로버트 프로스트 시에서의 숲의 의미

Abstract

Robert Frost’s view on woods in his poetry is very diverse compared with those of Emerson and Thoreau. Ralph Waldo Emerson regarded woods as the spiritual training center. And Henry David Thoreau was aware of the wisdom from his living in Walden woods. But Robert Frost realized the comprehensive insight through his life as a farmer in the woods. In the woods, sometimes Frost kept a harmony with nature, and was cured mentally even by dropping of snow dust. But he often felt fears by the dark woods and its indifference toward man’s will. In other words, nature’s indifference means that nature has its own principle without concerning about man’s daily affairs. For that reason, ironically, man can be aware of and cultivate his wisdom for his survival in this wild world. From that point, man can be diligent and awakened instead of being lazy as well. Above all, Frost had an outstanding insight into the dark woods. He wrote like this, ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep,’ in his “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The phrase, ‘dark and deep.’ I think, has a profound meaning. Because we cannot figure out the abyss of our life throughly, from this view we can call our life ‘dark and deep’ one. So the woods can be compared to our life, and then the woods would be the symbol of our life. Finally speaking, Robert Frost has the wonderful insight into the woods. Moreover this insight cannot be limited to any pointed era because his thought is open and universal at any time.