e f l e c t s F r o s t ' s t e n d e n c y to m a n a g e abstract
phenomena through provincial
the
is
significance
Thus, we are in vited to
t h e " m o m e n t a r y stay against c o n f u s i o n " in the clea r i n g
of
the p a s t u r e s p r i n g in a sta tement that w o r k s as a pe rfect ex ample
of the t y p i c a l b r i d g e s in F r o s t ' s work b e t w e e n n a t u r e and spirit.
What s e e m s rele v a n t here, though,
find in t h e p o e t ' s language,
with
the
long"),
end
and
"may",
and "I shan't
T h e s e poet i c s i g n s lead us to a
h y p o g r a m formed by the words' s e m e s and
this
gone
the
poten tia l
presuppositions,
h y p o g r a m m a k e s the m a t r i x of the poem (which woul d
"invitation")
be
transformation
into
presents
be
the r e p e t i t i o n of the s e m e m e "You c o m e too" at
of b o t h stan zas.
erot i c
which is v i s i b l e t h r ough the co ncern
time (sememes "only",
and
is the strat e g y of s e d u c t i o n we
extended
in to
"e ro tic
invit ati on" .
text o c c u r s by e x pansio n,
amplificatio
(rep e t i t i v e
since
s e n t e n c e s ) and
th e
tw o
be
Its
poem
stanzas
which h a v e th e p u r p o s e of leading the listene r to an action.
The
model
all
is
idiole cts .
the
sememe
Thus,
"only"
and
the
po etic
signs
ar e
we may p e r c e i v e that through hi s d i s c o u r s e the
poet t r i e s to s e d u c e the rea der to join him in c o u n t r y a c t i v i t i e s
and in the g a m e of poetry.
Given
the
t h r o u g h o u t hi s books,
at ten tion,
and
it
importance
Frost gave
to
this
"The P a s t u r e " has rec eived great
is
often
read as an
epigraph
to
lyric
crit ical
Frost's
s t yle as a poet. W i l l i a m Free d m a n s e e s the poem as "an i n vitation
84
to F r o s t ' s p a s t o r a l w o r l d "
(0i) and r e l a t e s the p a s t u r e sprin g to
n a t u r e as s o u r c e of the p o e t ' s art;
i n h e r i t a n c e (which
the leave s with
he w a n t s to get rid of);
hi s
poetic
the wait to see the
w a t e r c l e a r wi th p o e t i c v i g i l a n c e for the fruit of his labor; the
w a t e r w ith the c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n of n a t u r e in the ima gin ati on;
i n v i t a t i o n as a d d r e s s e d to the reader;
youth
and i n nocence,
poem
(02).
invitation
Lentricchia
pastoral
the
agrees
world,
r e ader
with
but
by a p o e t ' s
(75)
direct
and
a d d s the sexual i m p l i c a t i o n in
and
to
the
which as ks for hum an union,
as inn ocent
Frank
the
twice
as if
the
as t ran s p a r e n t as the cle are d
a c c e p t i n g as the lit tle
calf"
F r i t z O e h l s c h l a e g e r g i v e s the p o e m a total r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n
guided
poet
v oice
a
Free d m a n about the i n vitation
s p e a k e r w a n t e d to " b e c o m e as open,
p a s t u r e spring;
with
w h ich are feeli ngs we have after reading a
r e p e a t e d "You c o m e too",
(25).
and the little calf
J a m e s P o t t e r a l s o c o n s i d e r s "The Pa st u r e "
to
the
by
t h e fact that Frost cannot be c o n s i d e r e d
in the c l a s s i c a l sense.
response
pastoral
He t h inks the p o e m may be read as a
pastora ls:
Marlowe's
" The P a s s i o n a t e S h e p h e r d to His Love",
and Sir Walt e r
Rale i g h ' s
" The
Amo ng the
found
to
a
the i n v i t a t i o n a l R e n a i s s a n c e
Nymph's
R e p l y to the Shepherd".
in hi s readi ng,
good
he says that the c l e a r i n g of the
evidence
past u r e
may be taken a l l e g o r i c a l y "as a search for rene w e d p o e t i c energy,
imaginative
li s t e n e r
sexuality"
calf
he
release"
In relat ion to the i n v i t a t i o n to the
c o n c l u d e s that it is "a call to love
(06), and he also says that the act of
represents
"intrusion
(04).
(as
the c lean i n g of
the
pasture
sweetened
by
fetching
the
itself)
an
in the na tu r a l p r o c e s s by the p o e t - f a r m e r ra ther than
85
a r e t u r n to E d e n i c h a r m o n y with n a t u r e "
th e
other
hand,
intentions"
things
is
special
sees
"The P a s t u r e " as a
in w hi ch an i n v i t a t i o n to se eing and
extended
to
and
James
Lindroth
an
(128),
one of the most
(i6).
which
and
the
to
<ii).
poem
John
presents
L a w r a n c e Thompson,
who said
"gai n s
inte n s i t y
because
of
in
its
famo u s p o e m s insp i r e d by m o m e n t s of l o v emaking at
sin of i n t e n t i o n a l
6 B i osnaehy,
fallacy,
132). A v o i d i n g to fall in
I w ou ld like to i l l u s t r a t e this
crit i c a l s u r v e y wi th F r o s t ' s own co m ment about "The Pastu re",
a
a
p r e s e n t s the lyric in his Frost b i o g r a p h y as
Derry farm (Bokent E c a s t .1
the
that
countr y
Ihe Grt and I h o u a h t q ±
‘K a b e c t E nast that the poem
invitation
compression"
affirm
multiple
d o ing
love"
on
a l t h o u g h we can detect st rong d e s i r e in
the s p e a k e r ' s i n v i t a t i o n
and Ice-l
of
an i n v i t a t i o n to the re ader
a m b i g u i t y as its effe ct,
is
Reu b en Brower,
"hint
l i s t e n e r to "a kind of p o e t r y and to
Sweeney
Eire
(08).
in
r a d i o p r o g r a m c a l l e d L i s t e n Gme cic a:
Y o u see that has in it the same t h e m e
c l a r i f i c a t i o n — "Watc h
the water c l e a r " - And I'm
going out for the c l a r i f i c a t i o n . I'm i n t e r e s t e d in
th e c l a r i f i c a t i o n ,
but
YOU COME TOO!
(ListEQ
Gmenicax latenview with Bafcnett Enosit,
Composed
iambic
trimeter
invitational
song
1953)
by four o c t a v e s of iambic t e t r a m e t e r
lines,
involving
"A
Line-Storm
a
speaker
Song "
and,
is
a l s o an
again, a silent
1istener.
A LINE-STORM SONG
The l i n e - s t o r m c l o u d s fly t a t t e r e d and swift.
The road is for lor n all day,
86
and
W h e r e a m y r i a d snowy q u a r t z - s t o n e s lift,
And the h o o f p r i n t s van ish away.
The r o a d s i d e flowers, too wet for the bee,
E x p e n d th eir b l o o m in vain.
C o m e over the h i l l s and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.
The b i r d s h a v e less to say for t h e m s e l v e s
In th e w o o d - w o r l d ' s torn desp a i r
Than n o w t h e s e n u m b e r l e s s y e a r s the elves,
A l t h o u g h they are no less there:
All song in the w oods is c r u s h e d like so me
Wild, e a s i l y shat t e r e d rose.
Come, be my love in the wet woods, come,
W h e r e the b o u g h s rain when it blows.
T h e r e is the ga le to urge behind
And bruit our singi ng down,
And th e s h a l l o w w a ters afl u t t e r with wind
F r o m w hich to gather your gown.
What m a tter if we go clear to the west,
And c o m e not thr ough d r y - s h o d ?
For w i l d i n g brooch, shall wet your breast
The r a i n - f r e s h goldenrod.
Oh, n e v e r this whelm i n g east wind swel l s
But it s e e m s like the s e a ' s retu rn
To the ancient lands w h e r e it left the s h e l l s
B e f o r e t h e age of the fern;
And it s e e m s like the time when, af ter doubt.
Our love came back amain.
Oh, c o m e forth into the s t o r m and rout
And be my love in the rain.
The
violent
storm
fly swiftly ,
c o n t r o l l i n g imagery of the poe m is that
as it is p r e s e n t e d in the
first
stanza:
of
a
clouds
the road is desert, the "snowy q u a r t z - s t o n e s lift",
h o o f p r i n t s vanish, and the flowers are wet. The s p e a k e r d e s c r i b e s
the
storm
invitation
And
scenery
and
to his lover:
concludes
with
an
"Come over the h i l l s and far wit h
me/
be my love in the rain".
birds
are silent,
the
description
The se cond s t a n z a s h o w s
and e l v e s occ up y the scene.
that
the
The w o rld of the
w o o d s is in " d e s p a i r " and its song is " crushed" like a “s hattere d
r o s e ”.
At
the
end
of
the
s t anza
87
the
speaker
repeats
the
i n v i t a t i o n for t h e l i s t e n e r to be his love in the wet
the
woods.
f o urth s t a n z a t h e s p e a k e r d e s c r i b e s the wind c a r r y i n g
song,
th e
waters
l o v e r ' s gown),
a f l u t t e r i n g with the wind
(and
their
bringing
his
and t a l k s about the c h a n g e of an a r tificial brooch
for a gold e n r o d .
Then,
in the last stanza, the speaker compares
the east wind with t h e s e a ' s return to th e anc ient land,
the ag e of the fern",
He
In
"before
and with th eir r ene w e d love afte r a doubt.
e n d s the p o e m e m p h a s i z i n g the invi t a t i o n for the listener
to
go into the s t o r m and be his love in the rain.
Although
throws
our a t t e n t i o n
besides
the
invitation
some constant
is
in diff e r e n t di re ctions,
constant
for
th e rich ima ge ry of this lyric c o n stantly
his
and clear
lover
to
we can
repetition
of
whole
the
go with him into the
speaker's
wet woods,
f e a t u r e s at th e m i m e s i s l e v e l . The wild s t o r m which
d e s c r i b e d c o n t a i n s s e m e s of v i o l e n c e that
the
perceive,
poem.
We k n o w that
the
clouds
rem ain
th roughout
"fly",
the
stone s
"lift", h o o f p r i n t s "v anish", the w o o d s are in "de spair", t h e song
of
the w o o d s is " c r u s h e d " like some e a s i l y " s h a t t e r e d " rose,
have
wind,
a "gale" c a r r y i n g th eir song,
and
hypogram
the
of
"whelming
violence
east
the w a t e r s
wind
swells".
birds
fuse
"ex pan d
that
completely,
In the first two s t a n z a s the
and
we
i n f e r t i l i t y in the scen e r y .
hypogram
have the d o m i n a t i o n of
two
with
potential
suggest
(the flow e r s bei ng
t h e i r b l o o m in vain", the road is des ert,
are silen t).
violence
This
is linked with s o m e imag es
a n o t h e r pote n t i a l h y p o g r a m of i n f e r t i l i t y
wet,
"affluter"
we
too
and the
hypograms
violence
and
In the last two stan zas , though, the
will interact with a
88
p otential
hypogram
of
fertility
th e
(the wind will " b r u i t ” their song; the wa ter will bring
l o v e r ' s gown;
they will wet their shoes;
will wet the l o v e r ' s br east;
life,
the
as in th e anci ent
storm
doubt).
seem
will
be
a fresh go ld enrod
the sea will return, preg nan t of new
land b e f o r e the age of the
as
s t rong
as
a
love
" f e r n ”;
renewed
after
and
a
In t h e s e last two s t a n z a s the c o u p l e ' s erot i c a c t i v i t i e s
to
r e p l a c e the
s c e n e s of
s t a g n a t i o n and
infertility
of
the b e g i n n i n g of the poem. The imag es of birth and renewal are so
s t r o n g here,
result
that it s e e m s i m p o s s i b l e not to think of t h e m as the
of a
wild sexual act ivity.
c l e a r enough:
storm,
the
alluding
hi s
The s p e a k e r ' s invi t a t i o n
"Be my love in the rain".
speaker
describes
More than d e s c r i b i n g
his own vi olent
to i m ages of i n f e r t i l i t y and fer til ity
love
to go with him.
p o e m (violence,
fert ili ty,
poetic
are
signs,
all
is
a
sexual
desire,
while
inviting
The t h r e e p otent ial h y p o g r a m s of
the
and in fer til ity ), with its cl as semi c
composed
by
the
words'
semes
and
p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s , and they are r e s p o n s i b l e for our d e c o d i n g of the
matrix
l ose s
one
"e rotic invitation".
But here,
this ero tic
in vitation
its s e m e s of s o f t n e s s and d e l i c a c y which c h a r a c t e r i z e d the
in "The Pastu re".
Thi s i n v i t a t i o n is vio lent as th e
storm,
and e n g u l f s both s p e a k e r and liste ner as a whel m i n g east wind. As
th e last two lines of the lyric say,
the speaker w a n t s his lover
to go into the s t orm and "rout", bein g his love in the rain. Even
at
the p r o s o d i c level,
lines
with
iambic
the i n t e r c a l a t i o n of
trimeter
lines,
as
iambic
well
as
tetr a m e t e r
the
rhyme s
A B A B C B C D ..., a l l u d e s to the fusion of two diff erent e l e m e n t s in a
t u r b u l e n t rhythm.
occurs
Finally,
by expansi on,
the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from m a t r i x to text
s i n c e the m a t r i x is e x p a n d e d in r e p e t i t i v e
89
sentences,
th e model
semes,
and s e m e m e s thro u g h o u t the poem, star t i n g from
(the p r e s e n t a t i o n of the l i n e - s t o r m clouds).
George
stating
that
experience,
Nitchie
sees m o r e d e t a i l s in
this
lyric,
it " r e c o r d s a powerfu l but a m b i v a l e n t l y felt
t o u c h e d with a hint of s e n t i m e n t a l roma n t i c
love
sadism "
(66). R i c h a r d W a k e f i e l d s a y s that the spea k e r sees in " c o ntinentshaking
geological
strength
f o r c e s ” a paral lel to his desire,
of p a s s i o n is s p e c i f i c a l l y e q u a t e d with th e
the w orl d to a m o r e p r i m i t i v e ,
also
decodes
absence
spite
of
more chao t i c state "
retu rn
p o l l i n a t i o n in the flowers,
(175).
of
(174/175). He
the i m a g e r y of wast ed f e rtility s u g g e s t e d
of the forc e of t h e poem,
response
s ince "the
and c o m m e n t s
by
that,
we have no hint of the
D e n n i s Vail a l s o m e n t i o n s the vio le nt
the
in
lo ver's
langua ge
and s e m e s of the poem, s a y i n g that
It is p r e c i s e l y the viol ent (though temporary)
d e s t r u c t i o n of th e c o n t r o l l i n g spirit,
the tyr ann y
of n o r m a l c y ,
a kind of e n t r e n c h e d
death,
that
p e r m i t s t h e pair,
t h r o u g h th e e x e r c i s e of human
vo li t i o n ,
to ent er the scene, to b e c o m e its center
of a t t e n t i o n ,
and to a p p r o p r i a t e it to their own
needs,
and
so m akes p o s s i b l e the renew al of the
h i g h e r life of "love".
(65)
Vail
also
consequence
v a nish
explains
of the
that
the
of
a b s e n c e of birds; that
the
(65),
song
of the woods.
the east,
and that the
singing
"the d i r e c t i o n of orig ins",
speaker
is
is
a
that
g e o g r a p h i c a l ta bu la
the c o u p l e
replaces
He m e n t i o n s the fact that the wind r ises
d i r e c t i o n of ne w d i s c o v e r i e s "
th e
of
elves
the h o o f p r i n t s
l e aves th e pair with "a tem por al and
rasa "
of
presence
the
in
and goes to the west, "the
(65). To Vail, a l t h o u g h the p u r pose
to comm it h i m s e l f
90
to
a
situation
"where
reticence
is
individuals
of no avail and t h e r e is...
(or
invitation
may
pair)
be
and
a d d r e s s e d to
v iolence.
Even
the text,
h i s good point
nature
is
couple's
i n v i t ation s,
concerning
e l emental
the
(65).
between
forces"
reader
(66)
without
t h o u g h he fails in deco d i n g the
identified
n e ed"
the
contact
the
semant ic
erot ic s ig ns of
is th e c o n c l u s i o n that "the uphea val
wit h the internal upheaval
Among the p oems which
the
deal
that
with
is
in
the
erotic
"A L i n e - S t o r m Song" is u n d o u b t e d l y the most expl ici t
the s p e a k e r ' s intent io ns.
As
we
shall see,
erotic
d i m e n s i o n s in "A P r a y e r in Spr i n g " are much more subtle.
A P R A Y E R IN S P R I N G
Oh, g i v e us p l e a s u r e in the f lo we rs today;
And g i v e us not to think so far away
As t h e u n c e r t a i n harve st; keep us here
All s i m p l y in the s p r i n g i n g of the year.
Oh, g i v e us p l e a s u r e in the or chard white,
L i k e n o t h i n g e l s e by day, like g h osts by night;
And m a k e us hap py in the happy bees,
The s w a r m d i l a t i n g round the perfect trees.
And m a k e us happy in the da rting bird
That s u d d e n l y a b o v e the bees is heard,
The m e t e o r that t h r u s t s in with n e e d l e bill,
And o f f a b l o s s o m in mid air s t an ds still.
For t h i s is love and noth i n g
The w h ich it is r e s e r v e d for
To s a n c t i f y to what far ends
But w h ich it only n e e d s that
else is love,
God a b ove
He will,
we fulfill.
At t h e m i m e s i s level we seem to have a s p e a k e r
a p r a y e r a d d r e s s e d to God ("Oh,
In
th e first stanza,
present,
give us...",
"And m a k e us...").
the s p e aker w a n t s to find p l e a s u r e in
e n j o y i n g f l o w e r s in the s p r i n g i n g of the year,
9i
and
the
without
thinking
second
ab out
the " u n c e r t a i n h a r v e s t " of the
qu atr ain,
he
mentions
future.
the p l e a s u r e he
In
wan ts
the
to
feel
b e c a u s e of th e o r c h a r d white, wh ich is extr e m e l y beau tiful during
th e day, and like g h o s t s (because of the w hite flowers) by night.
He
also
swarm
w a n t s to be h app y b e c a u s e of the
go
around
"pe rf ect
trees".
"happy
In the
bees",
third
whose
qua train
he
m e n t i o n s a d a r t i n g bird that flies a b o v e the bees and t h r u s t s his
bill
into
a
blossom
hummingbird),
" Thi s
is
(making
and then,
love
and
us
conclude
in the final stanza,
n o t h i n g else
is
love".
that
is
a
he c o n c l u d e s that
He
regardless
of what G o d ' s p l a n s for the future are,
enjoy
magic
the
it
m o m e n t s of the s p r i n g i n g of the
thinks
that,
he needs
year.
As
to
in
F r o s t ' s " C a r p e Diem", we s e e m to hear a voice ordering "Be happy,
happy,
happy,/
throughout
the
obse r v e s ,
of
the
And
four
" T h e r e is,
seize
the
day
of
s t a n z a s of the poem.
plea s u r e "
As
(335/336)
Richard
Po irier
first, an e v o c a t i o n of a f o r t u i t o u s moment
e x t r a o r d i n a r y natur al b e a u t y , " and the me trical h a r m o n i e s
p o e m s e e m to "teach us s o m e t h i n g about h a r m o n i e s in
of
nature"
( 2 i 0 ) . In fact, the four q u a t r a i n s of iambic p e n t a m e t e r lines and
the
r e g u l a r r h y m e s c h e m e seem quite a p p r o p r i a t e to the
delicacy
and e q u i l i b r i u m of the s p r i n g i n g time, as well as to th e serenity
of his p r a y e r to God.
In a sec ond s t a g e of reading,
certain
signs
though, we feel that
sugge st a n o t h e r level of d i s c o u r s e in
whic h
the
p r a y e r to God g i v e s p l a c e to an argument addr e s s e d to a woman. As
we know,
s p r i n g in F r o s t ' s poet r y often poin t s to fert i l i t y
sensuality,
and
as in t h i s lyric,
the spri ng ima ger y s e e m s
and
to
unveil
a
s t r o n g sens u a l a p p e a l .
info r m e d
In the first
stanza,
we
are
that the s p e a k e r s e e k s p l e a s u r e in "the flowers today",
rega r d 1 ess
of the u n c e r t a i n harvest of the future,
totally
s e d u c e d by th e " s p r i n g i n g of the year".
stanza,
the
images
of the "orch ard white",
s i n c e he
In
the
second
and of the
"happy
b ees " w h o s e s w a r m go d i l a t i n g arou nd the t rees are cohe rent
the s e n s u o u s s p r i n g h y pogram.
that
of
meteor,
points
eroticism
in the dart i n g
presenting
hummingbird
the
"Immediately
fol lowi ng
strongest
that,
" t h r u s t s " his " n e e d l e bi ll" into a blossom.
out,
with
It is in the third stanza, though,
the h y p o g r a m a c h i e v e s its apex,
i mage
is
this image is
like
As
Poiri er
the
a s s e r t i o n that t h i s is love and nothing else is love"
a
direct
(212).
In
fact,
it s e e m s c l e a r that human sexu a l i t y is the main point here,
and,
as
Poirier
o bserv es,
the word " t h i s ” may sta nd
"human p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the sprin ging ,
and r e c r e a t i o n of body and soul " ( 2 i 2 ) .
for
in m o vi ng t o w a r d c reat i o n
The last t h r e e lines end
wi th
the s p e a k e r ' s argum e n t that God is the one wh o will
what
to
s a n c t i f y and what to dismiss,
and the w o r d s
ch oo se
"it
n e e d s that we fulf i l l " su ggest that to resist the flowers,
and
the
special
springing
is
a sin for t h ose who
t i m e of the year.
the
shou l d
As Ri cha rd W a k e f i e l d
enjoy
con clude s,
only
bees,
th is
the
p l e a d i r e c t e d to the w oman says that
all r e s u l t s from our a c t i o n s are so unce r t a i n
that
to dwell upon u n c e r t a i n t y is to cut o u r s e l v e s
of f
from p l e a s u r e and,
as the p o e m a r g u e s
later,
from G o d ' s plan.
(173)
Th e s p e a k e r of "A Praye r in S p r ing" uses the spring
metaphor
his
and w o r d s that seem to be a d d r e s s e d to God to
lover,
as in A n d r e w M a r v e l l ' s "To His Coy
93
convince
Mist r e s s " ,
that
t h e y s h o u l d look
their
souls
satisfying
for p l e a s u r e in the fl o wers of the present, when
transpire
"at
every
por e
t heir d e s i r e w h i l e they may,
with
instant
fires",
"like a m o r o u s b i r d s
of
p r e y ”. A l t h o u g h in "A P r a y e r in S p r i n g " the spea ker do es not seem
to b e c o n c e r n e d about the f u ture (he do es not want to think about
the uncertain harvest),
Marvell's
In
poem)
this
he a d m i t s that its
uncertainty
(as
is a good reas o n for them to enjoy the
sense,
present.
th e s p e a k e r in F r o s t ' s poem also hea rs
w i n g e d chariot h u r r y i n g n ear"
in
"Time's
(140/i4i).
T h r o u g h t h e pote n t i a l ero tic h y p o g r a m formed by the
semes
and
presuppositions
( p l e a s u r e in the flowers,
h a p p y bees,
of the s e m e m e s related
s p r i n g i n g of the year,
s w a r m dila t i n g ,
with
spring
orch a r d white,
and the da rt i n g bird t h r u s t i n g
his
n e e d l e bill into a b l o s s o m ) we are a w a r e that the poem is a l s o an
argument
to
convince
a
p r o b a b l y "coy"
lover,
p e r i p h r a s i s of the m a t r i x "er ot ic invit ati on" .
by
expansion,
related
since
each
stanza presents
bei ng
also
a
The poem is formed
a
diff e r e n t
image
to the e r o t i c h y p o g r a m and with the inv itation w hi ch
is
t h e matri x. We a l s o h a v e r e p e t i t i v e s t r u c t u r e s and sememes, which
expand
the
m a t r i x into the p o e m and unify it thro ugh
the
same
an
Eden
imagery.
George
situation,
being
M o r d e c a i Marcus,
to
not
Nitchie
t h i n k s the poem r e f l e c t s
a p r a y e r "for d w e l l e r s in P a r a d i s e "
and
r e m i n d i n g us that the e x p l a n a t i o n ma de by Frost
this p o e m wa s "He d i s c o v e r s that the g r e a t n e s s of
in f o r w a r d - l o o k i n g
celebrating
(77),
tho ughts",
considers
the lyric to
"an i m m e d i a t e f u l l n e s s made poig nan t by
94
*
love
lies
be
limitations
that
create
a framework"
(27).
Rich a r d W a k e f i e l d
light
into the s e m e m e s " u n c e r t a i n harvest",
t hro w s
some
e x p l a i n i n g that
...it is a v e n e r a b l e Pu ritan meta pho r,
and it
is an
i m m e d i a t e conc e r n for the
farmer
or the
o r c h a r d keeper,
and it is a mat ter of c o n s i d e r a b l e
w orry
to a maid e n w o n d e r i n g how to r e s pond to her
love r ' s adv anc es. It w o rks solidly and c o n v incingly
on all t h ree leve ls in t his poem.
<i73)
Richard
Poirier,
talking about the diff erent ways
thro u g h w h ich Frost and H o p k i n s c e l e b r a t e spring,
Hopkins
c o n c l u d e s that
would never talk about spri ng in t erms of sexual
union,
w h i l e Frost s u g g e s t s that
... spr inging e x i s t s in us,
and in two senses:
first,
in the man and woman who fall in love and
wh o fulfill
n a t u r e by "putting in the seed" and
w a t c h i n g for birth; and second, in the "us" who are
poets,
...
w h e rein is to be found the renewal
of
the body
and of that inno c e n c e n e c e s s a r y
to a
re newal of the s o u l . (2i2>
And
s ince
a
poem
is never to ta lly
c o v ered
by
the
languages,
t h e r e is still a m y s t e r y po inted by Frost
in
c o m m e n t e d by R e g i n a l d Cook:
the
1954,
other
day:
backward .
They
interesting!"
audience
critics'
in a lecture
"I no ticed s o m e o n e say ing /
the h u m m i n g b i r d is the only bird that
were
<55/56).
first.
That's
can
interesting
fly
- very
W h e t h e r Frost was merely p l a y i n g with the
or w h e t h e r this a b i lity of the bird is really
to a mor e c o m p l e t e c o v e r i n g of the text
relevant
is s o m e t h i n g still to
be
considered.
As we have seen,
are
"erotic
in vitations",
thes e thr ee poems, w h o s e
as
well as "Putt ing
95
in
mat r i x e s
the
Seed”
which also p r e s e n t s a tone of an erotic
( ana lysed in c h a p t e r i),
call,
who,
are all a d d r e s s e d to a silent
in
s tro n g
a c e r t a i n way,
se xual de sire,
co nsen t.
Although
"F low er
Gathering"
appeal
through
atte mpt
g rou p
to
of
lis tene r by an eager spe ake r
uses n a t u r e ima gery to give h i n t s of
tr ying to induc e his lover to an
other
lyric s such as "A Late Walk"
(iS/i3) a l s o pre sen t o v e r t o n e s of
act
poems
lack of
is c o m p o s e d of lyri cs which
an
ferti lit y)
present
of
(8/9) and
erot ic
the act of o f f e r i n g a flower to the b e l o v e d
o v e r c o m e the e n v i r o n m e n t a l
a
a
(an
this
direct
i n v i t a t i o n to th e be loved,
ei ther by invit ing the listen er to go
for a walk
invit ing her to go to the wet
or
in th e pastu re,
p r a y i n g to th e b e l o v e d for the p l e a s u r e of spring.
poems,
beginning
responses
of
with
l o v ers
"In a Vale",
who
face or
will deal
think
about
with
IN A VALE
W hen I was young, we dwelt in a vale
By a misty fen that rang all night,
And t h u s it was the m a i d e n s pal e
I k n e w so well, w h o s e g a r m e n t s trail
A c r o s s the r eeds to a w i n d o w light.
Th e fen had e v ery kind of bloom,
And for ever y kind t h e r e was a face.
And a v o i c e that has soun d e d in my room
A c r o s s the sill from the outer gloom.
Each cam e sin g ly u n t o her place.
But all came ev er y night with the mist;
And often they bro ugh t so much to say
Of t h i n g s of moment to which, they wist,
One so lonely was fain to list,
That the s tars were almo st faded away
B e f o r e the last went, heav y with dew,
Back to th e p lace from whic h she cam e W h e r e the bird was b e f o r e it flew,
next
di ffe rent
facing
experiences.
96
The
woods,
eroti c
W h e r e the f l o w e r was b e f o r e it grew,
W h e r e bird and flower were one and the same.
And t h u s it is I know so well
Why t h e flow e r has odor, the bird has song.
You h a v e only to ask me, and I can tell.
No, not v a i n l y t h e r e did I dwell,
Nor v a i n l y lis ten all the night long.
The
transcendental
He
m i m e s i s level of this lyric p r e s e n t s an almost
e x p e r i e n c e lived by a sp eaker when he was
t e l l s us that at
misty
left
that t i m e
lived in a
vale
where
fen had s t r a n g e n o i s e s b e c a u s e of m y s t e r i o u s m a i d e n s
garments
"across
the
r eeds
a p p e a r e d in b l o o m s in t h e fen
room
they
young.
that
s e emed
to
come
and
from
to
a
w i ndow
that
light". Fa ces
he list ene d to v o i c e s in
the
outer
a
dar kness.
his
Th ese
a c t i v i t i e s used to h a p p e n e v e r y night when the mist d o m i n a t e d the
place,
and the s p e a k e r t e l l s us that t h e s e v o i c e s had many thi ngs
to say.
In fact,
th e v o i c e s th ought that s i n c e he was so lonely
he was h appy to listen to them.
In the fourth s t a n z a the speake r
m e n t i o n s that t h e s e f aces and v o i c e s came from a p l a c e w h e r e "the
bird
was b e f o r e it flew",
"the flower was b e f o r e it grew",
w h e r e they were "one and th e same".
A c c o r d i n g to him,
l i s t e n e d to t h e m he k n o w s why "the flower has odor,
s ong " and,
to
these
almos t
b e c a u s e of that,
s i n ce
he
the bird has
he did not w a ste his t i m e listeni ng
c r e a t u r e s ma ny ni ghts.
At the end of the p o e m we
s u r e that it t a l k s about a t r a n s c e n d e n t a l
are
experience
in
s p e a k e r lea rns fro m m y s t e r i o u s e n t i t i e s (who ap pear
in
which
a
voice
and b l o o m - f a c e ) t h i n g s from the world.
But as soon as
link s o m e p o e tic s i g n s that a p p e a r from the b e g i n n i n g to the
of
and
the text,
we
end
we p e r c e i v e that this e x p e r i e n c e th e s p e a k e r faces
97
is a c t u a l l y a very d i f f e r e n t one.
In the first s t a n z a we h a v e the d e s c r i p t i o n of
the
t r a n s c e n d e n t a l e x p e r i e n c e and the p r e s e n t a t i o n of "mai d e n s pale",
which
immediately
be auty.
scene
T his
of
window
female
is foll owed by the p o p u l a r c i n e m a t o g r a p h i c
erotic
garments
light,
curiosity.
of
of
the
r e mind us of the ro man t i c patt ern
the
arousing
In
fa ces
the
leave
from
speaker's
(and
the r e e d s to a
the
reader's)
the seco n d s t a n z a we are informed that the blooms
the fen w e r e t r a n s f o r m e d into f ema l e faces and that
sounded
a
in the s p e a k e r ' s room from the outer darkness.
voice
It seems
rele v a n t that each face had a time to go to the room and that all
f ace s
went t h e r e e v ery night "with the mist".
the s p e a k e r until th e s t a r s "were almo st
room
"heav y with dew".
m o r e inte r e s t i n g ,
b ird
as
elements
faded away",
the flower b e f o r e it grew,
"one and the same".
undoubtedly
and
This fusion of male
r e m i n d s us of a sexual
provided
Now
him
the
that his e x p e r i e n c e s with
he k n o w s why the flower has odor
flower).
did n't
ty pical
and
"vainly"
and
female
whic h
th e bird has
mysterious
maidens
natures.
( a p r o v o c a t i v e image)
and
( which may sug ges t an attempt of p r o x i m i t y
When
the s p e aker e n d s the poem st ating
listen
all night long,
9 8
that
we are r e m i n d e d
b o y ' s stat e m e n t about e r otic learning.
is
In th e last
with a deep k n o w l e d g e of ma le and fe male
the bird has song
even
e x p e r i e n c e with
the m a i d e n s he k n o w s well "why the flower has odor,
seems
is
bird
fusion,
s t a n z a the s p e a k e r e x p l a i n s that b e c a u s e of this
It
leavi ng his
The p l a c e from wh ich they came
s t r e n g t h e n e d by the ot her erot i c s e m e m e s of the poem.
song".
with
s i n c e it p r e s e n t s i ntr i g u i n g images such as the
b e f o r e it flew,
flowe r
They s t ayed
All the
of
to
he
a
sememes
lis ted
above
("maidens
"bloom/maidens",
" garments
trailing",
f e m a l e v o i c e s in the s p e a k e r ' s room, b i r d / f l o w e r
as o n e and th e same,
an
pale",
and f l o w e r s "heavy with dew") rem ind us
of
almo st c i n e m a t o g r a p h i c pote n t i a l c l i c h é h y p o g r a m of e r o t i c i s m
composed
of
classemes,
and p r e s e n t i n g as a
model
th e
sem eme
" m a i d e n s pale". C o n s i d e r i n g the d e t a i l s of the ero ti c exper ien ce,
as
well as the s t a t e m e n t s m a d e by the sp eaker at the end of
poem,
the m a t r i x of the text may be "erotic learning",
t r a n s f o r m e d into text by an a l l e g o r i c a l expansion.
allegory
iamb ic
as
a
m ajor devic e,
tetrameter
experience,
each s t a n z a
(composed
of
mere
and they are all cohere nt with the matrix.
making,
(64).
Poirier
lists "In a Vale" as one
of
the
love
and
b e t w e e n t h e s o u n d s of love and a p o e t ' s love
M o r d e c a i Mar cus,
"allegorical
and flowers,
on the othe r hand,
spea ker
w h ich he i m a g i n e s in the s h a p e of m a i d e n s and who go
the c r e a t i o n ' s source ".
b r i n g i n g him v i s i o n s
But as M a r c u s p o i n t s out,
s i n c e the
s p e a k e r d o e s not re veal t h e k n o w l e d g e he s t ates to possess,
is
the i m p l i c a t i o n that
(£9/30).
described
Due
to
the
in the poem,
"its d r e a m l i k e s o urce is
o u t s t a n d i n g er otic power
the text.
there
inexpressible"
of
the
scen e s
p e r h a p s the m a t r i x "erotic l earnin g"
the one which g i v e s a fair e x p l a n a t i o n of the
of
of
r ead s it as a
f a n t a s y " about a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n
to hi s room "in r e s p o n s e to his lo neliness,
of
five
speaker's
p o e m s w hich i l l u s t r a t e s th e c o n n e c t i o n s "b etween sexual
sound"
which is
B e s i d e s having
lines) p r e s e n t s a new detail of the
Richard
poetic
the
ungrammaticalities
T h e r e is a s t r o n g linkage am ong the s e m e m e s
c o m p o s e the e r o t i c hypo g r a m ,
is
which
maki n g the poem "In a Vale " fun cti on
99
as a true p e r i p h r a s i s of its m a t r i x
ROSE POGONIAS
A s a t u r a t e d meadow,
S u n - s h a p e d and je wel -smal l,
A c i r c l e s c a r c e l y wider
Than th e t rees ar ound were talli
W h e r e w i n d s were quite exclud ed,
And t h e air was s t i f l i n g sweet
With the br eath of many fl owers A t e m p l e of the heat.
T h e r e we bowe d us in the burning.
As the s u n ' s right w o r s h i p is,
To pick w h e r e none co uld miss them
A t h o u s a n d orchises;
For th oug h the g r a s s was sc attered,
Yet e very second spear
S e emed tip p e d with w i n g s of color
That t i n g e d the atmosphe re.
We r a ised a s i m p l e pra yer
B e f o r e we left the spot,
That in the gen eral mow ing
That p l a c e might be forgot;
Or if not all so favored,
O b t a i n such g r a c e of h o u r s
That n o n e sh ould mow the g r a s s there
W h i l e so c o n f u s e d with flowers.
"Rose
experience
Picking
lived
P o g o n i a s " a l s o p r e s e n t s an a p p a r e n t l y
by
a s p e aker and a p r o b a b l e
lover
o r c h i s e s in a quite m y s t e r i o u s "spot".
magic
who
were
The p o e m s t r i k e s
us for its s i m p l i c i t y of d i c t i o n and n a t u r e imagery,
and each of
the t h r e e s t a n z a s p re se nt a diff e r e n t part of the deve l o p m e n t
the
mimesi s.
sett ing :
The
first
introduces
an
A m e a d o w is d e s c r i b e d as "s un -shaped",
c i r c l e s u r r o u n d e d by trees,
"bre ath
stanza
of
almost
of
sacred
"j ew el-s mall", a
with the s t i f l i n g sweet air from the
many flo we rs " that w inds coul d not spre ad
out.
All
t h e s e s e m e m e s seem to point to a holy place, the prop er p lace for
the
a d o r a t i o n of s o m e t h i n g sacred,
and only the last
line
("A
t e m p l e of the heat")
this
first
is felt as an i n t r i g u i n g u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y of
g r oup of lines.
The s e cond s t anza p r e s e n t s
( p r o b a b l y a s p e a k e r and a lover) that
worship
t he
sun
picking
the
colorful
like the a t m o s p h e r e .
plot,
this
one,
g r a s s w a s scat t e r e d ,
orchises.
every
for the word "b urning",
spear
that
seemed
Final ly,
th e p i c k i n g of the orc his es,
worship
when
mowers
the
link
in the last stanza, the
and we get to know
that,
they p erf o r m e d an other act
they p r a y e d for th e prot e c t i o n
b e f o r e leaving
first
wh ich we imme d i a t e l y
s p e a k e r p r e s e n t s the rest of the plot,
against
second
adds
P r e s e n t i n g the main actio n of the
with t h e " t e m p l e of th e heat".
of
He
s t a n z a s e e m s c oherent with the sememes of the
ex cept
besides
"we"
"bowed" in the "bur nin g" to
a thousand
although
a
spot.
of
the
place
it
seems
Altho u g h
c o n t r a d i c t o r y for them to pray agai nst m o w e r s sinc e they picked a
"thousand
orchises"
themselves,
we k n o w that they
were
fully
a w a r e of the w o r s h i p f u l way m o w e r s s h o u l d pick flowers from
sacred
place
place.
could
The s p e a k e r ends the p o e m by st ating that if
not
be
fully
p r otected,
it
A c c o r d i n g to R i c h a r d Poi rie r,
the
shou ld at least not
be m o w e d by a n y b o d y w h o could not p e r c e i v e the gras s so
with flowers.
that
conf u s e d
the end of the poem
may g r a m m a t i c a l y refer both to the "con f u s i o n or m i x t u r e of grass
and
f l o w e r s and to our b e c o m i n g c o n f u s e d and i m m o d e r a t e
of t h eir b e a u t y "
(209).
Although
imagistic"
work
because
A g n i e s z k a S a l s k a s t ates that "the
p r e s e n t s such a careful d e s c r i p t i o n of a
that
" w h a t e v e r r e f l e c t i o n the p o e m c o n t a i n s r e s ults
from
our r e s p o n s e to the object c o n t e m p l a t e d "
it o i
(i93),
nearly
sce ne
imme d i a t e l y
it
see ms
c l e a r that the p o e m itself p r e s e n t s a few u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s that
suggest,
b e s i d e s the h o l i n e s s of the scene, an erot ic dimen sio n.
Th e
i d i o l e c t s " t e m p l e of the heat" and "burning",
the
almost myst i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of the s cene cert a i n l y
sexual
seem
i m p l i c a t i o n to the expe r i e n c e .
c o m b i n e d with
to feel with their s e n s e s the " s a t u r a t i o n ” of that
sun and jewel s hape sugge st a u n i q u e place
trees
in
the sun,
in
the
the p i c k i n g of th e flowers,
ways
picking
holiness
prayer
wings
ways
whic h r e m i n d s us
of m a king
love.
of
to
The
color."
linka ge
contra st
between
and e r o t i c i s m puts an e m p h a s i s on the w o rshipful way of
sense,
meadow.
the p otenti al e r otic h y p o g r a m (formed by s e m e s
presuppositions)
Erotic
the
di ffe rent
the
lovin g the sp ea k e r and his lover had in that special
this
of
p r e s e n t s the contrast bet wee n
or chis es,
diff e r e n t
the
and the act of laying down
ear th to feel the g r a s s "t ipped with
their
between
Then,
"bowi ng" in the b u r n i n g may s ug ge st both the w o r s h i p
Finally,
of
of
by
This heat may a l s o in di cate the s a t u r a t i o n
of the a t m o s p h e r e with the p r o x i m i t y of their bodies.
of
meadow,
surrounded
which t h e a b s e n c e of wind leads to the "heat"
b r e a t h of the flowers.
a
The speaker and his lover
whose
act
b ring
unveils
E xp e r i e n c e " .
the true m a t r i x of the
text:
Its first a c t u a l i z a t i o n is "temp le
In
and
"Sac red
of
the
h e at" and e x p a n s i o n is r e s p o n s i b l e for its e n l a rgement into text.
It s e e m s that, a l t h o u g h the m i m e s i s level of the poem is s t r o n g l y
descriptive,
we a l r e a d y feel that the u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s point to
the
hyp ogr am,
e r o tic
m a king us a w a r e that the h o l i n e s s of
the
mo ment and of the p l a c e are on ly r e a l i z e d through the c h a r a c t e r s '
r e a l i z a t i o n of the ir h o l i n e s s as hum an b e i n g s c a p a b l e of a fusion
in
t h e m s e l v e s and in nature.
Much more than a spe cial p l a c e
to
pick
orchises,
that m e a d o w was the pro per p lace for an
act
of
w o r s h i p t o t h e sun in a t e m p l e of huma n heat.
Richard
P o i r i e r g o e s a littl e further and se es the
f l o w e r s c o n f u s e d with g r ass as the biblical e q u i v a l e n c e of flesh,
m a k i n g t h e p o e m a m e t a p h o r i c a l e q u i v a l e n c e be tween "the cyc le
birth
and
in f u s e d
death
with the heat of "human s e x u a l i t y "
observation
across
a
that
we
can p e r c e i v e an
p r a y e r f u l tone",
place "special
at
in the m e a d o w and the cyc les of
learning
Donald
s p e a k e r apart
making
it
experience
"Goin g
the
cu tting
in
role
(07) and M ordecai M a r c u s
H a y m e s in the point that the poem
way
("holiness"
v oice
r e m i n d i n g us that he w e a r s his p r i e s t l y
with
Pogonias"
"everyda y
Besides
a
in s h a p e and size " the sp eaker "glances h u morou sly
t h a n R o m a n t i c sol e m n i t y " ,
presenting
(209).
life",
Reub e n Browe r points out that
less
esthetic
human
of
with
agrees
symbolizes
"the
of life / and the p r o d u c t i o n of p o ems that set
from the s u r r o u n d i n g c o m m u n i t y " (£8/29).
a s i m p l e sexual e x p e r i e n c e in a country
the
More
code,
than
“Rose
p r e s e n t s a b e a u t i f u l a s s o c i a t i o n be tween tw o h y p o g r a m s
and
on e
"eroticism")
of
the
whic h
most
favorable
amo ng F r o s t ' s works.
for Wat er",
are
norm a l l y
portraits
co ntr ast ed,
of
sexual
T h e s e two h y p o g r a m s reap p e a r in
a poem which d e a l s with a moment of
b e a u t y and i s o l a t i o n of the lo vers in Nature,
reminding
intense
us,
as
G e o r g e N i t c h i e p o i n t s out, of the c o n s t i t u t i o n of a p r i v a t e world
by " A d a m and Ev e in p a r a d i s e "
(78).
GOING FOR WATER
The well was dry b e s i d e the door,
And so we went with pail and can
A c r o s s the fi elds b e h i n d the house
103
To seek the brook if still
it ran;
Not loth to have e x c u s e to go,
B e c a u s e the autu m n eve wa s fair
(T hough chill), b e c a u s e the fiel ds wer e ours,
And by t he brook our w o o d s were there.
We ran as if to meet the moon
That s l owly d a wned behi n d the trees,
The b a r r e n b o u g h s wit hout the leaves,
With o u t the birds, wi t hout the breeze.
But o n c e w i thin the wood, we paused
L i k e g n o m e s that hid us from the moon,
R e ady to run to h i ding new
With laug h t e r when she found us soon.
Each laid on othe r a s t a y i n g hand
To listen ere we dared to look.
And in the hush we jo ined to make
We heard, we k n e w we hear d the brook.
A n o t e as from a s i n g l e place,
A s l e n d e r t i n k l i n g fall that made
N o w d r o p s that flo ate d on the pool
L i k e pearls, and now a silv e r blade.
The first s t a n z a p r e s e n t s a kind of quest p e r f o r m e d
by a "we"
(either tw o p e r s o n s or a g roup of people) who,
because
of a dry well, go with "pail and can" to seek water from a brook.
The s p e a k e r s a y s that they did not want any e x c u s e to stay in the
house
b e c a u s e the "a u tumn ev e was fair",
and t h e w o o d s by th e brook were there.
meet
the fields w e r e t h e i r s
Then,
the moon" and c ould see the a u tumn b o u g h s
birds,
and
themselves
Then,
breeze.
Reaching
without
they paused
from the moon a r ound the t r e e s like g n o m e s
leaves,
and
hid
laughing.
"each laid on o ther a s t a y i n g h and" and in the "hu sh" they
made they heard the brook.
speaker
the woods,
they ran "as if to
Fi nally,
in the sixth quatrain,
the
d e s c r i b e s the sound of the brook as d rops of p e a r l s with
"a s l e n d e r t i n k l i n g fall".
i 04
Combined
quatrains
meaning
water
with th e p r o s o d i c simp l i c i t y of
of iambic t e t r a m e t e r
lines r h y ming ABCB,
the
the
s u r face
of "Goin g for Wa ter" s e e m s to be the activity of
fro m a brook e n l a r g e d with e xtra dose s of
reminding
“g n o m e s "
us of t h e mythical
is
taking
holiness,
quest of the Holy
Grail.
we c e r t a i n l y read the walk
much
d e e p e r than a s i m p l e physic al activity.
that
we
even
Altho ugh
the on ly s e m e m e r e l a ted with magic and myth in
poem,
six
the
from h o u s e to woo ds as som ething
And yet,
need to unvei l som e u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s
befo r e
we
we
feel
can
a p p r e h e n d the d i r e c t i o n of the po etic in direct ion in the semiot ic
level of di scourse.
Beginning
find
many
with the title,
“Going for
s e m e m e s in the p o e m that sug gest this
d r y n e s s to wetne ss.
Water",
movem ent
We have the o p e n i n g scen e of a dry well,
p e o p l e with pail and can s e e k i n g for water, and the image of
" b a rren b o u g h s " w ith o u t
leaves,
birds,
we
from
of
the
or breeze. Th ese s e m e m e s
of d r y n e s s and a r i d i t y c ontr ast with the brook,
which is the one
that d e a l s with w e t n e s s and is the object of the quest.
We have,
thus, the d o m e s t i c a r i d i t y c o n t r a s t e d with a s o urce of renewal in
the woods,
level,
quest,
And
beyo n d the b o u n d s of the house. S ince at a bi olo gical
water is on e of the most powerfu l s u s t a i n e r s of life, the
if s p i ritual,
has a
symb o l i c
d i m e n s i o n in F r o s t ' s canon for "it s i g n a l s a d e s i r e for
openness
- a
the
brook,
is a d e s i r e for s o m e t h i n g equa l l y important.
thrust
of
as Frank L e n t r i c c h i a observes,
self towar d the e x p e r i e n c e of
itse l f and with o t h e r s ” <45).
go
in quest of
brook,
and,
integration
with
In this sense, the "we" of the po em
both a physical and a sp iri tual ren ewal
as D e n n i s Vail states,
105
in
the
the c o m p a r i s o n with "gno mes "
("who
ar e
supposed
themselves
hidden")
usua l
sublunary
to k n o w of h i d d e n t r e a s u r e s
talks
in
who
keep
" e m p h a s i z e s the q u e s t ' s d i f f e r e n c e from
effort and le nds it the g r o t e s q u e n e s s
the
it
will
order to unveil the kind of "renewa l" the
poem
c e r t a i n l y h a v e for o r d i n a r y eyes "
In
and
(63).
about we h a v e first to d e t e r m i n e who are the "we" that
quest
for the brook.
John Robe rt D o y l e Jr.
has
go
brilliantly
s t a t e d that d u r i n g the s e c o n d s t a n z a we be gin to n o ti ce a not yet
suspected
relationship
together,
a v o i d i n g any e x c u s e s to stay in the hous e to go to the
woods
(i39).
b e t w e e n a boy and a girl who want to
It s e e m s relevant that the quest h a p p e n s at
be
night,
and t h e p e o p l e run "as if to meet the m oon" in the a r i d i t y of the
first
qua train s.
Then we can hear t h e i r laughter and
h i d i n g from th e moon in the woods.
stanza
see
them
A c c o r d i n g to Doyle, the fifth
r e a c h e s th e c l i m a x of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p be tween t h e s e
two
persons because
The “s t a y i n g h a n d ” of the first line has three
me anin gs:
to stop motion,
to check sp eech and/ or
laughter, and to join p h y sical ly. In the s i l e n c e of
the pause,
the t w o " l i s t e n " intently.
Not "da ri ng
to look",
th e c a u t i o n of not dar ing
anything,
heightens
the s e n s e of m o t i o n l e s s p a u s e
and
listening. Ev en t h i s t e n s e s i t u a t i o n is i n t e n s i f i e d
by r e p e tition, "in the hush we joined to m a k e ...".
"Joine d" has t h r e e me ani ngs:
joined physically, in
that
each has
laid "on othe r a s t a ying
hand";
joined e m o t i o n a l l y ,
in that each so a d m o n i s h e d by
the ot her h a s b e c o m e hus hed; joine d s y m p a t h e t i c a l l y
with nature,
in that the q u i e t n e s s of both a g r e e s
wi th the s t i l l n e s s h o l d i n g the woods.
(Î39)
Taking into c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e s e s e m e m e s that reveal
the
we as a boy and a girl,
we b eg in to suspect that th e
Î06
quest
•for the re newa l and w e t n e s s of the brook has some t h i n g to do with
eroticism.
The h y p o g r a m of a r i d i t y s u g g e s t s a s terility which is
immediately
represents
contrasted
("To
with the d e s i r e for ferti lit y the
seek the brook if still
it
ran").
d e c o d i f i c a t i o n of an ero tic h y p o g r a m in the quest
th e i d i o l e c t s "Not loth to have e x c u s e to go",
the
moon",
"laug ht er ",
make" )
makes
words,
the
semes
"s taying hand",
c lear the
connection
" G oing for F e r t ility ".
the
(actual ize d
by
"ran as if to meet
b rook/f e r t i l i t y .
In
other
(formed by the words'
leads us to the m a trix of
w h ich may be a sli gh m o d i f i c a t i o n of the
to
Then,
and "hush we joine d to
potential hypogram "eroticism"
and p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s )
brook
the
poem,
tit le "Going for W a t e r ”
The model is the t itle its elf and the
m o v e m e n t m a t r i x - t e x t h a p p e n s t h r o u g h expa nsi on, s i nce we hav e the
text
It
p r e s e n t i n g diff e r e n t
is
worth
predominant
Fertility
observing
i n f o r m a t i o n s that lead to the
that,
although
h y p o g r a m in the poem,
is a l s o pr esent,
"e rot icism"
matrix.
is
the
the minor h y p o g r a m ari d ity
even th ough we can fuse t h e m in
X
the
first one.
Finally,
his
account
and,
as L e n t r i c c h i a observe s,
"crucially
be en
and
in the last stanza,
the
sound
of
the
brook,
the a dverbial m o d i f i c a t i o n "now" -
r e c a p t u r e d for the pres ent
affective memory"
the
on
r e p e a t e d - s u g g e s t s that th e magical ti me of play has
fully
activity
concentrates
the sp eaker inte r r u p t s
moment
of
int ense
(43). The w hole p o e m is an account of an erotic
in th e woods,
source
in a
of renewal
in wh ich the sp eaker and his lover found
for th eir dry well in
the
fert ility
of
human love.
O f ten
c l a s s i f i e d as a "love poem" or a "we
i 07
poem",
"Going
-For W a t e r " is seen by R e u b e n Brow er as “a poem in which a
mom ent
of a c u t e p e r c e p t i o n of natu r a l bea uty is also
mo ment
of
relation
between
people"
the
f i elds
as
a " s y m b o l i c visit of ren ewal to the s o urce
(205) ■,
and
Frank
a
of "mar r i e d lovers" to a brook
L e n t r i c c h i a s a y s that
journey
perfect
Darrel
(181).
emphasizes
"parallels
journey
two
a
the
in
of
ph ysical
to the gay p l a y - w o r l d in the
Abel
the
life"
journ ey
mind
where
Frost's
“most
f r e e d o m and p s y c h i c w h o l e n e s s are r e g a i n e d ” (41).
Po i n t e d
symbolic"
reader
that
poems
(139)
by R e uben B r ower as one of
"All R e v e l a t i o n " is
what
the
c l a s s i f i e s as " o b s c u r e " or " a m b i g u o u s " poetry.
the
text
i l l u s t r a t e s quit e well F r o s t ' s idea
s h o u l d not be seen a h e a d like p r o p h e c i e s ,
"in r e t r o s p e c t " ,
b e i n g "a r e v e l a t i o n ,
as much for th e poet as for the r e a d e r "
E t Q S t ,i 9 ). T a l k i n g about reve l a t i o n ,
or dinary
It
seems
that
p oem s
but felt with s u r p r i s e
or a series of revelati on,
(Sele cte d ElLQSe of Bobeict
the poe m also r e v e a l s itself
for the r e a d e r and for th e poet who feel it in retrospec t,
decoding
th e de viant d i s c o u r s e of th e
c i r c u i t o u s s e q u e n c e of s i g n i f i c a n c e .
of poetry,
mimesis,
performing
after
the
Following Frost's definition
"All R e v e l a t i o n " is a typical e x a m p l e of a p o e m which
. . .assumes d i r e c t i o n with the first line laid
down,
r u n s a c o u r s e of lucky events, and ends in a
clarification
of
life - not n e c e s s a r i l y
a great
clarification
such as s e t s and c ults ar e founded
on,
but
in a m o m e n t a r y stay against
confus ion .
(i8)
ALL R E V E L A T I O N
A head t h r u s t s in as for the view,
But w h e r e it is it t h r u s t s in from
Or what it is it t h r u s t s into
108
By that C y b ' l a e a n avenue,
And what can of its coming come,
And w h i t h e r it will be with draw n,
And what t a k e h e n c e and leave behind,
T h e s e t h i n g s the mind has pond e r e d on
A mom ent and still as king gone.
S t r a n g e a p p a r i t i o n of the mind!
But the i m p e r v i o u s geod e
Was entere d, and its inner crust
Of c r y s t a l s with a ray c a t h o d e
At e very point and facet glow ed
In a n s w e r to th e me nt al t h r u s t .
E y e s s e e k i n g the r e s p o n s e of eyes
Brin g out the stars, brin g out the flowers.
Thus c o n cent ratin g earth and sk ies
So n o n e need be af raid of size.
All r e v e l a t i o n has been ours.
The
regularly
four
r h ymed
s t a n z a s of five iambic t e t r a m e t e r
p r e sent a formal unity that
somehow contrasts
w ith th e t u r b u l e n c e and o b s c u r i t y of its content.
second
aven ue",
and
can of its c o m i n g come",
"what it is it t h r u s t s
"whith er it will be
as
a " s t r a n g e a p p a r i t i o n of the mind",
q u e s t i o n s do not h a v e t i m e to be answered,
a
as
into",
This
and a l t h o u g h
is
the
a g e ode is en tered by
ray
cathode
and p r e s e n t s its c r y s t a l s at
facet "
glowing
in
"every
a n swer to this mental thrust.
s t a n z a the spea k e r s a y s that stars,
a
withdra wn" ,
"what take h e n c e or leave b ehi n d " can be answered.
faced
and
is gon e b e f o r e many q u e s t i o n s such
" w h e r e it is it t h r u s t s in from",
and
The first
s t a n z a s present a head that " t h r u s t s in" for a v i e w by
"Cyb'laean
"what
lines
In
point
the
and
last
fl owe rs and the c o n c e n t r a t i o n
of e a rth and s k i e s are the result of eyes that seek "the r e s p o n s e
of eyes",
"All
and s t a t e s that nob ody sho uld be afr aid of size
sinc e
R e v e l a t i o n " has been ours. At first sight the p o e m s eems to
109
talk about mind and reali ty,
revelations
Reuben
in
in the s e nse that the mind d i s c o v e r s
c o m m o n t h i n g s of huma n ex istence.
Brower's
reading
of
the
poem
In
he
fact,
in
emphasizes
th e e f f e c t s of the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n mind and reality,
seeing
th e g e o d e ("a n o d u l e of s t o n e h a ving a cav ity lined with crys t a l s
or m i n eral m a t t e r " ) as a m e t a p h o r of eart h ("ge-ode, earth-like")
as well as t h e C y b ' l a e a n a v e n u e (from Cybele, g o d d e s s of earth"),
and
the
ray
c a t h o d e as a m e t a p h o r of the mind that
makes
g e o d e s h i n e its c r y s t a l s b e c a u s e of the light of the rays
Thus,
(140).
the ima ge of the head t h r u s t i n g in for a view may be taken
both as a " physical t h r u s t i n g into a cave",
“an
the
e n t r y of mind into e x p e r i e n c e "
(140).
a "birth image",
This r e a d ing is
or
also
b a sed on t h e n o t i o n that the e yes that seek r e s p o n s e s "bring out"
th e s t a r s and flowers,
the y see.
bein g
r e s p o n s i b l e for (or crea t i n g )
what
B r o w e r says that in s p i t e of this cr ea t i o n of the mind
over
r e a l i t y we still h a v e a revelation,
line
of
but he sees
the
last
the p o e m as an iro nica l stat e m e n t a sserting that
revelation
is limi t e d "
p o e m "Frost
i l l u s t r a t e s his t h e m e of d i s c o v e r i n g form whic h leads
to order in life",
"t rut h"
that
"man
(142).
"this
Dona l d Grei n e r says that in
this
and t h i n k s the r e v e l a t i o n of the p o e m is
(he)
ne ed not fear
relative
size"
the
(400).
C o n s i d e r i n g the p e n e t r a t i o n and w i t h d r a w a l from e n c l o s e d p l a c e s a
p o s s i b l e " e c h o of P l a t o ' s cave"
that
points
"the s e n s e of a real c o n t i n u i t y bet w e e n the w orld of
emotion
(30).
to
(67), G e o r g e N i t c h i e
out
human
and the wo rld of s t a r s and f l o w e r s is cl ear" in the poem
Finall y,
Peter H a y s p r e s e n t s a tota l l y diff e r e n t approach
the text c o n s i d e r i n g F r o s t ' s usual me th od of s t a r t i n g a
from a na tu r a l object.
He r e a d s the p o e m quite li terally,
110
poe m
seeing
t h e c a t h o d e ray
...
i l l u m i n a t i n g c r y s t a l s wit h in the g eode as
an a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i o n of a t e l e v i s i o n
tube,
in
w h ich a s t r e a m of e l e c t r o n s p l a y i n g on
fl uorescent
c r y s t a l s w i t h i n the mineral h o l l o w of the t u b e does
indeed
bring
out p i c t u r e s of s t ars and
flowers.
(£87)
Trying
to
p r o v i d e t h e r e a der with n e g a t i v e
p r i n t e d a n a l y s e s of th e poem,
" a t tack
from
television"
natu r e
ind ir ectl y
ta king into acco unt F r o s t ' s
skepticism
s c i e n c e and his typical
s e e m s most rele v a n t
concentrate
or
(290),
either
on
irony rela t e d to the
subject.
in t h e se a n a l y s e s is the fact that they
the
surface
meaning
in F r o s t ' s " c o n v e n t i o n a l " s t yle as a writer.
of the
text
It is dif ficult
to a g r e e that th e last t w o s t a n z a s are ironical s t a t e m e n t s
partial
revelations,
the
he c o n s i d e r s the text to be a mere
on t h o s e w h o t a k e th eir k n o w l e d g e of
regarding
What
e v i d e n c e about
about
for th eir rich im agery see m to point to an
e x t r e m e l y s e r i o u s and quite imm ens e r e v e l a t i o n the huma n mind can
perceive.
After
linking som e poeti c s i g n s that form a
d e s c r i p t i v e s y s t e m of h uman concept ion,
complete
the text b e c o m e s itself a
great r e v e l a t i o n m a s q u e d in a g e o logical code.
Beginning
with
the first stanza,
thrusts
for
a v i e w by a C y b ' l a e a n a v e n u e is
genesis
of
an e x p e r i e n c e that may have stro n g
implied
in
the
line
"And what can of
its
the
head
presented
re sults,
co ming
that
as
the
as
is
come".
As
R i c h a r d P o i r i e r obs erves,
Sexuality
is sim ply "there",
as it is in so
much
of F r o s t ' s w r i t i n g s - the s p e c i f i c sexual act
of " p u t t i n g in the seed" - but it is s y n t a c t i c a l l y
ill
and
in every o the r way made c o n t i n u o u s with the
ge ner al
hu man
thrust
toward p e n e t r a t i o n
and
creativity.
Thus, "what can of its coming co me" is
kept from being quite as spec i f i c as it might sound
by the
initial u n c e r t a i n t y about whe ther
in the
first
s t a n z a a p h a l l u s is e x p l o r i n g a v a gina or a
c h i l d ' s hea d
is e m e r g i n g to look into the world.
<22)
If
we c o n s i d e r the p o s s i b i l i t y that the head
thrusts
is a p h a l l u s (and con s e q u e n t l y ,
the way
the s p e r m t a k e s to a r r i v e at the
that
the Cyb' l a e a n aven ue is
womb),
the
que stions
about h u m a n e x i s t e n c e (" where it is it t h r u s t s f r o m ”, "What it is
it t h r u s t s into",
be w i t h d r a w n " ,
with
the
"what can of its com i ng come",
"whither it will
and what take h e n c e or leave behind ") are coherent
beginning
of
a new life.
In
t h ose
moments
pe ople
g e n e r a l l y think about "rea s o n s " for the b e g i n n i n g and the end
of
something
so
be
answ e r e d .
In the t hird stanza, the i m p e r v i o u s g e o d e (the woma n ' s
womb)
"e very
force.
transient
that
many
point and facet" of the womb s h i n e with its
Then,
ma ke s
i l l u m inating
possibility
(the e n c o u n t e r of two lovers)
" c o n c e n t r a t i n g earth and skies"
the h o l i n e s s of the sexual act.
And only if we consi d e r
the
of c r e a t i n g a ne w life can we u n d e r s t a n d
why
"All r e v e l a t i o n has been ours",
be
even
th e last s t a n z a can be read in its total power. Only
can b r i n g th e stars, the flowers,
h uma n
cannot
is e n t e r e d and the ray c a t h o d e (the sperm) sud denly
e y e s " s e e k i n g the r e s p o n s e of eyes"
in
questions
alth o u g h no d e f i n i t e a n s w e r s
g iven to many q u e s t i o n s about
huma n
exi st ence .
Thus,
can
what
b e c o m e s a r e v e l a t i o n in our se cond s t a g e re adi ng of the p o e m is a
descriptive
s y s t e m - a c c o r d i n g to R i f f a t e r r e "a ne twork of w or ds
a s s o c i a t e d with one a n o t h e r a r ound a kernel world,
i 12
in a c c o r d a n c e
with
the
sememe
of
that
nucleus"
(39)
- around
"human
conception".
T h i s p o t e n t i a l h y p o g r a m is formed by many idiol ects
in
(the head
th e
text
pondérations
eyes,
the
of the mind,
the
Cyb'laean
the g e o d e of cr yst als ,
c o n c e n t r a t i o n of e ar th and skies,
and finally,
"h ead "
th rusting,
is
th e r e v e l a t i o n ) .
system,
eyes
the
seeking
s tars and flowers,
F u n c t i o n i n g as a perfect model, the
the s t a r t i n g point to all the othe r
descriptive
avenue,
sememes
of
the
and all of them t a k e us to the m a t r i x which
may be s o m e t h i n g like " R e v e l a t i o n of the b e g i n n i n g of human life"
or
"Revelation
of
the
holiness
of
h uman
conception".
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of m a t r i x to text is made by expan sio n,
have
an
The
sinc e
a l l e g o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n h uman fecu n d a t i o n
we
and
g e o l o g i c a l code.
Although
Nature
to
elements
h u man
talk
(like
beings
between
size.
it
uses
directly
use
s ome
its
may
h a v e t h r o u g h love and
that
result
the
sexual
in the c o n c e p t i o n of
a
t h e wor ld t h r o u g h the w o m b - g e o d e and
of
reve l a t i o n
e ncounter
new
this
sense,
sper m / r a y
the p o e m p r e s e n t s
the
same
conn e c t i o n
h o l i n e s s and e r o t i c i s m we d e c o d e d in "Rose P o g o n i a s " and
"Goi ng for Water".
T h e s e p o e m s show a h i g h l y p o s i t i v e v i e w of sex
and hum an s e x uality,
p r e s e n t i n g the moment of sex as magi c ("Rose
P o g o n i a s " and "Goi ng for Wat er" ) and as r e v e l a t i o n s ("In a
and
"All R e v e l a t i o n " ) .
wh ich hu man beings,
the
human
this huma n b eing is the magic r e v e l a t i o n of u n m e a s u r a b l e
In
between
about h uman sexua lit y,
Entering
cath ode ,
R e v e l a t i o n " does not
f l o w e r s and stars) to i l l u s t r a t e the
lo ve rs
being.
"All
cosmos
and
the
Vale"
All of th em p o r t r a y e p i p h a n i c m o m e n t s in
t h r o u g h their sexu ality,
great c y c l e s of
i i3
s e e m to fuse
creat ion .
But
in
with
sharp
c o n t r a s t with t h e s e p o s i t i v e p o r t r a y a l s of hu man se xuality,
poems
the
in F r o s t ' s c anon deal with the dark side of
s e n s e that they focus on the u n c e r t a i n t y of
eroticism
in
conc ept ion ,
in
the d o m i n a t i o n of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n men and women,
th e ani mal a s p e c t s of se nsual ity.
p i c t u r e of lo ve and sex,
speculate
father's
pregnancy
to
what
violence
coercion
his poems.
in
or in
They pres ent an almost deso l a t e
and some c r i t i c s (as Richard Wakefie ld)
extent cert a i n facts of F r o s t ' s
t o w a r d s his
b e f o r e her marriage,
fema l e madne ss,
some
mother,
his
life
mother's
- his
sup pos ed
F r o s t ' s c lose a c q u a i n t a n c e
with
etc. - made him use the fra gil ity of love and the
lovin g r e l a t i o n s h i p s as str ong fe atu res in some
"The S t r o n g are Sa ying Noth ing ",
for example,
is
of
a
p a r t i c u l a r l y n e g a t i v e vi ew of love, a l t h o u g h it p r e s e n t s thematic
and formal s i m i l a r i t i e s with " Putting in the Seed".
THE S T R O N G ARE S A Y I N G N O T H I N G
The soil now gets a r u m p l i n g soft and damp,
And small rega r d to the fut ure of any weed.
The final flat of the h o e ' s approv al stamp
Is r e s e r v e d for the bed of a few sele c t e d seed.
T h e r e is s e l d o m mo re than a man to a ha rr o w e d piec e
Men work alone, their lots plo wed far apart,
O n e s t r i n g i n g a chain of seed in an open crease,
And anot h e r s t u m b l i n g af ter a halt i n g cart.
To the flesh and black of the s q u a r e s of earl y mold
The leafless b l o o m of a p l u m is fresh and white;
T h ough t h e r e ' s more than a doubt if the we ather is
not t o o cold
For the be es to come and s erve its bea uty aright.
Wind goes from farm to farm in wave on wave,
But c a r r i e s no cry of what is hope d to be.
i*i 4
T h e r e may be litt l e or much beyon d the grave,
BUt the s t r o n g are s a y ing n o t hing until they see.
The
planting
have
poem
b e g i n s with a d e s c r i p t i o n of an
m i x e d with th e u n c e r t a i n t y s u g g e s t e d by the
th e
presentation
statement
of th e r u m p l i n g s in
title.
We
soil
and
the
In the s e co nd quat rai n we see men working
a l o n e in t h e i r h a r r o w e d pieces,
men
stumble
of
that the " approv al s t amp" of the hoe will only come to
a "few s e l e c t e d seed".
th e
the
act
and t h ere is the cont rast be tween
wh o s t r i n g s e e d s "in an open crease" and the
"a fter a h a l t i n g cart".
The
third
stan z a
ones
who
presents
a
" l e a f l e s s b l o o m of a p lum" whi ch will be pla c ed in the s q u a r e s of
the mold,
about
and a l t h o u g h it's "fresh and white",
the
weather,
pollinate.
farm
to
Fina l l y ,
farm"
fertilizing
and
for
it
t h e r e is a doubt
may be too cold for
the
bees
to
t h e last s t a n z a p r e s e n t s the wind g oi ng "from
the
materials.
uncertainty
Then,
about
it
carrying
the final st atement
any
is that there
may be "a l i t t l e or m uch" afte r death, but the strong say nothing
"until they see".
In
spite
of the cl ear rural imag es
and
prosodic
r e g u l a r i t y of th e p o e m <it is c o m p o s e d in he roic qu atra ins ),
1ast
it
st a n z a cl ear 1y e n l a r g e s the framewor k of the con ten t
expands
philosophical
since
h uma n
the s u r f a c e m e a n i n g from " p la nting"
i ssue
to
of h uman b e i n g ' s dest i n y after
b e i n g s w e r e brou ght
into the context,
the
the
since
almost
death.
we
need
And
to
i n v e s t i g a t e what o ther " u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s " can p o s s i b l y point to
t his s a m e d i r e c t i o n .
As we a l r e a d y saw in “Putt i n g in the S e e d ”,
the c o d e of p l a n t i n g c a r r i e s st rong erot i c ov ertones ,
ii5
for it is a
part of the a s s o c i a t i v e c l i c h é plan t i n g / s e x ,
of
common
overcome
linked
ways
through
death.
with
generate
a
because
of
Thus,
the
new
human
whi ch huma n b e i n g s
believe
th e code of p l a n t i n g
sexua l
life.
act in the s e n s e
And from this new
is
they
can
that
both
of
perspective
them
unve ile d
go
to
our
t h r o u g h which we can see the unce r t a i n t y
c o n c e p t i o n in th e first stanza.
pl a n t i n g is p e rformed ,
union
metaphorically
the c l i c h é h y p o g r a m p l a n t i n g / s e x we can
seco n d s t a g e of readin g,
of
which is the
Altho u g h th e
act
t h e soil s h o w s "small reg ard to th e future
of any w eed" s i n c e on ly "a few s e l e c t e d seed" will fertilize.
the s e c o n d s t a n z a men work
we
have
whic h
description
continuity
image
"a lone" in their h a r r o w e d pieces,
the image of "a c hain of s e e d ” put in an "open
c ombines,
as
with
a
of
Mordecai Marcus
metaphor
of the r a ce"
(150).
for
points
human
out,
and
crease"
"reali sti cal
love m a k i n g
and
the
In the third s t a n z a t h e r e is the
of the "fresh and w h i t e " plum b l o o m put in th e e arly
(with its se nsua l o v e r t o n e s ) ,
In
mold
a l t h o u g h t here is the doubt if the
b ees will come and s e r v e t h e m s e l v e s from that beauty.
T h e s e three
image s (the r u m p l i n g s in th e soil, the men s t r i n g i n g t h e chain of
se ed
in
the open cr ease,
w a i ting
and the b l o o m of a plum in
i mportant m o m e n t s of the sexual act.
that, the h o p e of f e r t i l i t y is a p ermanent doubt,
be
stanza
and
mold
for the bees) s e e m to carry str ong erot ic m a r k e r s
they all sug ges t
may
the
too cold for the moment of
fertility.
In s pite of
for th e weather
Then,
s h o w s a c o m p a r i s o n b e t w e e n the u n c e r t a i n t y of
the u n c e r t a i n t y in th e p o s t - d e a t h of
t h ere
is
don't
say
the
human
almost n a i v e stat e m e n t that str on g
a n y t h i n g about t h e s e issu es until they
i 16
since
the
last
conc e p t i o n
e x ist ence,
h uman
can
and
be ings
see
the
n a t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t of things.
th e
text,
w hi ch
conception
of
love,
can
to death)" .
"The
be
And so we a r r i v e to the m a t r i x of
"uncertainty
of
hu man
life
(from
C o n t r a s t i n g with the p o s i t i v e p o r t r a y a l s
S t r o n g ar e S a ying Nothi n g " seems to
state
that
a l t h o u g h h u m a n b e i n g s are a b l e to have a magic moment of love and
sex,
th e b e g i n n i n g of a n e w life is s o m e t h i n g bey ond their power,
since
th e appr o v a l s tamp is reserved for "a few s e l e c t e d
Th e model of the text
seed".
is its first line (which p r e s e n t s the "soft
and d a mp" r u m p l i n g s in the soil) and the text is g e n e r a t e d by a
c o m b i n a t i o n of e x p a n s i o n and conversi on.
We have e x p a n s i o n since
th e
r e p e t i t i o n of i m a g e s and the p r e s e n t a t i o n of d e t a i l s e n l a r g e
th e
mat rix,
planting
we a l s o have c o n v e r s i o n
( n ormally p o s i t i v e )
uncertainty.
they
and
Fi na lly,
because
the
code
of
is p r e s e n t e d with the m inus sign of
all the poeti c s igns are
class eme s,
for
f u n c t i o n as an e r o t i c h y p o g r a m r e g a r d l e s s of the co ntext of
th e g i v e n poem.
Rea d
"practical
hordecai
by
acceptance
Marcus
George
of
things
presents
uncertainty.
No w
as
as they
a
text
are"
as a stat e m e n t that "only the
bo th p l a n t s and p e o p l e prof it
surely
Nitchie
th e
sexu al
from c u l t i v a t i o n "
act
as
a
about
(37),
and
deserving
(150),
moment
of
men work "alone" d u ring the act,
the
the
by
among
poem
doubt
and
missing
the
" p a s s i o n for th e e a r t h " and the love that sho uld burn t h r o u g h the
"Putting
in the Seed".
T h e s e lonely men wh o s i l e n t l y stri ng the
c hain of s e e d s in an "open crea s e " h ave no power to k n o w if a new
life
will result
from the sexual act,
will
h a p p e n to what
as they don't
is a l i v e when dea th comes.
11?
know
More than
what
that,
there
is
still a "dou b t " that the wea t her will be too cold
pollination,
for
and they wait p a t i e n t l y and s i l e n t l y to see what the
f u t u r e will bring.
Much m o r e d e s o l a t e and d e s t r u c t i v e is the image
human
sexuality
in
the
nightmare
presented
Flower".
published
only fif ty y e a r s afte r it was first d r a f t e d and
experience
poet.
Marg a r e t Stor ch observe s,
in
Subverted
the
As
almo st
A c c o r d i n g to Storch,
"The
the poem
on whic h it is ba sed was fully a b s o r b e d
of
was
after
by
the
Frost said that he did not publish it
in an e arly s t a g e of his care e r b e c a u s e the poem was "re vealingly
a u t o - b i o g r a p h i c a l " and b e c a u s e his wif e (dead in 1938) “would not
h a v e a l l o w e d it d u r i n g her l ifetime"
(297).
It is a s s u m e d by many
c r i t i c s ( i n c l u d i n g L a w r a n c e T hompson) that the p o e m was based
on
an inc ide nt that h a p p e n e d in 1892, when Frost had an e m b a r r a s s i n g
encounter
erotic
with E l i n o r in w hi ch he sh owed her the u r g e n c y of
passion
suggests
that,
as
publish
for
her.
The
of
its
pub l i c a t i o n
bo th that the text had s o m e t h i n g to do wit h Elinor
Richard
P o i r i e r p o i n t s out,
Frost did
not
it for it w ould h a v e "alter ed the portrait of an
that Frost w a n t e d to p r o j e c t "
work
long de lay
in F r o s t ' s canon,
his
want
and
to
artist
(58). Often defi n e d as an a n o m a l o u s
the poem d eals e x p l i c i t l y with e r o t i c i s m
in a s c e n e that b e g i n s "in m e d i a s res"
when a
to h a v e o f f e r e d a flower to a girl.
THE S U B V E R T E D F L O W E R
She d r e w back; he was calm:
"It is this that had the po wer."
And he lashed his open palm
i 18
boy
is
suppose d
With the t e n d e r - h e a d e d flower.
He s m i l e d for her to smile,
But she was e i t h e r blind
Or w i l l f u l l y unkind.
He eyed her for a w hile
For a w oman and a puzzle.
He fli cked and flung the flower,
And a n o t h e r sort of smile
Caugh t up like finger tips
The c o r n e r s of his lips
And c r a c k e d hi s ragged muzzle.
She was s t a n d i n g to the waist
In g o l d e n r o d and brake,
Her s h i n i n g hair dis pla ced .
He s t r e t c h e d her eit her arm
As if she m a d e it ache
To c lasp her - not to harm;
As if he c oul d not sp ar e
To touch her neck and hair.
"If this has c o m e to us
And not to me alo ne- "
So she thou g h t she hear d him say;
Tho ug h with e very word he spo ke
His lips w e r e s u cked and blown
And the eff ort m a d e him cho ke
L i k e a t ige r at a bone.
She had to lean away.
She dar ed not stir a foot,
Lest m o v e m e n t s h o u l d p r o v o k e
The d emon of pur suit
That s l u m b e r s in a brute.
It wa s then her m o t h e r ' s call
From i n s i d e the ga rd en wall
Hade her stea l a look of fear
To see if he c oul d hear
And wou ld p o u n c e to end it all
B e f o r e her m o ther came.
She looked and saw the shame:
A hand hung like a paw,
An arm w o r k e d like a saw
As if to be persuasive,
An i n g r a t i a t i n g laugh
That cut the snout in half,
An eye b e c o m e evasive.
A girl c ould only see
That a flow er had ma rred a man,
But what she co ul d not see
Was that the flower might be
Other than b a s e and fetid:
That the flowe r had done but part
And what th e flower began
Her own t o o meag e r heart
Had t e r r i b l y com ple ted.
She looked and sa w the w o r s t .
And the dog or what it was,
11.9
O b e y i n g b e s tial laws,
A c o w a r d s a v e at night,
T u r n e d from the p l a c e and ran.
S h e h e a r d h i m s t u m b l e first
And use h i s h a n d s in flight.
S h e h e a r d h i m bark outright.
And oh, for one so young
The b i t t e r w ords she spit
L i k e s o m e t e n a c i o u s bit
That w o u l d not leave the tongue.
Sh e p l u c k e d her lips for it,
And still the h o r r o r clung.
Her m o t h e r w iped th e foam
F r o m her chin, p i cked up her comb
And d r e w her b a c k w a r d home.
The
back
image we ha ve is that of a girl
drawing
fr om the c a l m boy who s u d d e n l y lashes a flower in his
palm.
a
first
open
He s m i l e s and she doesn't answer. He looks at her and sees
puzzle
instead
presenting
of
"another
a woman,
sort
and
of smil e"
throws
that
the
flower
cracks
his
away,
"ragged
muzzle".
Th e s p e a k e r s a y s that she was s t a n d i n g in " g o ldenro d and
br ake",
with her hair "displaced", and we see the boy stre t c h i n g
his a r m s to h o l d her,
and hair".
one
who
s i n c e he could n't
" s p a r e / T o touch her neck
S h e t h i n k s he s a y s s o m e t h i n g about him being the only
feels
that desire,
t r a n s f o r m e d into a beast.
but sees the boy b e g i n n i n g
No w with eve ry word his lips suck
blow,
and he c h o k e s like "a tig er at a bone".
away,
afraid
that
sleeps
of
“in
to
She, again,
any move m e n t which s h ould p r o v o k e the
a b r u t e ”.
Then,
her
mo ther
calls
be
and
leans
pursuit
and
she
a d d r e s s e s a “look of fear" to se e if the boy he ard her moth er and
woul d stop w h a t e v e r he is doing, but she sees a t e r r i f y i n g scene:
t h r o u g h a kind of m e t a m o r p h o s i s the boy is l itera lly r e d uced into
a
his
beast and s h e s e e s his hand as a paw,
snout
(as
his arm like a saw
that of a pig) cut in half
iS®
with
a
laugh.
and
The
speaker
s ays
that
the
r e s p o n s i b l e for that,
girl
could
see
that
the flower
a l t h o u g h she co uld not u n d e r s t a n d that "her
own too me ager h e a r t " w a s a l s o gu ilty of that nigh tma re.
boy
is
fi nally
seen
as
h i s h a n d s in the ru nning,
bitter
w o r d s to him,
m o t h e r arrives,
shows
a
boy
flower,
a
dog
running
a l s o plu c k i n g her lips
and
using
She utte rs
finally,
her
p i cks up her comb
Even on the s u r f a c e level of m e a ning the poem
a t t e m p t i n g to get close r to a girl
sayi n g
Then the
away,
and she hear s him barking.
w i p e s the foam from her chin,
and t a kes her home.
was
thing s,
(giving
her
and trying to hold her) and the
refu s a l at this p r o x i m i t y ,
a
girl' s
which p r a c t i c a l l y c a u s e s the boy to be
t r a n s f o r m e d into an an imal c r e a t u r e who runs away when the girl 's
mother
ap pears.
It
s e e m s clea r that the se
towards
the girl a r e r e c e i v e d with terror and
Richard
Poirier
perceived
trimeter
in
observes,
the
formal
"sensual
a dvanc es"
and
as
th e tens i o n of the s i t u a t i o n can
be
level of the
text
disgust,
s i nce
th e
iambic
lines are r h y m e d in a "s taggered way that a l l o w s sudden
accelerations
past on e fixation,
like a n i g h t m a r e
recollected..."
(57).
understood
our s e c o n d a p p r e c i a t i o n of the
in
T his "grap hic terror", though,
image
being
may be fully
text,
after
our
d e c o d i f i c a t i o n of s o m e a m b i g u o u s p a s s a g e s of the mimesis.
Th e
the
which
was
first
t hin g that c a l l s our a t t e n t i o n is
t itle s e e m s to be p o i n t i n g to the i m p o r t a n c e of
is r e d uced to s o m e t h i n g "base and fetid",
refused by the girl,
th e
that
flower
b e c a u s e when it
it lost its natural role of
being
an
e l e ment of p r o x i m i t y b e t w e e n the boy and the g i r l . It was some h o w
"subverted"
from
its nat ur al role,
m e t a m o r p h o s e s b e g i n to happen.
and b e c a u s e of
that,
It s e e m s clear that as a
121
some
complex
symbol
that
d e v e l o p e d t h r o u g h o u t the text,
can
sta nd
both for a real flower or
M o r d e c a i M a r c u s obse r v e s ,
and
for
a
phallus.
(i7E).
R e a d i n g it as a phallus,
well
we can und e r s t a n d
t h e woma n d r a w s back and why the man lashes his "open"
<a sign for o p e n n e s s ) with the " t e n d e r - h e a d e d " flower.
flic k s
and
sexuality,
time,
palm
Then,
he
f l ungs the flower and in the moment she r e f u s e s
his
he b e g i n s to be t r a n s f o r m e d into a beast. At the same
this
girl's
As
it may stand initial ly for the ph allus
lat er for the "wo man wh o has s u b v e r t e d her fee li n g s as
as the m a n ' s "
why
the flower is a dual sign
transformation
imagina tion,
m a n/anima l may be a produc t
of
the
s i n c e at many p o i n t s of the poem we see m to
be r e a d i n g the stor y from her point of view.
Then,
a
different
s m i l e c r a c k s his m u z z l e and he tries to hold her when he sees her
standing
in g o l d e n r o d and brake,
with her hair d i s p l a c e d
(in
si gn
of a b a n d o n m e n t ) .
ha ir
and she "thin k s " sh e h e a r s him sayi ng "If this has come
us/
blow,
b one"
a
He can't stand to touch only her neck and
And not to me alone".
to
But his animal lips a l r e a d y suck
and
and he c h o k e s with the effort to speak "like a ti ger at
a
(The ques tion about the vera c i t y of the facts or the girl's
imagination
cannot be a n s w e r e d with any ce rtainty,
for the text
c o n s t a n t l y c h a n g e s its point of p e r s p e c t i v e from n a r r a t o r to girl
and then back to n a rrat or).
Then the girl leans away,
af raid of
th e boy and of the "demon of p u r s u i t / That s l u m b e r s in a
and
her
m o t h e r ' s call m a k e s her see the worst:
like a paw,
brute",
his hand
works
his ar m w o r k s like a saw and an " i n g r a t i a t i n g laugh"
c u t s h i s "snout
in half". As Sh aron A. We ltman p o i n t s out, an arm
that w o r k s like a sa w "is not only inhuman in that
122
it w o r k s
like
a
machine,
repugnant
but
r a the r
it a l s o c a l l s up a m a s t u r b a t o r y
than p e r s u a s i v e to the
repetitiveness
sexually
n aive
(75). S e e i n g the boy in his h ig he st d e g r e e of bestialit y,
his s e x u a l i t y in t h e s e r e p u g n a n t
realize
and
that the flowe r
fetid"
natural
(the ph allus) co uld be "other than
of th e n o w " s u b v e r t e d " flower.
c r e a t u r e ("the dog or what
and
according
matter
to
spits
poem,
dogs
it
the
Then she sees
the
it was") running away,
stumbling
S h a r o n W e l t m a n r e s e m b l e a bit of food
("the t a s t e of a k i s s or of se men")
base
accept
b i t t e r w o r d s like a t e n a c i o u s bit
l ips to u tter the words.
wasti ng
the girl still d oes not
and that her own "mea ger" heart did not
role
b ark i n g ,
images,
girl"
(76)
and
- which,
or
foreign
- plucking
her
When her mother comes, at the end of the
is clea r that the girl is a l s o a beast who fo ams (like
or ho rses) and t h e m o t h e r has to act for
her,
wiping
her
s kin and t a k i n g her " b a c k w a r d " home.
advances
(forme d
of
The
poem
is
almost
expli cit
the
boy t o w a r d s the girl,
about
and
the
sexual
hypogram
sex
by s e m e s and p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s ) may be fully r e c o g n i z e d if
we link the c l a s s e m e s " t e n d e r - h e a d e d flower",
brake
the
in
whic h the girl s t a n d s with her "hair
the g o l d e n r o d
and
dis p l a c e d " ,
the
b o y ' s m o v e m e n t to hol d th e girl, his f rus t r a t i o n in t o u c h i n g only
her neck and hair,
his
his t h o u g h t s about his desire, his "pursuit",
ar m w o r k i n g " li ke a saw",
the foam in her chin.
the bit in the g i r l ' s t o n g u e
T h i s h y p o g r a m b a s i c a l l y p r o v i d e s us with a
fair e x p l a n a t i o n to t h eir t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s into beasts,
through
and
the refu sal of thei r sexual roles,
fr om h u man b e i n g s to an imals.
they m o v e
s i n c e only
backwards
Thus, the m a t r i x of th e text could
be t h e s e " m e t a m o r p h o s e s of the c h a r a c t e r s into b e a s t s b e c a u s e
1S3
of
the
refusal of thei r s e x u a l i t y ”,
th e
model
"subverted
expansion
(we
have
wh ich was first a c t u a l i z e d
flower".
a
The text is gene r a t e d
progressive
narrative
d e v e l o p m e n t of plot) and by c o n v e r s i o n
minus
sign
characters
of
bestiality
fail
g estures,
to
both
events
by
with
(all erotic s i gns h a v e the
attached
understand
of
in
to
each
them).
other,
Because
their
the
languages,
and even h uman physical a p p e a r a n c e are r e d u c e d to n o n ­
huma n states.
Although
uncommon
"The S u b v e r t e d Flow er" is
work am ong F r o s t ' s poems,
considered
c r i tics in general have been
a t t r a c t e d to it,
up to the point that some of them pr esent
on e
most
of
Frost's
observes
that
bril l i a n t
ach ievements.
George
the e x p l i c i t c o n c e r n "with sexual p a t h o l o g y " in
equate
"love and c r u e l t y "
an
(103).
He a f f i r m s that
it as
Nitchie
images
we
are
n ever s u r e w h e t h e r the "final m e t a m o r p h o s i s is a functi on of
the
o b s e r v e r ' s v i e w of the girl" or w h e t h e r "it r e p r e s e n t s the gir l's
sudden
vi sion
of h e r s e l f " t r a n s f o r m e d by guilt and fear
(105).
R i c h a r d P o i r i e r p o i n t s out that the "macabre image ry" p r e s e n t s
boy's
himself
n i g h t m a r e about the desc ent
and
the
girl
he
a
"t hrough sexual r e p r e s s i o n s of
desires
into
di ffer ent
fo rms
of
bestiality"
(57), and r e m i n d s us that Frost once said in a "Paris
Interview"
that the subje ct of the text was "fri g i d i t y in women"
(58).
E l a i n e Barry sees the p o e m as "p sychological
projections"
of the girl, wh o sees the b o y ' s a d v a n c e s with t e rror and disgust,
t r a n s f o r m i n g him into a beast, and who also b e c o m e s r e d u c e d to an
animal
form at the end of the poem,
a light b a c k w a r d as well as f orwa rd "
i£4
for p r o j e c t i o n s a l w a y s “thr ow
(42).
K a t h e r i n e K e a r n s also
observes
the
b o y ' s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s throu gh sexual
desire,
his
s e r v i l i t y to the girl who "has the power to madden the man and to
make h i m b e s tial with her r e j e c t i o n of the s e x u a l i t y . . . “, and her
own
transformation
fl owe r"
(209).
qu arrel
Reginald
between
repulsiveness
t h r o u g h the reje c t i o n of her
two
about
Cook
yo un g
r eads the text as a
lovers"
b e c ause
the b o y ' s "physical
"girl's
movement
provoking
one
c h a n g e to
love,
Marcus
t o ward
anot h e r " ,
woman,
considers
the
of
"role
as
"moment
of
the
year n i n g s "
R i c h a r d W a k e f i e l d p a r a l l e l s "the m an's descent
the
own
hysteria,
gir l' s
(ii7)
into a be ast" with
the
two
a p p arently
as the m ea ni ng of the flower seems
lust,
and
corruption
p o s s i b i l i t y that the
symbol
hesitance
Hord eca i
“has
actual ly
man
and w hich w ould i n c r e a s e our "sy mpa thy for the
and
disgust"
(178/173),
h i m s e l f on the g i r l ' s d e f e n s e l e s s n e s s ,
and
the
uncertainty
of what the girl
Roy
Scheele
the boy's
sees,
to
(i65).
ex p o s e d h i m s e l f " w hich w o u l d make us see the flower as more
a
and
than
gi rl's
concentrates
transformation
which
makes
the
c h a r a c t e r s be too c o n f u s e d with the moment of d i s c o v e r y they face
(93/94), w h i l e M a r g a r e t S t orc h c o n s i d e r s bio g r a p h i c a l d a t a in her
reading
Final ly,
of the text
in "Robert F r o s t ' s
'The Subv e r t e d
Flower'".
Shar on W e l t m a n is the one who d e c odes the cen tra l
of the poem,
s a ying that
issue
it
... e x p l o r e s the d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t of sex,
the
i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s of language,
and the i m p o s s i b i l i t y
of p e r c e p t i o n u n t a i n t e d by point of view.
It is a
p o e m about r e d u c t i v e n e s s , about t r a n s f o r m a t i o n down
the e v o l u t i o n a r y
scale,
wher e both boy and girl
b e c o m e beasts.
(72/73)
It is,
indeed, a text about the " d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t of
i25
sex" and love,
in w hich n e i t h e r boy nor girl have the a b i l i t y to
u n d e r s t a n d the s t r o n g erot i c moment they face.
sudden
sexual
desire,
Surp r i s e d with
the boy does not know how to
deal
a
with
that, e x p o s i n g h i m s e l f to th e girl, w h o r e a c t s by se eing h i m as a
d i s g u s t i n g animal.
But s i n c e she was a l s o involved by that erotic
moment,
she is a l s o a beast wh o r e f u s e s her sexual ro le as woman,
making
the boy r e f u s e his role as well.
suggests
most
to k n o w ho w to deal with o ne's s exu ality
import ant
animal s.
erotic
and
that
It seems that the
is
the
fa ctor in th e d i f f e r e n c e between hu man b e i n g s and
Anyway,
what the r e ader se es is an extr e m e l y
e x p e r i e n c e in w h ich love and sex are faced
disgust.
text
In "Wind
with
negative
hor ror
and W i n d o w F l o w e r " we a lso have a sudden
mom ent of p r o x i m i t y b e t w e e n two c h a r a c t e r s who s o m e h o w don't know
how to deal with t heir own desires.
WIND AND WINDOW FLOWER
Lov ers, forget your love.
And list to the love of these,
She a w i n d o w flower.
And he a wint e r breeze.
When the frosty w i n d o w veil
Was m e l t e d do wn at noon,
And the c a ged y e l l o w bird
H ung over her in tune,
He m a r k e d her t h r o u g h the pane,
He c ould not help but mark,
And only pass e d her by
To c o m e ag ai n at d a r k .
He wa s a w i n t e r wind,
C o n c e r n e d with ice and snow,
Dead w e e d s and u n m ated birds,
And li ttle of love c ould know.
But he si ghed upon the sill.
He g a v e the sash a shake,
As w i t n e s s all within
W h o lay that night awake.
P e r c h a n c e he half prev a i l e d
To win her for the flight
F r o m th e firelit l o o k i n g - g l a s s
And warm s t o v e - w i n d o w light.
But t h e flower leaned a s ide
And thou ght of naught to say,
And m o r n i n g found the b r e e z e
A h u n d r e d m i l e s away.
The s eve n q u a t r a i n s of m o stly iambic trim e t e r lines
pres e n t
an
breeze
for
a l l e g o r i c a l st ory about the att r a c t i o n of
a
w i n d o w flower.
b e g i n n i n g of the poem,
at
noon
a
After their p r e s e n t a t i o n
winter
in
we k n o w that the wind pa ssed by the flower
(when the "frosty w i n d o w veil" melte d and when a
y e l l o w bird" sang to her),
"caged
i ntending to come ag ain at dark.
s p e a k e r s a y s that s i n c e "he was a wi nter w i n d ” he co uld not
mu ch about
love,
for he k n e w about "ice",
and " unma t e d bi rds".
the
In s p i t e of that,
"snow",
The
kn ow
"dead weeds"
ever y b o d y wh o was
that night c ould he ar the w i n d ' s sigh, the sash sh aking,
aw ake
and his
attempt to take the flower in a flight from her w a r m environment.
But the flow er "l eaned aside",
didn't say anyt h i n g and the bre e z e
was "a h u n d r e d m i l e s away" in the next morning.
A
seemingly
c h i l d r e n ' s story,
"Wind
and
Wind o w
F l o w e r " uses the b a s i c p r i n c i p l e of a l l e g o r y to pres ent a subject
in the
guise
of an other.
read i n g
of the poem,
of
characters)
the
characters.
The
As we can p e r c e i v e
th rough a careful
all the a c t i o n s (and even the p r e s e n t a t i o n
in fact s y m b o l i z e other a c t i o n s
first two lines of the poem
and
- "Lovers,
other
forget
your love/ And list to the love of these," - alre a d y m akes us see
127
that the
s to ry
i n t e r e s t s us as h uman beings,
having s o m e t h i n g to
d o with us. And we i m m e d i a t e l y feel that the potted plant and the
w i n t e r b r e e z e are much more h uman than na tural elements.
may
be
t a ken
desolation,
as
a man who live s in a
s i n c e he is c o n c e r n e d with ice,
and " u n m a t e d birds".
the flower
sings
wind/man
veil
r esp ond.
Perhaps
we
that
frosty
the woman c a r r i e s er otic mark e r s in
the
s ense
his will to m o v e
from
the
and almost w i n s the flower,
if
saw
she
in
did
desolation
"The S u b v e r t e d
but she doe s
think of
Flower".
Then,
not
same kind
Th is
anyt h i n g to say,
c o m p l e t e i n d i f f e r e n c e t o w a r d s the wind.
of
He sighs,
, he would rece i v e the
flower
showing
the wind
goes
b eing very far in the next morning.
The h y p o g r a m formed by the two
of
the
w i n t e r to the f e r t i l i t y of the ins ide warmth.
response
away,
rele vant
m a n's
m e r e l y leans a s i d e and can't
a
the w o m a n ' s is featur ed through
the
represents
the sash,
bird
So,
that
shakes
to
l o o k i n g - g l a s s warm the room.
m e l t s and the bi rd b e g i n s to sing.
toward
outside
"dead weeds"
first p a s s e s by the f l o w e r / w o m a n when
movement
it
and
(the woman) who lives in a world w here the
and th e s t o v e and the firelit
window
of
snow,
h y p o g r a m of w a rmth and f e r t i l i t y . l t also seems
the
aridity
whic h j u s t i f i e s his e a g e r n e s s
C o n t r a s t i n g with the m an's world,
a
of
His wor ld is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a h y p o g r a m of
a r i d i t y and lack of fer tility,
take
world
The wind
aridity
X
f ertility
describe
a
we can see on one side the c l a s s e m e s "ice",
" w i n t e r bree ze" ,
"frosty
window
and "unmated birds";
veil" melting,
contrasting
syst e m
"snow",
wh ich
"dead weeds",
and on the other s i d e the
the bird singing,
1.E8
in
worlds
the
"firelit
looking-glass",
and
the
"stove".
This poten tia l
hypogram
is
r e s p o n s i b l e -For our d e c o d i f i c a t i o n of the erotic r e a sons for
m ove m e n t ,
the
as well as for the basic reas on for the fru s t r a t i o n of
wind.
perhaps
the
The
fl ower r e f u s e s to accept the w i nd's
b e c a u s e t h i s wou ld imply suffe rin g,
d e a t h to her.
Thus,
invitation,
changes,
and
even
th e m a t r i x of the poem is simpl y the "refusal
of an e r o t i c e x p e r i e n c e " by the flower,
aro using the frustrat ion
of the wind;
line of the poem,
and th e model is the first
establishes
the
fl o w e r / w o m a n .
a l l e g o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p bet wee n
which
wind/man
and
And s i n c e a l l e g o r y is the main d e v i c e used here, we
h a v e e x p a n s i o n as th e g e n e r a t o r of the text.
For
that
"isolation
preservation,
and
Richard
fro m
that
corruption",
"warning"
h u man
the
beings
but
in its most intense,
connection
t h i n k s that
the flow er r e t a i n s her com fort
places
an
characters
in the last two s t a n z a s both
love.
(26).
More than this,
in
refusal
and
may
of
their
both
the poem s eems to
and
d a n g e r o u s one.
We can feel this f r u s tration
frus t r a t i n g
with
whi ch p r e s e n t s a s p e a k e r ' s
ia?
the
What seems rele van t here is
that the m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s sex and love may be a
in "Devoti on",
a
re ta i n i n g his freedom, whil e
say
intensity
as
s i n c e the wind "see ms h appy in
a b s e n c e of movement and a
and phys i c a l
se lf-
on the other hand,
h a p p i n e s s the c h a r a c t e r s feel in rema i n i n g
implies
spiritual
of
us
invo lves v i o l e n c e
b e t w e e n the
the flight that t a k e s him far away",
this
tells
line of the text
M o r d e c a i Marcus,
" p e r c h a n c e be r e v e a l i n g fee lings",
that
poem
h e i g h t e n e d by the u n i v e r s a l i t y of
(153).
clear
the
p a s s i o n may be a way
he sees the first
to the reader,
m e a n i n g of the sto ry
observes
inte n s e
love,
and
Wakefield
relative
evaluation
about her sexual e x p e r i e n c e s
DEVOTION
The heart can think of no devoti on
G r e a t e r than b eing s h o r e to the oc eanH o l d i n g the c u r v e of one position,
C o u n t i n g an e n d l e s s rep eti tion .
" D e v o t i o n " is such a short poem that we can
think
as
it will be n e c e s s a r y to d e c o d e many u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s . But
soon as we read this p o w e r f u l
obscure
at
first
sight,
quatra in we r e a l i z e the text is
s i n c e we a l r eady
m e t a p h o r for e m o t i o n a l s t a t e m e n t s .
title
says,
meta p h o r :
to
about d evotion,
position
Mordecai
have
a
g e o logical
A s p e aker is talking,
and e x p l a i n s the point
as the
thro u g h
a
The d e v o t i o n of a heart may be measured by its ab i lity
be s h o r e to an ocean.
its
hardl y
and
Marcus
T h i s heart would e m b r a c e the ocea n
w ould co unt
e xplains,
its
"end l e s s
r e p e t i tions".
"the m e t a p h o r of the heart
in
As
thin k i n g
about d e v o t i o n s h o w s i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t y beco m i n g emot i o n a l and
then,
metaphorically,
physical"
in our h e u r i s t i c reading,
with
agitation
s tre ngth,
voice,
and
the
and
of s hore with
sea
stabi lit y,
We infer the s p e aker r e p r e s e n t s a female
connections
male/agitation/turbulence
terms.
d u e to the logical c o n n e c t i o n s of
turbulence,
and fidelity.
since
<ii9). The metaphor is unve i l e d
are
female/stability/fidelity
much
more cohe ren t
in
This fem ale s p e a k e r is devo t e d to her beloved,
and
cultu ral
and sho ws
her d e v o t i o n by "hol d i n g " her b e l o v e d ' s a g i t a t i o n s in trial after
trial.
There
is
even
an
implication
a g i t a t i o n s are linked wi th i nfidel ity .
130
that
this
beloved's
At the m i m e s i s level,
it
seems
the m e t a p h o r w o r k s well.
In s p ite of that,
the last
two
s e n t e n c e s s t r i k e us for their a m biguity.
We
emotional
Poetic
signs
such
also
interpretants
two
to
as
something
the
b e long
If
we
to
the
one
p o sition"
sex
hypogram,
first
c o n c e n t r a t e our
thing
about a sexual
we n o t i c e is that
interc our se,
mere
and
heart.
"en dle ss
working
as
on
the
the
s p e ake r
sex
is
in which she is r e c e i v i n g a
As R i c h a r d Poirier poin t s out,
'curve of on e posit i o n '"(178).
"keeping
a
the
a ttention
u s u a l l y the f e mal e who must feel suff i c i e n t
description
than
th e physical meta phor of
"cur ve of
r e p e t i t i o n of m o v ements.
the
more
(these dual s igns g e n e r a t e a text which may be read
ways).
hypogram,
talking
there's
implication
repetition"
in
feel
"It
is
'devotion' to stay in
Poir i e r sees the
ge ological
as a m e t a p h o r for one pers o n "holding to some o n e " or
her
or
countersurgings
or
him
despite
agitations"
(or
is
(178).
it
because
But one
point
of?)
is
very
r e l e v a n t to our d e c o d i n g of the t e x t : we have here a woman wh o is
talking
about
movements.
d e v o t i o n in t e r m s of her abi lit y to stand
sexual
For her, the best d e v o t i o n she may give her b e l o v e d is
t h i s one: to t a k e part in an a c t i v i t y which is tot ally u m pleasant
to her.
And so we a r r i v e at the m a t r i x of the poem, which may be
represented
by
"D ev otio n
through
" Sac r i f i c e " .
The dual signs are c l a s s e m e s and belong,
seen, to the pote n t i a l sex hypo gram,
presuppositions.
through
normally
The
conversion,
p ositive,
sa crif ice ",
or
simply,
as we have
wh ich is formed by s e m e s and
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from matr i x to text
s inc e
is
the
c o d e of
presented
131
with
sex,
which
negative
o c curs
would
be
markers,
representing
f r u s t r a t i o n and sa crifice.
Thus,
analyzed
"Devotion"
in this chapter.
c l o s e s the last group of
It is clear that
sexual love was
only felt as e p i p h a n i c m o m e n t s of r e v e l a t i o n and magic,
as a s a c r i f i c e ,
as
lyrics
not
but also
as a loss of o n e ' s ide nti ty as human beings, and
a s o l i t a r y moment of " s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n "
th e future.
1.38
or u n c e r t a i n t y about
CONCLUSION
The
all
p oe tr y,
grasp
p o etic l a n g u a g e of F r o s t ' s lyrics prese nts , as
a ritual of s e m a n t i c i n d i rection that we
t h r o u g h the movem ent
precisely
this
misreadings
semantic
from m i m e s i s to semiosis.
indirection
of F r o s t ' s works,
l y r i c s a n a l y z e d in th is study,
th e
And it
factor
is
the
for it is rarely seen beyo n d
the
As we could see in the nat ur e
the d e p a r t u r e from the m i m e s i s to
o t h e r level of d i s c o u r s e is e x t r e m e l y
l ead s
only
in
c o n f u s i n g m u l t i p l i c i t y of mime sis.
the main
can
important,
since
it
us to w h e r e s i g n i f i c a n c e (and not the s u r face meanin g)
of
t e x t s may be apprehended.
In the t w e n t y - t h r e e n a t u r e lyrics we h a v e seen, the
decodification
of
poe tic signs,
p o i n t e d to on e dir ec tion :
h u man
sexuality
narrative
poems,
e r oticism.
was an imp ort ant
but
hyp ogr ams ,
and
matrixes
all
This makes us r e a l i z e that
issue,
not
only
also in the " i n nocent" lyrics
in
Frost's
whi ch
are
o f ten
c o n s i d e r e d to be almost an e x a m p l e of pastoral poetry.
could
also
lyri c s
was
associations
divided
and
into
p e r c e i v e that even a t h e m a t i c
possi ble ,
betw e e n
and
nature
we found lyrics
and
which
male/female
of
the
speaker's
eroti c
deal
with
(sub­
sexua lit y,
projections
er otic i n v i t a t i o n s and e x p e r i e n c e s
.133
a m ong these
sexuality
a s s o c i a t i o n s b e t w e e n n a t u r e and fema le
presentations
natur e),
since
di vis io n
We
(positive
into
and
negative).
These
two
groups
of lyrics car rie d
stro ng
erotic
u n d e r t o n e s that coul d be i l l u m i n a t e d thr ough the game of sem iotic
c i r c u l a r i t y we per formed.
In the first g r oup we co uld unveil the p r e s e n c e
eroticism
in
woman/rose
with
R o s e Fami ly" ,
was decoded;
association
sexual
"The
"dead
love;
in
when the
clic h e
in "Good-by and Keep
woman/orchard"
of
association
Cold",
when
the
lead us to the c u l m i n a t i o n
"Neve r Again Woul d Birds' Song Be
the
of
Same",
the p r e s e n c e of Eve b r i n g i n g e r o t i c i s m to human b e i n g s
nature
(ass o c i a t e d
"Unharvested",
showing
us
with
with
th e
Adam
and
inve r t e d
the
birds'
song);
Myth of the Gar den
a s p e a k e r ' s sexu al r e s i s t a n c e (decoded
a s s o c i a t i o n w o m a n / a p p l e tree);
and
in
of
Eden
t h r ough
and in "The Telep hon e",
the
when the
s p e a k e r a s s o c i a t e s his sexual d e s i r e for a wo man to a flower from
w h i c h he t h i n k s he can hear hi s love ca lling him.
associations
speaker
th e
we
c ould
a l s o p e r c e i v e eroti c
Besides
projections
into n a t u r e in p o e m s such as "Moon Co mpa sse s",
of
makes
between
d o w n p o u r s s u r r o u n d i n g him,
r a y s s u r r o u n d i n g a m o u n t a i n and two h a n d s touching a face;
Hous e " ,
Earthward",
that
tw o
dead p e o p l e
moon
"Ghost
about
of
are
"lass
and
lad";
"To
which p r e s e n t s a s p e a k e r us ing e l e m e n t s of n a t u r e to
d ifferent
phases
c u l m i n a t i o n of love in death;
dream
in
with the s p e a k e r p r o j e c t i n g his d e sire for fert i l i t y when
presumes
talk
a
in which
s p e a k e r p r o j e c t s his concept of true love (sensual love)
th e a n a l o g y he
he
these
of
his
sex uality,
"A D r e a m Pang",
the
a p r o j e c t i o n in a
the s p e a k e r ' s d e s i r e to fuse with his love
" W a i t i n g - Af ie ld at Dusk",
until
in
death;
in which the speak er p r o j e c t s in his
1.34
dream
an e r o t i c wait i n g for his love;
and
"Relucta nce ",
which
p r e s e n t s a p r o j e c t i o n of the s p e a k e r ' s d e s i r e to o v e r c o m e the end
of love (and sex) and the end of a season.
In the se cond group,
the erotic i n v i t a t i o n s st rike
us for thei r c o n c i s e and s i m p l e language.
his
er otic
intentions
The spe ake r g i v e s us a
hint
of
when
he
i nv it es
clear
a p a s t u r e spring and to fetch a little calf,
us
showing
all
his
c o n c e r n with time in "The Pas ture";
his
love to go into the s t o r m and be his love in the rain in
L i n e - S t o r m Song",
to
when he clea r l y in vites
"A
when he uses an a p p a r e n t l y naiv e pr ay er to God
to mask an argument a d d r e s s e d to his love in "A Praye r in Sring",
and wh en he u s e s the c oun t r y c o d e of p l a n t i n g to invite his
to
bu rn
in
the
"Puttin g
experiences,
"In
a Vale" d e s c r i b e s a s p e a k e r ' s er otic
through
in
the
Seed".
As for
the
love
ero ti c
lea rn ing
an a l l e g o r i c a l stor y about v o i c e s and "mai dens" in b loom
face that v i s i t e d him at night when he wa s young;
"R ose Pogo n i a s "
p r e s e n t s a s a c r e d erot ic e x p e r i e n c e lived by the s p e aker and
love
a mong
with
they
"a
thou s a n d
o r chises";
"Going for W a ter"
d eals
a m agic e r otic e x p e r i e n c e
of a c o u p l e in the w o o d s
(where
seek a brook in si lence);
and "All R e v e l a t i o n " t a l k s about
the e p i p h a n i c moment of r e v e l a t i o n h u man bein g s have t h r o u g h
conception
of a new life.
of sex and e r ot icism,
sex u a l i t y ,
uncertainty
other p o e m s pre sent the dark side of human
as in "The Str ong are S a y i n g Nothing",
of
terror
the
In contr a s t with these good p o r t r a i t s
human c o n c e p t i o n and hu man death
t h r o u g h the co de of plan ting;
the
his
in which
are
presented
in "The Subv e r t e d Flower",
in which
d o m i n a t e s a boy and a girl who are t r a n s f o r m e d
b e a s t s s i n c e they don't know h o w to deal with a moment of
135
the
into
erot ic
desire;
of
a
in "Wind and W i n d o w Fl ower",
woman's
"Devotion",
w hi ch tell s us a l l e g o r i c a l l y
ref usa l to accept a m a n ' s
which
presents
a
erotic
call;
d e s o l a t e stateme nt of
and
a
in
female
s p e a k e r about the d e v o t i o n she has for her love, which force s her
to a c c e p t sexual
in ter course .
Although
some
e x p l i c i t c o n c e r n with sexual
an
apparently
speaker.
in
of t h e s e lyrics present
love,
an
the majori ty of them
The
m i m e s i s level of
language
and
t hes e lyrics,
imagery,
s u g g e s t s that
often
very
ther e
is
of t h e mimesi s,
e n t e r t a i n you by m a k i n g play
things
we trust you a l r e a d y know.
height
of
apprehension
the
p o i n t i n g to a h y p o g r a m el sewhere, we can see all
play.
Frost s a i d in a 1954 talk r e c o r d e d by Reg i n a l d Cook,
it - the ap ex"
reading
really
multiplicity
th e p o e t i c game of l a n g u a g e that poet r y invite s us to
Thus,
a
rich
But as soon as we p e r c e i v e
c o n s t a n t seman t ic u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s among the rich
to
present
o r d i n a r y inc ide nt r e l at ed with natu r e and with
s o m e t h i n g e l s e to be dis c o v e r e d .
is
almost
Frost's
of
(symbol and
By maki ng
(Babent
"Our object
m etaphor)
play!
yaice,
poet r y m e a n s much more than
p e r c e i v e his work in all its
richness
and
poems.
with
That's
6 Livi a g
the m i m e s i s level of his
As
the
In
sublety,
the
48).
s i mple
orde r
to
we need to
h a v e a p r e - d i s p o s i t i o n to fo llow the c i r c u i t o u s s e q u e n c e of their
structure,
to tak e part in their s e m i o t i c game,
mind
th eir language,
that
never referential.
poetry
is
found.
And
and to keep
no ma tter how s i m p l e and
in
clear,
is
It is only by u n d e r s t a n d i n g that l a n g u a g e
in
indirect that we can feel whe re s i g n i f i c a n c e
as soon as we p e r c e i v e that s i g n i f i c a n c e in
136
may
be
Frost's
poetry
is the resul t of the "word g ame " of poetic
language,
we
u n d e r s t a n d that his typical s t r u c t u r a l mov ement is c e r t a i n l y from
"sig h t " to " i n s i g h t "
(“F r o s t ' s S y n e c d o c h i s m " , 379),
from t a n g i b l e
to u n t a n g i b l e things.
The a w a r e n e s s of the d e t o u r we can find in
p o e m s is,
nature
thus,
lyrics
grandfather
surface
p a r t i c u l a r l y relev a n t
and
erotic ism .
in the linkage b e t ween his
A l t h o u g h the myth
a n a l y s i s of F r o s t ' s d e s c r i p t i v e realism,
(bir d s
seeking
t hei r
the
s i n g i n g and t h r u s t i n g their bills
b e e s flying a r o u n d flowers and trees,
“open
the
good
creases"
mysterious
of the earth,
departure
images of summ er and
f l o w e r s p r e s e n t i n g their s o f t n e s s and delic acy ,
in
of
of A m e r i c a n L i t e r a t u r e would be more coh ere nt with a
from m i m e s i s s h o w s us that b e y o n d the visual
spring
Frost's
into
flowers,
the sun burning,
f a r mers putting in the seed
people
b r o o k s in th e woods,
picking
and
orchises
farm ers
or
in vit ing
l o v e r s to clean p a s t u r e s p r i n g s or to "rout" in the
rain)
we may find p o e t i c s ig ns that a l s o s tand for fe rt ility and erotic
call,
leaves,
in the same way that images of fall and win ter
u n m a t e d birds, coldn ess ,
context
to
of
dryness
S i d n e y Cox,
and
and a b s e n c e of trees) point to a
ari dit y.
As Frost wro te in a letter
"in Poetr y and und er e m o t i o n every word used
'moved' a l i t t l e or much - mov ed from its old place,
made,
m a d e new"
(Selec ted L e t t e r s of B a h e n t iizast,
begins
wi th an a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i o n of the se natu r e
lit tl e
by l i t t l e e x t e n d s their s i g n i f i c a n c e to human
beginning
(snow, dead
is
h e i g htened,
i4i).
Frost
i m ag es
and
sexua lit y,
with a prov i n c i a l argu m e n t whic h is enla r g e d to deepe r
l e vels of c o m p l e x i t y .
There for e,
the p r e s e n c e of a human s p e aker
and his c o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the s c e n e or acti v i t y he is e n g a g e d
.137
in
often
changes
phenomena.
th e
the
naturally
labe led
about
real
aspects
the analysis
sexual
love
human
emptiness.
"conservative"
different
As
provide
from
natu r e
to
abstract
And t h r o u g h this m e c h a n i s m of tra n s c e n d e n t a l realism,
often
shows,
spo t l i g h t
in
beings
Whereas
of
and
of
th e
natu r e
sex
last
group
self-realization
generates
ta lk s
human sexuality.
F r o s t ' s t exts has both
with
poet
of
the
or
learning
lyrics
power
with
("In
to
total
a
Vale"),
e p i p h a n i c m o m e n t s of fusion with n a t u r e and with the Other
("Rose
F'ogonias" and "Going for Wa ter") and an almost magical r e v e l a t i o n
about
the b e g i n n i n g of life ("All R e v e l a tion");
uncertainty
Window
("The S t r o n g are Say ing Nothi ng" ),
Flo wer "),
sacrifice
animal
and
i n s t i n c t s ("The Subv e r t e d Flowe r")
and
(" Devotion") to h u m an life.
In this sense,
t h e s e lyric s present the same dual i t y
find in F r o s t ' s d r a m a t i c poems,
and
n e g a t i v e p o r t r a y a l s of sexual
are
Frost
is
present
It is at the same time
much more expli c i t
a
subtle
way
love.
in their
the
we
which a lso pre sen t p o s i t i v e
Altho u g h
erotic
e s p e c i a l l y e f f e c t i v e with dialogue,
in
a
which e n c o m p a s s e s c o n c e p t i o n and
can
poems
b r ings
fear ("Wind
c r e a t i v e and d e s t r u c t i v e force,
death.
it also
d i fferent
his
dram a t i c
un derto nes,
for
the lyrics
sid es
also
of
quite
c h a l l e n g i n g er otic expe r i e n c e s .
Much m o r e than be ing the wise w h i t e - h a i r e d man
talked
about
his
country
thro u g h New
r e m a r k a b l e poet who used seasons,
meditate
on many p s y c h o l o g i c a l
England,
was
a
rural scen e s and human d r a m a to
issues.
And in the same
used n a t u r e to talk about death, hu ma n transience,
i38
Frost
who
way
he
f r iendship and
love,
he a l s o used it to talk about m a r r i a g e and sex. This is an
u n q u e s t i o n a b l e p r o o f that he was a m o d e r n poet who t h r e a t e n e d the
gent e e l
t r a d i t i o n not only b e c a u s e of his enlargem ent of Im agism
from sight to hearing, and of hi s m o d e r n view of nature, but also
because
he
replaced
the
m e l o d i o u s lyri cs about romantic
of the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y by
sensuality,
s ile nces.
about
p o r t r a y a l s of love full of passion,
t e m p l e s of the heat,
Na ture,
h u man
love
sacr e d places,
and m y s t e r i o u s
thus, was a fram ework thro ugh which he talked
sexuality,
believing
in the honest
duplicity
of
symbol and m e t aphor.
Fi nal ly,
semiotic
I
would
like to ment ion that s i n c e
c i r c u l a r i t y of s i g n i f i c a n c e is a dialect
between
the
text
and reader,
t h e r e will a l w a y s be s o m e t h i n g more to say about the
same
and
texts
the sa me poets.
Each ne w reader b r i n g s
s e n s i b i l i t y to inte ract with the text,
go back to the same
place:
to th e u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t i e s of th e beg inning.
always
end
myste ry,
is
always
language.
about
p o e t r y c o n t i n u e s to be
And s i n c e we
a
stri k i n g
with ne w p o s s i b i l i t i e s s h i n i n g in each rer ead ing.
s o m e t h i n g left behind,
In
this sense,
u n c o v e r e d by
our
There
particular
t h e r e is still a lot more to be
Rober t F r o s t ' s poetic p r o d u c t i o n ,
c o m p l e x f e m a l e figures,
new
and all of them, no matter
ho w many s t r u c t u r a l d e v i c e s they can decode,
w h e r e we begin,
a
p a r t i c u l a r l y about
said
his
both w omen and witches, who seem to bring
m a d n e s s and r e d e m p t i o n to the m e n ' s world.
1.39
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