“Tofeeltheearthasrough”：TheverisimilitudeunderlyingRobertFrost’s“ToEarthward”

WangCheng

【Abstract】In the analysis of the less salient poem “To Earthward” written by Robert Frost，three layers in the protagonists pursuit have been found：the sensuous joy，the intense pain and the “weight and strength” to get such a feeling； yet the conviction in such a “down-to-earth” behavior is betrayed by a little word “as” at the end of this poem，which unfolds that the above confession is in essence a transcendental presupposition and what the poet is obsessed with turns out not to be some concrete truth but his verisimilar fantasy.

【Key words】 Robert Frost； complexity； verisimilitude

1.Introduction

Robert Lee Frost，（1874 in San Francisco -1963），is regarded as one of leading 20th century pastoral poets in America.Frost is famous for his unique poet-writing style：adopting simple words and traditional rhymes to depict daily New England farm life.But “to call Frost a pastoral poet is at once to say too much and too little”.The first critic to describe Frosts poetry as “terrible” is Lionel Trilling.In his speech at Frosts eighty-fifth birthday diner，he referred Frosts poems as revealing “the terrible actualities of life in a new way，and that “though the manifest America[of]his poems may pastoral，the actual America is tragic”.Robert Faggen finds that “his （Robert Frosts） landscapes are often barren，his shepherds seem to be rather tough farmers，and contemplation always appears threatened and mingled with hard labor.” In the sense of the complication of Frosts poems，Elizabeth Jenning holds the view that “the charm of his poetry was heightened by his manner of seeming to be natural，direct and simple as he appeared to be.There are few poems by Frost that do not yield to long and careful meditation.In other words，his poems resist easy explanation，as if the poet designed his work to fool the innocent reader into taking the ‘easy gold of a quick interpretation.”

“To Earthward” is a poem collected in the anthology “New Hampshire” which was published in 1923.Compared with the poets other best-known poems collected in this anthology，such as “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”，“Nothing Gold Can Stay”，“Maple”，this poem “is an intensely personal lyric”.However，just as Andrei Sinyavsky describes，F(xiàn)rost “l(fā)ooks into the depth of things，not merely at their spectacular，sparkling surfaces，and consequently his slow and easy，pensive step outruns the field time and again”.Based on this comment，this paper focuses on the complexity underlying this less salient poem.

2.Joy and Pain

From the first section of “To Earthward”，“I” am indulged in the sweet love of aroma and flowers.Those things have the same feature：they are sensually “too much”，“strong”，and “stung” that “I” am thrown into illusions of joy at the first touch of them，“I lived on air”； “I had the swirl…”Then comes a change.“When I was young” indicates the eagerness for the sweet side of things has passed away.Now the protagonist is looking for something else.There comes “Now no joy but lacks salt/ That is not dashed with pain/ And weariness and fault； ”and “I craved the stain/ Of tears，the aftermark/ Of almost too much love，/ The sweet of bitter bark/ And burning clove”.All these stuffs，images，marks are something more than sweet and joyful.Words like “Salt”，“stain”，“grass and sand”，“earth” which appear frequently in the last stanzas point to seemingly plain stuffs which have the same feature：strong powers to constitute，breed and bear.They may work in a less-known way and the first and essential feeling they give people is “hurt”.Yet it is these stuffs that give life to love，aroma，and flowers.If the possession of the sweet credits one with joyful illusions，the possession of these things enables one to get closer to the origin，the source，or the truth.

3.Verisimilar Fantasy

In the analysis of this poem above we have found out the strong need for something primordial，and come to a conclusion that they could be representations of truth.Mordecai Marcus contends that the protagonists desire to have his body fully pressed against the earth suggests experience so intense that it may be “a promise of complete fulfillment in death，a view reinforced by the speakers sense of longing”.Yet there comes a betrayal of this finding at the very end of this poem，“The hurt is not enough：/ I long……to feel the earth as rough/ To all my length”.Here a question arises from the action “feel the earth as rough”：how can “I” form a judgment that the earth must be “rough” before any of “my” physical touch of it？ There may be two explanations：one is that “I” know the reality，the truth，the real world transcendentally； the other is that “I” know nothing about the “earth” and the claim that “the earth as rough” is just “my” presupposition in which the earth must be something different from the previous sweet ones.

Both these two explanations imply that the protagonist is somewhat subjective and his presupposition in the end implies that he desires to get lost in a verisimilar fantasy.Therefore，though on the surface he longs to be “to earthward”，towards something painful but secure and stable，yet this longing，due to its presupposition of the output，turns out to be another fantasy.

4.Conclusion

In the poem “To Earthward”，we have found the complex inner world of the protagonist in this intensely personal lyric.On the one hand he used to be obsessed with sensual pleasures of smelling flowers，and now he turns to something stronger，more constitutive and inevitable； on the other hand he presupposes such an experience must be a painful tough period，and then the expectation of something objective turns out to be a mere wishful thinking.This deceptive fantasy hides in a little word “as” which can not be noticed easily at the very end of this poem.Based on this analysis，it is safe to say that if there is any truth to Emersons aphorism “to be great is to be understood”，then Robert Frost is surely one of the great poets.