M et aphor and Sy mbolis m:Two Typi cal Features of Frost’s Poetry3CHEN Yan1,L I S i-hong2(1.Yunnan Vocati onal College of Tr op ical Cr op s,Pu’er665000,China;2.I nternati onal College of Honghe University,Mengzi661100,China)Abstract:W ith its see m ingly si m p licity and a mbiguity in language but rich i m p licati ons in thinking,Fr ost’s poetry often p r oduces a rewarding and lasting i m p ressi on on the readers.The authors hold that the main characteristics of his poetry are metaphor and sy mbolis m, and his fa mous typ ical poe m s reveal p r ofound phil os ophical ideas that are Fr ost’s inter p retati on of life and existence aswell as the relati on2 shi p bet w een man and nature.Key words:Robert Fr ost;metaphor;sy mbolis m;phil os ophical connotati on中图分类号:I712.2 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1008-9128(2008)01-0068-04 Robert Fr ost(1874-1963)is one of the greatest po2 ets in the20th century American literature.Four ti m es of the Pulitzer Prize winner,Fr ost received honors fr o m f orty -f our instituti ons,and beca me the nati on’s unofficial Poet Laureate and in1961recited his poe m“The Gift Outright”at the inaugurati on of President John F.Ken2 nedy,a rare case in American hist ory.Fr ost is often co mpared with Words worth and E mer2 s on in s o me as pects.Words worth may have influenced Fr ost in many as pectswhile E mers on’s influence is large2 ly the concep t of“nature-as-sy mbol”.And in s ome degree,Fr ost’s life experience als o has a great influence on his poetic creati on,and is hel pful t o f or m his own style and characteristics.H isworks often set in rural Ne w England.Natural surr oundings give hi m much ins p irati on and trigger his i m aginati on.On the surface,Fr ost’s po2 etry is si m p le and easy t o understand,but Fr ost hi m self refused t o be considered as a nature poet.“I’m not a nature poet,”he once declared,“there is al w ays s o me2 thing else in my poetry.”[1]86H is work is often“decep2 tively si m p le”,and can be read very often on many lev2 els.H is poetry is rich in connotati ons and many poe m s suggest a deeper meaning.And although most of his po2 e m s often contain p r of ound phil os ophical ideas,they are not didactic.A good understanding of Fr ost’s clever use of metaphor and sy mbols can shed much light on his rich phil os ophical thinking.I M et aphor and Sy m bolis mMetaphor is s o i m portant in poetry that poetry has al m ost beco me the art of metaphors,as the Spanish es2 sayist and phil os opher Jose O rtega Y Gasset says that “Poetry has beco me the higher algebra of meta2 phor.”[2]360“Metaphor is a figure of s peech in which the quality of one is transferred ont o another.”[2]361Fr ost ar2 gued,“Thought was dependent upon figurative language, not as mere decorati on but as the basis of concep tualiza2 ti on”[3]4.He thought about the nature of metaphor.“Metaphor is the whole of poetry.”[3]115“Poetry is si m p ly made of metaphor…Every poe m is a ne w metaphor inside or it is nothing”.[3]115Such are the burdens Robert Fr ost p laced both upon metaphor and on hi m self as a poet.He went even farther in his clai m ing that metaphor is the whole of thinking,and that,theref ore,t o be educated by poetry is t o be taught t o think.[3]115Metaphor as a poetic device is hel pful t o exp ress the the me of a poe m and re2 veal the phil os ophical i m p licati ons of a poe m.Sy mbolis m is a literary move ment that ar ose in France in the last half of the nineteenth century and that greatly influenced many writers,particularly poets,of the t w entieth century.Hol m an defines sy mbolis m as the f ol2 l o wing,“in its br oad sense,sy mbolis m is the use of one object t o suggest another,or in literature,the p ractice of rep resenting objects or ideas by sy mbols or giving things a sy mbolic(ass ociated)character and meaning.”[4]118A s a literary technique,sy mbolis m can be defined第6卷 第1期2008年2月 红河学院学报Jounal of Honghe UniversityVol.6 No.1Feb.20083收稿日期:2007-09-27第一作者:陈燕(1978-),女,云南普洱人,云南热带作物职业学院教师,在读硕士。
研究方向:英语文学。
as the art of ex p ressing ideas and e moti ons not by descri2 bing the m directly,nor by defining the m thr ough making a co mparis on bet w een concrete i m ages,but by suggesting what these ideas and e moti ons are thr ough the use of po w2 erful sy mbols.And W inifred No wottney gives us a more vivid descri p ti on of sy mbolis m:“W ith metaphor,the po2 et talks about object X as though it were a Y…W ith sy mbolis m,he p resents an…X,but his way of p resenting X makes us think that it is not only X,but als o is or stands for s o mething more than itself—s ome Y or other, or a nu mber of‘Y’s…It is as though…the poet were try2 ing t o leap out of the mediu m of language alt ogether and t o make his meaning s peak thr ough objects instead of words.Even though he does not tell us what…X stands for,or even that it stands f or anything,he makes us be2 lieve that it means,t o hi m at least,s omething beyond it2 self”.[3]160II Ph ilosoph i ca l Connot a ti on s E m bod i ed i n Frost’sM et aphor and Sy m bolis mFr ost is a keen observer of nature.He often uses a metaphor as vehicle t o ex p ress his feelings evoked by the natural scenes,pheno mena and events.And he is skillful in using a nu mber of sy mbols in his poetry,which make his poetry possess a quality of sy mbolic i m p licati on.H is abundant use of metaphors and sy mbols in his poe m s makes his poe m s see m ingly describe the beauty of na2 ture,but indeed they contain s ome phil os ophic signifi2 cance.Fr ost is a poet full of i m aginati on.I n the poe m,“The Silken Tent”,Fr ost connects t w o apparently differ2 ent things,that is,he co mpares a girl t o a silken tent in the field on a m ild su mmer day.Fr ost p resents us a vivid p icture of the girl’s beauty and grace thr ough using meta2 phor as poetic vehicle.“She is as in a field a silken tent/A t m idday when a sunny su mmer breeze/Has dried the de w and all its r opes relent,/So that in guys it gently s ways at ease.”The weather is nice and“the sunny su m2 mer breeze has dried the de w”,and the tent is gently s waying in the breeze,and this i m age l ooks as if a girl is dancing in the field.The state of the silken tent in the breeze i m p lies that the girl see m s t o be at peace and eve2 rything in her life is g oing well.I n fact,this poe m reveals the tensi on bet w een the girl’s pursuit of freedo m and l oyalty t o G od and l ove.“And its supporting central cedar pole,/That is its p in2 nacle t o heaven ward/And signifies the sureness of itss oul,/See m s t o owe naught t o any single cord,/But strictly held by none,is l oosely bound/By countless silk2 en ties of l ove and thought/T o everything on earth the co mpass r ound,/And only by one’s going slightly taut”reveals t w o paradoxical as pects that exist in the girl:on the one hand,she should be faithful t o G od,and l oyal t o her l over;on the other hand,she de mands the freedo m t o think and t o perf or m.The“supporting central cedar pole”stands f or s oul,which should be free,but“she”is “l oosely bound”by the cords that hold the tent in p lace. Ropes sy mbolize the ties of the girl’s feeling and thought which connects the inner world of the girl with other peo2 p le and the earthly things of this world.A lthough the r opes are rather l oose and holding gently on her,it does not mean that she is abs olutely free,and the bondage stands f or the relati onshi p bet w een her and other peop le. W hat’s more,the r opes functi on t o keep the tent erect, which i m p lies that she can live a happy life with the hel p of these“r opes”.The pole sy mbolizes her l oyalty t o G od and l ove.The central pole is the main part of the tent. W ithout this pole,the tent would not stay up,but would be bl own by the wind and fall down.The very t op of the pole is not leaning but rather reaching heaven ward.This i m p lies a str ong and enduring faith in G od that is at the core of this girl’s heart.I n this s onnet,we can clearly see ho w skillfully Fr ost uses metaphor:he integrates a girl and a silken tent int o one i m age and t o reveal his un2 derstanding of the contradict ory relati onshi p bet w een one and self,individual and s ociety.Man exists in s ociety as an individual,in this sense he hi m self is paradoxical in nature.This poe m reveals the inner paradoxical mood of one pers on.And it als o reflects the relati onshi p bet w een individual and other peop le.One of Fr ost’s poetic theories is that a poe m should “begins in delight and ends in wisdom”.[5]1200The poe m “B irches”is the e mbodi m ent of his theory.W hen the po2 et sees that“birches bend t o left and right,”he wonders what caused the m t o be s o bent,s o he i m agines that may2 be“s o me boy’s been s winging the m.“The poe m p res2 ents us a vivid p icture that a boy is happ ily s winging bir2 ches.But the poet does not only mean t o tell us a st ory. There is s omething beyond the literary meaning hidden in this poe m.Fr ost is quite skillful in creating metaphor t o get his idea acr oss;for exa mp le,in this poe m he com2 pares the trees t o”girls on hands and knees that thr o w their hair/Before the m over their heads t o dry in the sun.”Fr ost holds that life is a difficult j ourney filled with96CHE N Yan,L I Si-hongMetaphor and Sy mbolis m:T wo Ty p ical Features of Fr ost’s Poetrypain,s o he says in the poe m,“And life is t oo much like a pathless wood/W here your face burns and tickles with the cob webs/B r oken acr oss it,and one eye is weep ing/ Fr o m a t w ig’s having lashed acr oss it open”.Fr ost co m2 pares our life j ourney t o a wood without paths,and he be2 lieves that one may have t o ex perience s o me difficulties and even be injured in such a situati on.I feel that the perfect metaphor in this poe m is that the poet co mpares the p r ocess of the boy’s s winging birches fr om t op t o gr ound t o the state of a pers on’s maintaining balance be2 t w een ideal and reality.“So was I once myself a s winger of birches./And s o I drea m of going back t o be./It’s when I’m weary of considerati ons,/And life is t oo much like a pathless wood…/And half grant what I wish and snatch me a way/Not t o return.Earth’s the right p lace for l ove:/I don’t know where it’s likely t o go better”re2 flects that the poet wants t o get a way a while when he feels life is t oo much f or hi m,but it does not mean he wants t o escape eternally fr o m reality.The poet desires t o escape the earthly worries and p ressure in life;and t o cli m b t oward heaven,and t o l ook f or a te mporary s p iritu2 al salvati on,but finally he still returns t o the real world, for reality is the fir m base f or ideal though s ometi m es it is indifferent and cruel,f or“Earth’s the right p lace for l ove:/I don’t kno w where it’s likely t o go better.”The “wisdo m”contained in the poe m is that it suggests the best way of life is t o make a reconciliati on bet w een one’s desire and the reality.Fr ost creates a perfect metaphor t o ex p ress his understanding of the hu man experience and sho ws his active attitude t owards life.“B irches”shares a si m ilar the me with another poe m“St opp ing by Woods on a Sno wy Evening”.“St opp ing by Woods on a Sno wy Evening”is not only one of the most popular American poe m s,but als o one written in a clear and see m ingly direct style.“St op2 p ing byWoods on a Snowy Evening”narrates a very si m2 p le st ory.A man st op s by woods on a snowy evening that is darkest evening of the year.He watches the woods fill up with sno w,and he is fascinated by the beautiful scen2 ery and stays s o l ong that his little horse shakes his har2 ness bells t o ask if there is s ome m istake.The poet re2 me mbers his p r om ises that he has t o keep,s o he decides move on and travel m iles before he sleep s.W ith the ex2 cep ti on of si m p licity,the poe m gives us an i m p ressi on of uncertainty and a mbiguity.The poet does not tell us who the pers on is,or where the rider is g oing t o,or what the rider’s p r o m ise is.It can be inter p reted that“sleep”stands f or death and the man’s j ourney t oward sleep re2 p resents a pers on’s life j ourney—fr om birth t o death; fr om the realistic world t o natural world.“Woods”in this poe m may sy mbolize the natural world where a pers on be2 l ongs after his death.Another inter p retati on of this poe m is that“woods”sy mbolizes a perfect,mysteri ous ideal world,and the man’s leaving the woods stands f or his accep tance of s ocial duty and pers onal res ponsibility.I p refer t o the latter one.“St opp ing byWoods on a Sno wy Evening”contains several i m ages,and each i m age has its sy mbolic mean2 ing.“Sno wy evening”,which is the i m age of coldness and gl oo m,and it is the reflecti on of the man’s mood.“Woods”,which is“l ovely,dark and deep”,may sy m2 bolize the whole natural world;the owner of the woods and“the village”stand for the hu man s ociety and life and the“little horse”rep resents a life pattern:devoting oneself t o fulfilling one’s s ocial res ponsibility and indul2 ging oneself in the chaotic life of modern s ociety,but ig2 noring the natural beauty in daily life and f orgetting t o pursue the s p iritual enj oy ment.The man’s st opp ing by woods may sy mbolize his desire t o obtain the te mporary tranquility of inner m ind.The poe m p resents readers t w o worlds:the world of the woods—an ideal world offering perfect quietness and s olitude,and a real world full of s ocial obligati ons and tr oubles ome.I n the end,the man decides t o leave the woods and return t o the real world.The phil os ophical overt one e mbodied in this poe m is very obvi ous,that is,we can have a moment of relaxati on fr om the realistic world and learn t o app reciate natural beauty and obtain s p iritual enj oy ment when we are tired of the chaotic life,but this does not mean we should be an escap ist.A s an individual in s ociety,we should fulfill our task and keep our p r om ises.I n a word,we should keep balance bet w een the t w o worlds—drea m and reality. The poe m“St opp ing byWoods on a Snowy Evening”re2 veals the relati onshi p bet w een man and s ociety.It will be very hel pful f or us t o live an active and meaningful life, t o shoulder our s ocial res ponsibility and realize our value in this s ociety.Fr ost“was good at exp l oring the comp lexity of hu2 man existence thr ough treating see m ingly trivial subjects and had al w ays in vie w the ulti m ate ai m in writing of making life“whole again bey ond confusi on”[3]203.“The Road Not Taken”by Robert Fr ost is an ad m irable poe m.I n this poe m,Fr ost p resents a conflict-t o make a choice bet w een an easy r oad and a challenging one.D if207红河学院学报 2008.1/文学ferent peop le may have different understandings of thethe me of this poe m.I n my understanding,the t w o r oads that diverged in a yell ow wood sy mbolize t w o different choices in one ’s life .The the me of this fa mous poe m is about choice in life,and we can inter p ret this the me fr om three as pects .The first as pect is that life is a p r ocess that we have t o make a choice all the ti m e and at every p lace;the second one is that Fr ost discusses ho w one ’s choice has an i m portant effect on the rest of his life .Choosing the common r oad means the consequences can be f ore 2t old;while choosing the “less traveled by ”r oad means that a pers on can ex perience more excite ment and have a more satisfact ory life,contrasting the more fa m iliar lives other peop le take;everyone will be res ponsible f or his/her o wn choice and different choices different peop le make in life will bring the m different futures;the third one is that Fr ost ex p resses the regret that peop le can have only one choice and he p resents man ’s li m itati on t o ex 2p l ore different possibilities of life .“Yet knowing how way leads on t o way,/I doubted if I should ever come back ”i m p lies that once he makes a choice,he can never come back t o the past and experience other possibilities .“The Road Not Taken ”is a lucid reflecti on of Fr ost ’s life phi 2l os ophy which p r oves that.“al m ost everything in Fr ost is figurative and metaphoric but in the suggestive ways ofparable or p r overb .”[3]52Thus,Fr ost ’s dicti on has its rich metaphorical and sy mbolic significance .“woods ”,“birch ”,“cedar ”,“tree ”,“app le ”,“fl ower ”,etc .are inseparable parts of nature,while “day ”,“evening ”,“su mmer ”,“hour ”,“da wn ”,“m idday ”,“winter ”etc .are either ti m e -bound or seas on -related .I n fact,I believe that they carry with the m selves the i m p licati ons that nature exists in a la w of recycle and hu man existence re mains in the sa me way:e 2merging,gr o wing and dying,which reveals the nature of nature and of mankind .III Conclusi onRobert Fr ost is often regarded as one of the greatestand the most popular and bel oved American poets in the 20th century .A lthough his work is r ooted in the Ne w England landscape,he can never be regarded as regi on 2al poet,because his poetry often has a universal the me and carries rich metaphorical and sy mbolic meanings .He holds that nature with its inexhaustible ins p irati on is a valuable s ource of hu man wisdom ,fr om which he dra ws all he needs .On the surface,most of his poe m s are si m p le and direct,and f ocus on describing the beau 2ty or facts of nature,but with his power of poetic i m agi 2nati on and figurative language,they exp ress Fr ost ’s p r of ound phil os ophical ideas about nature and man and his concern with human survival .Thr ough cleverly utili 2zing metaphor and translating natural objects and inci 2dents int o suggestive sy mbols,Fr ost ’s poe m s show his deep app reciati on and understanding of the natural world and human existence .W ith a t otal l oyalty t o his own be 2lief in poetic creati on and a see m ingly truthful descri p 2ti on of nature,Fr ost ’s poetry exp l ores the hu man rela 2ti onshi p s and discl oses the meaning of human existence in nature,which requires the readers t o inter p ret its rich i m p licati ons thr ough a correct understanding of his meta 2phor and sy mbols .References:[1] Trikha,Manorama,(ed .).Robert Fr ost:An Anthol ogy ofRecent Criticis m [M ],Delhi:Ace Publicati ons,1990.[2] 邵锦娣,白劲鹏.文学导论[M ].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2002.[3] Faggen,Robert .The Ca mbridge Compani on To RobertFr ost [M ].Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Educa 2ti on Press,2004.[4] Denise,Theodre,et al .Great Traditi ons in Ethics [M ].Beijing:Peking University Press,2002.[5] Reidhead,Julia,(ed ).The Nort on Anthol ogy of Ameri 2can L iterature[M ].Ne w York:W .W.Nort on &Compa 2ny,I nc .,2003.[6] 常耀信1美国文学简史[M ].天津:南开大学出版社,2003.[责任编辑 杨文伟]隐喻和象征:弗罗斯特诗歌的两大特色陈 燕1,李思红2(1.云南热带作物职业学院,云南普洱665000;2.红河学院国际学院,云南蒙自661100)摘 要:弗罗斯特诗歌的语言似乎简单、含糊,但其思想蕴意深刻,常常给读者留下难忘的印象,余味无穷。