Background Information
Tree ay My Window is an apostrophe composed by Robert Lee Frost that appeared in his 1928 poetic collection, West-Running Brook. This poem reflects the poet's association and relation with Nature, not in a way Wordsworth perceives. Frost's love of Nature is based upon concrete and matter-of-fact realism. He differentiates between mind and matter. This poem invokes a distinctive perspective of the force of Nature that is beneficial and destructive simultaneously to its dwellings as well as it is only vulnerable to and concerned about the outer "weather".
Situation
The poem begins when the poet lowers the sash (a window door made of glass pane) but he does not draw the curtains so that he should not lose the sight of the tree standing next to the poet's window. The poet takes his tree as,
Vague dream head lifted out of the ground,
And thing next most diffuse to cloud,
He, then addresses to the tree that he has "seen it taken and tossed" and he expects from the tree that it might have seen the poet in the same condition in his slumber. The poet says that fate has joined their heads together but with a difference of inner and outer conflicts among the two.
Development of Themes
Man's relationship to Nature has been an interesting subject of debate among many literary artists and critics. Wordsworth paints a beautiful and benevolent picture of mother Nature. But his caricaturing is only limited to the spring season. Frost, on the other hand, paints Nature in its four seasons. In this poem, the theme of Man's superiority is deeply and vividly portrayed. According to Frost, their distinctive role is 'determined' by fate,
That day she put our heads together,
Fate had her imagination about her,
Your head so much concerned with outer,
Mine with inner, weather.
In the last two lines, this "distinctive role" is unveiled that a man has to withstand both outer challenges of weather as well as the inner conflicts of mind as compared to the "thing next most diffuse to cloud" which is only concerned about the outer weather.
Figurative Analysis
As mentioned above, this poem is an apostrophe [No! We're not talking about that ' thingy]. An apostrophe is a poem in which a poet addresses to inanimate objects as if they were living and listening. This poem is an apostrophe as the poet openly addresses his tree at window by the pronoun 'You'. The poet has personified the tree as well as Nature through the allusion of 'she' that refers to 'mother Nature'.
Setting and Imagery
The poem is based upon the room that has a window with a transparent glass for the poet to look at the tree. This short poem has an appropriate set of visual imagery like, "Tree at my window", "sash is lowered", "taken and tossed" and "taken and swept" to create an imaginative but poetic environment in the mind of a reader.
Structural Analysis
Tree at my Window is composed of sixteen lines and is divided in four stanzas of four lines, formally known as quatrains. The rhyme scheme of this poem is pretty self-explanatory, first line rhyming with the forth while the second line rhymes with the third one. So, the full rhyme scheme of this poem is ABBA CDDC EFFE GHHG.
Conclusion
To sum up, Tree at My Window treats Nature as a scientific being with its own set of "outer conflicts" while showcasing a tree as a branch or a subject of the regime of Nature.
Sources and Suggested Readings
- https://interestingliterature.com/2020/05/robert-frost-tree-at-my-window-analysis/
- https://poemanalysis.com/robert-frost/tree-at-my-window/
- https://beamingnotes.com/2013/07/15/tree-at-my-window-analysis-and-summary-by-robert-frost/
- https://yimenglu105.blogspot.com/2016/05/poem-analysis-tree-at-my-window.html
- Robert Frost - Selected Poems - Famous Production - Page 162
Vrey good discussion. Thanks sir
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