Modern Language Association

The Narrative Unity of a Boy's Will

Author(s): Donald T. Haynes
Source: PMLA, Vol. 87, No. 3 (May, 1972), pp. 452-464
Published by: Modern Language Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/460904
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The Narrative
UnityofA Boy'sWill
W HEN FROST'S firstvolumeis read in
The CompletePoems of RobertFrost-
1949,it appearsto lack anysemblanceof
unity;one poem followsanotherforno obvious
reason.JohnLynenis respondingto this appar-
entlyrandomorderwhenhe says,in a remarkthat
summarizesthe usual reactionto the book, "I
question whetherthere is any strictrationale
underlying theselectionofpoemsin A Boy's Will.
As Munson indicates,Frostseemssimplyto have
culledthebestpoems he had writtenby October-
November,1912."'
Butin spiteofitsuniversality, thisresponsedoes
notagreewiththepoet's comments, eitherprivate
or public.Frostcontinuallyemphasizedtheunity
of the entirevolume.In a letterto JohnBartlett
dated 26 February1913,he assertedthatA Boy's
Willwas basicallyan autobiographicalnarrative:
"StillI thinkyou willtreatthebook kindlyformy
sake. It comes prettynear beingthe storyof five
yearsofmylife.In thefirst poemI wentawayfrom
people (and college); in the one called A Tuftof
FlowersI came back to them."2Two yearslater,
in a letterto literary
criticWilliamStanleyBraith-
waite,Frostwas equallyspecific:"The book is an
expressionof mylifeforthetenyearsfromeigh-
teen on whenI thoughtI greatlypreferred stocks
and stonesto people.The poemswerewritten as I
lived thelifequiteat themercyof myselfand not
always happy.The arrangement in a book came
much later when I could look back on the past
withsomethinglike understanding."3 So intimate
was theunityhe felthe had achievedthathe could
assert,in a thirdletter,"The Psychologist in me
ached to call it 'The Record of a Phase of Post-
adolescence.'"4
Frost'slater,publiccommentson A Boy's Will
reinforceand clarifyhis earlierletters.In 1940,
describingthe way in which he had selecteda
groupof poems forinclusionin an anthology,he
amplifiedthecommentsmade to Braithwaite:
I havemadethisselection muchas I madetheone
from[sic]my firstbook, A Boy's Will... looking
backwardovertheaccumulation ofyearsto see how
452
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DONALD T. HAYNES
manypoemsI couldfindtowardssomeone meaning
it mightseemabsurdto havehad in advance,butit
wouldbe all rightto acceptfromfateafterthefact.
The interest,thepastime,was to learnif therehad
beenany divinity shapingmyendsand I had been
buildingbetterthanI knew.In otherwordscould
anything of largerdesign,even the roughest, any
or any fragmentof a
brokenor dottedcontinuity,
figurebe discernedamongthe apparently random
lesserdesignsoftheseveralpoems?I
And in hisownmind,Frosthad beenso successful
that,he told Daniel Smythe,the variouspoems
includedin A Boy's Will"seemedto buildup like
a singlepoem."6
The apparentdiscrepancy betweenFrost'scom-
mentsand the usual impressionof the volumeis
explainedwhen recenteditionsof A Boy's Will,
particularlythe 1949 version,are comparedwith
the firstedition.In descendingorder of signifi-
cance,thereare fivedifferencesbetweenthem:
1. A proseglosson thirty of theoriginalthirty-two
poemshas beenomitted.
2. A divisionofthevolumeintothreepartshas been
omitted.
3. Three poems ("Askingfor Roses," "In Equal
and "Spoils of the Dead") have been
Sacrifice,"
omitted.
4. One poem ("In HardwoodGroves") has been
permanently added.
5. One poem("The Pasture")has beenoccasionally
added.7
When A Boy's Will is examinedin its original
form,it becomesapparentthatthe volumedoes
indeedhave an overallintegrity. It is a seriesof
lyricsarrangedintoa narrativecyclewhichtraces
the developmentof a youth frominitial with-
drawalto finalreturnto society,and frominitial
interestin,to final,matureacceptanceofhispoetic
vocation.Whenthepoemsare examinedfromthe
perspective of thegloss,it becomesclearthatthey
are organicallyunifiedby a complexsymbolism
whichtheglossand threefold divisionsupplement.
Even thoughthereare aspectsof the cyclewhich
the gloss and divisionsdo not explain,theythus
 Donald T. Haynes 453
formthepointofdeparturefora discussionofthis THE VANTAGE POINT
deeperunity. And again scornful,butthereis no one hurt.
MOWING
He takes up lifesimplywiththe small tasks.
In thefirst
editionofA Boy's Will,theglossand GOING FOR WATER
divisionsappearonlyin theTable ofContents;in PART II
thevolumeproperthepoems occurwithoutinter-
ruption.In theTable of Contentsthetitlesof the REVELATION
He resolves to become intelligible,at least to
poems are in uppercase;in lowercase,on theline
himself,sincethereis no helpelse;
below,is theprosegloss: THE TRIAL BY EXISTENCE
and to know definitely what he thinksabout the
PART I soul;
INTO MY OWN IN EQUAL SACRIFICE
The Youth is persuaded that he will be rather about love;
more than less himselffor having forswornthe THE TUFT OF FLOWERS
world. about fellowship;
GHOST HOUSE SPOILS OF THE DEAD
He is happyin societyofhischoosing. about death;
MY NOVEMBER GUEST PAN WITH US
He is in love withbeingmisunderstood. about art(his own);
LOVE AND A QUESTION THE DEMIURGE'S LAUGH
He is in doubt whetherto admitreal troubleto a about science.
place besidethehearthwithlove.
PART III
A LATE WALK
He courtsthe autumnalmood. NOW CLOSE THE WINDOWS
STARS It is timeto makean end ofspeaking.
There is no oversightof humanaffairs. A LINE-STORM SONG
STORM FEAR It is the autumnalmood witha difference.
He is afraidof his own isolation. OCTOBER
WIND AND WINDOW FLOWER He sees days slippingfrom him that were the
Out of the winterthingshe fashionsa storyof bestforwhattheywere.
modernlove. MY BUTTERFLY
TO THE THAWING WIND There are thingsthatcan neverbe the same.
He calls on change throughthe violence of the RELUCTANCE.8
elements.
A PRAYER IN SPRING
The mostgeneralresultof restoring thegloss is
He discoversthatthe greatnessof love lies not in clarificationof thevolume'stitle.It is takenfrom
forward-looking thoughts; therefrainofLongfellow's"My Lost Youth": "A
FLOWER GATHERING boy'swillis thewind'swill/ And the thoughtsof
nor yetin any spur it may be to ambition. youthare long,longthoughts."9 This poem is ten
ROSE POGONIAS stanzas long. In the firstseventhe maturepoet,
He is no dissenterfromtheritualismof nature; meditating on thescenesofhisyouth,lamentsthat
ASKING FOR ROSES it is past and gone. But in the last threestanzas
nor fromthe ritualismof youthwhichis make- reconciliationis obtainedas he comes to accept
believe. the loss. This, roughly,is the patternof Frost's
WAITING-Afield at Dusk volume.The individuallyricsrecordthe youth's
He arrivesat theturnoftheyear.
growthand the gloss containsthe commentsof
IN A VALE
Out of old longingshe fashionsa story.
the now maturepoet on whathe had been. The
A DREAM PANG basic difference betweenLongfellow'spoem and
He is shownby a dreamhow reallywellit is with Frost's volume,however,lies in the tone of the
him. comments.WhereLongfellowsentimentalizes his
IN NEGLECT past, the maturepoet in A Boy's Willcomments
He is scornfulof folkhis scorn cannot reach. ironicallyat the outseton the youth'sadolescent

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454 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
withdrawal,picturing him as courting "the plicitin "To theThawingWind,"thepoem which
autumnalmood" and "in love with being mis- immediately follows"Windand WindowFlower."
understood."Onlylateinthecycledoes hecometo The nextsixpoems,culminating with"In a Vale,"
echo Longfellow;in PartiII boththematurepoet recordhis growingawarenessof the relationbe-
and the youthrealize that "thereare thingsthat tweenpersonaland poeticfruition.
can neverbe thesame." As Frostindicatedin hisletters, thegeneralarc
In additionto clarifying thetitle,thegloss and tracedin A Boy's Willis frominitialwithdrawal to
threefold divisionunderscore thegeneralnatureof finalreturn,beginningwith"Into My Own" and
theyouth'sdevelopment. In the firstand longest endingwith "The Tuft of Flowers." "Into My
part,theyouthis largelypassive.Once he has with- Own" identifies thisinitialact and is thusworth
drawn,he respondsto thepressureof events.But consideringin detail:
in Part II he is active,resolving"to become in-
One ofmywishesis thatthosedarktrees,
at leastto himself. .. and to knowdefi-
telligible,
So old and firm showthebreeze,
theyscarcely
nitelywhathe thinksabout" theessentialfactsof Werenot,as 'twere,themerest maskofgloom,
humanexistence love,fellowship, death,his own Butstretched awayuntotheedgeofdoom.
artand science.The fivepoemsof Partiii thusact
as a coda, reflectingthenewfoundmaturity which butthatsomeday
I shouldnotbe withheld
has resultedfromthis resoluteattemptat self- I shouldstealaway,
Intotheirvastness
knowledge. openland,
Fearlessofeverfinding
While the youth remains largely passive Or highway wheretheslowwheelpoursthesand.
throughout Parti, thissection,withtwenty poems,
seemsout of proportionto Part ii (sevenpoems) I do notsee whyI shoulde'erturnback,
and Part iII (fivepoems). However,the gloss to Or thoseshouldnotsetforthuponmytrack
Parti indirectly emphasizesthefactthattheyouth To overtake me,whoshouldmissmehere
Andlongto knowifstillI heldthemdear.
passes throughseveraldistinctstagesof develop-
mentas an individualbecausehe is also beginning Theywouldnot findme changedfromhimthey
to developas a poet.Two ofthetwenty poemsare knew-
set offfromtherestsincetheglossidentifies them wastrue.
Onlymoresureofall I thought
as havingbeen writtenby theyouth: "Wind and
Window Flower" and "In a Vale." Moreover, At theoutsettheyouthindicatesthathe wishes
theiruniquenessis further underscored bythefact thetrees"stretched awayuntotheedge ofdoom."
thattheglossesare grammatically parallel: If theydid,thenhe cannotsee howanything could
keephimfromsomedayvanishingintothem.And
Out of the winterthingshe fashionsa storyof
if he vanished,he could not see whatwould ever
modernlove.
makehimturnback.Moreover,ifhe continued, he
Outofoldlongings a story.
hefashions
could not see how thosehe would thusleave be-
"Windand WindowFlower"is theeighthpoemin hindcould keep fromenteringthe woods in pur-
On thisbasis
Part i, and "In a Vale" is fifteenth. suit,because theywould "long to know if stillI
Part I falls into threeroughlyequal sectionsof held themdear." And whentheyfoundhim,as
eight,seven,and fivepoems. In personalterms, theyassuredlywould,theywoulddiscoverthathe
this divisionsupplementsand clarifiesthe pro- had remainedjust as he was, "only moresure of
gressively widening relationship with others all I thoughtwas true."
whichtheyouth,afterhisinitialwithdrawal, comes Butin spiteofhisinitialwish,thewoodsdo not
to entertain.In thefirstsection,theyouthis totally stretchonward toward the primal infinity. Nor
alienated,standingapartfromeveryone,even his does he enterthem.And so no one is leftbehind.
bride.In thesecondsectionhe establishesa mean- And it is entirely moot as to whetheror not any-
ingfulrelationshipwithher,but he stillremains one would, indeed,follow.Finally,no one will
aloof fromothers.Finally,in thethirdsectionhe everknowwhetherhe wouldbe as constantas he
begins to reenterthe largerhuman community. so unqualifiedlyasserts.The only definitecon-
Inextricably bound up withhispersonalgrowthis clusion that can be drawnfromthe textof this
his desireto becomea poet. This is firstmade ex- poem is that it representsan adolescent'swith-

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 Donald T. Haynes 455
drawalintodaydreaming:"SomedayI'll go away "thrown"intoan at bestindifferent and at worst
and thenthey'llbe sorry,but whentheyare and activelymalignantuniverse.The gloss to "Stars"
come to findme,I won'thold it againstthem;I'll stressesthe youth'srealizationthat "thereis no
be thesameas always,eventhoughtheydon'tap- oversight ofhumanaffairs."Withthisrealization,
preciateme." theisolationwhichhe had so deliberately courted
This readingof "Into My Own" is in keeping becomesthe source of fear.Nevertheless, as the
withthe increasingly directironyof the mature gloss to "Storm Fear" suggests,the youthdoes
poet's commentson theinitialpoems.Of thisone not immediatelychange. This poem concludes
he says, "The youthis persuadedthathe will be withthe youth'sfear,as the windblows and the
rathermorethanless himselfforhavingforsworn firedies-
theworld."He is "happyin societyof his choos- Andmyheartownsa doubt
ing" which, as "Ghost House" shows, is no Whether'tisin us to arisewithday
societyat all. Moreover,he is "in love withbeing Andsaveourselves unaided.
misunderstood,"a commentwhichmakes clear But theglossto thepoem qualifiestheselastlines,
thattheyouthis "persuaded"wrongly thathe willsinceit viewshis fearfroma different perspective.
be "rathermore than less himself"for having
The youth"is afraid,"but not of theirisolation;
withdrawnfromtheworld. his fearis only"of his ownisolation.''
In "A Late Walk," thefifth poem in the cycle, In thefirstsevenpoems,then,theyouth'sinitial
thematurepoet commentsthattheyouth"courts is firstdefinedand
complacencyin his withdrawal
theautumnalmood." The remarkunderscores the then overturnedby his glimpseinto chaos. His
adolescentpomposityof the youth'sassumption responseis to createand "out ofthewinterthings
thatnatureexistsas themirrorforhis ownmelan- he fashionsa storyof modernlove." But even
choly: thoughhe realizesthathis isolationcannotcon-
A treebesidethewallstandsbare, tinue,changedoes notimmediately takeplace and
Buta leafthatlingeredbrown, he "calls on changethroughthe
in his frustration
Disturbed, I doubtnot,bymythought, violenceoftheelements."In thepoemns whichfol-
Comessoftly down.
rattling low, as his relationshipwith his wifebeginsto
But in "Love and a Question,"the poem which matureand he beginsto understandthe relation
immediately precedes"A Late Walk," the youth betweenhis marriageand his poeticvocation,he
has been identifiedas thebridegroom.The impli- graduallyescapes. This developmentis indicated
cation-one which fitsThompson's account of by thegloss to thenexttwo poems,"A Prayerin
Frost's posturingimmaturity before and after Spring"and "Flower Gathering."
marriage-is thatthe youthhas broughtto mar- Withthesetwo poems,Frostbeginsto use the
riage this same adolescence. In other words, gloss fashion.Witheach of thepre-
in a different
ratherthan a mature,I/thou relationship,the cedingpoems, glosshas beena singlesentence.
the
youthis onlyable to participateon theimpersonal, From thispoint onward,however,the gloss fre-
I/youlevel.The romanticconceptionoflove with quentlyextendsover two or more poems, thus
whichtheyouthcomesto marriageis suggestedin mechanically linkingthem."A Prayerin Spring"
the descriptionof his bride: and "FlowerGathering"are unitedby a common
The bridegroom lookedat thewearyroad subjectand verb:
Yet saw butherwithin, He discovers thatthegreatnessofloveliesnotin
Andwishedherheartin a case ofgold forward-looking thoughts;
Andpinnedwitha silverpin. noryetin anyspurit maybe to ambition.
And whatinitiallyshockshimout of thisoverripe Before the experiencesrecountedin these two
romanticism is neithermarriagenor parenthood, poems,theyouth'srelationship withhis wifewas
but the experiencerecountedin "Stars" and immature,since he conceivedof his ambitious
"StormFear."'10 plansforhispoeticfutureas at leastseparatefrom,
These two poemspresentwhatan existentialist ifnotin oppositionto,hismarriage.Now hecomes
would termthe unanticipatedencounterwith a to realizethat,farfrombeingsomething apart,his
"limitsituation,"theabruptawarenessof man as love is involvedin his ambition;indeed,itsgreat-

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456 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
nesstranscends any "spur" to ambitionit maybe.
Moreover,thenexttwo poems,"Rose Pogonias"
and "AskingforRoses," show the naturalexten-
sion of his discoveriesabout thegreatnessoflove.
In each theyouthis participating in ritual,a com-
munalact.
Althoughthepoems between"Wind and Win-
dow Flower"and "In a Vale" indicategrowth,the
youthis stillimmature.Communionbetweenthe
youthand his wifehas developed,but he stillsees
the two of themset offfromall others.This is
stressedby the gloss to both "In Neglect" and
"The VantagePoint,"poemswhichoccurnearthe
end of PartI:
He is scornfulof folkshis scorncannotreach.
And again scornful,but thereis no one hurt.
"In Neglect"is directlyand obviouslyrelatedto its
gloss; the entirepoint of the poem restson the
separationbetween"we" (theyouthand his wife)
and the unnamed"they"who have leftthemto
theirown devices.1" But the relationshipbetween
the maturepoet's commentand the textof "The
Vantage Point" is by no means as obvious. The
poem recountsthe youth'scontemplative mood,
as he viewsthelandscapebeforehim.It appearsto
have littleto do with "scorn." The same dis-
crepancyexistsbetweentheglossand poem which
follows.In "Mowing,"theyouthis shownwork-
ingforthefirst timeinthecycle.Butthegloss,"He
takesup lifesimplywiththesmalltasks,"seemsto
go beyondtheparticularsof the poem. Since the
generalmovement ofthecycleis fromisolationto
communion,it would appear thatthe gloss is in-
tendedto stressthebeginnings ofreturn.It empha-
sizesthathe is,in takingup the"smalltasks,"tak-
ingup "life"itself.Buttheambiguity remains,and
it pointstowardthe supplementalnatureof the
gloss. The relationshipof these poems, most
especially"Mowing,"to therestof thecycleonly
becomesclear whentheyare consideredin terms
of the symbolismdevelopedwithinthem.Before
thisis takenup,however,therestoftheglossmust
be summarized.
In Parti theyouthis largelypassive.Although
he does develop,his growthis broughtabout by
thingswhichhappen to him. But in Part ii, the
youthis activelyseekingto come to termswith
himselfand theworld.The continuity ofhiseffort
is suggestedby thefactthatthegloss to all seven
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poemsis one sentence.The commenton "Revela-
tion,"thefirstpoem,definesthegeneralsituation
and thegloss to thenextsixpoemsextendsthisto
particulars:
at leasttohimself,
He resolvesto becomeintelligible,
sincethereis no helpelse; / and to knowdefinitely
whathe thinks aboutthesoul; / aboutlove; / about
/ aboutdeath;/ aboutart(his own);
fellowship;
aboutscience.
The gloss to Part iII indicatesthatthe youth's
attempts to come to termswithlifehave been suc-
cessful.His acceptanceof thefinality of changeis
the dominantnote. The gloss to the firstpoem,
"Now Close theWindows,"announcesin general
termsthe youth'snewfoundmaturity:"It is time
to make an end of speaking."This statementis
clarifiedby the secondgloss,whichbindstheend
of thecyclewiththebeginning. Of "A Line-Storm
Song" the mature poet comments, "It is the
autumnal mood with a difference."This echoes
thegloss to "A Late Walk," the fifthpoem in the
cycle, where the youth, involvedin his adolescent
emotions,"court[ed]the autumnalmood." With
his commentson "October" and "My Butterfly,"
thematurepoetsoundsan elegiacnotereminiscent
of Longfellow:"He sees days slippingfromhim
thatwerethebestforwhattheywere,"and "There
are thingsthatcan neverbe thesame."
It is clear,then,thattheglossthroughout serves
a usefulfunction, sinceitpointsthe reader toward
the overall integrity of the sequence of poems.
Nevertheless,beforeit can be appreciated,the
unityof thecyclemustbe discussedfromanother
perspective.
II
The glossmirrors a deepersymbolicunity.This
is initiallysuggestedwhenthe poems are consid-
eredintermsofthesequenceoftheseasons.It then
becomesapparentthatFrosttreatedtherecordof
his lifeover a period of yearsin muchthe same
fashionas did Thoreau in Walden.Justas the
earlierwriterunifiedexperienceswhichtookplace
overtwoyearsintothespace of a singlesymbolic
year,so Frostorderedpoemswritten overa much
longerperiodintothe cycleof a yearand a half.
There are severalpoems in A Boy's Will which
do notindicateanyseason; thereare severalwhere
itis possibleonlyto saywhatseasonitis not-i.e.,
 Donald T. Haynes 457
it cannotbe winter,forexample.Nevertheless,
the complicatedby the identification of "dreaming"
overallsequenceis firmlyestablished: with creativity.And only when these symbolic
PART I
values are appreciatedis it possible to see how
"The Tuftof Flowers" represents the youth'sre-
Into My Own summer turnto humanity.
Ghost House summer
In A Boy's WillFrost developsmoreexplicitly
My NovemberGuest autumn
Love and a Question autumn
than he ever will again a symboliclandscape.13
A Late Walk autumn This is boundedat one extremeby civilization-
Stars winter houses and farmbuildings.At the otherextreme
StormFear winter are thewoods. In betweenare pastures,orchards,
Wind and WindowFlower winter and cultivatedlands.The youth'sprogresstoward
To the ThawingWind spring maturity indicatedin theglossis reinforcedbyhis
A Prayerin Spring spring relationto the landscape.At the outset,in "Into
Flower Gathering summer My Own" and "Ghost House," he has withdrawn
Rose Pogonias summer to theedgeoftheforest, buthe doesnotenter.Two
AskingforRoses summer of the threewinterpoems, "Storm Fear" and
Waiting-Afieldat Dusk autumn
"Wind and WindowFlower," occur indoors,as
In a Vale
A Dream Pang
does the firstspringpoem, "To the Thawing
summerlautumn
In Neglect summer/autumn
Wind." Here theyouth,lockedin his room,calls
The Vantage Point summerlautumn
on thewindofthefirst springstormto releaseboth
Mowing autumn natureand himselffromtheirintolerablestasis.
Going forWater autumn "A Prayerin Spring,"thefirstpoem wherethe
gloss indicates that the youth has discovered
PART II
something about thegreatnessoflove,takesplace
Revelation in themiddleofthelandscape,as he contemplates
The Trial by Existence
the blooming orchard. "Rose Pogonias" and
In Equal Sacrifice
The Tuftof Flowers
"Askingfor Roses," the poems whichshow the
autumn
Spoils of the Dead summer youthparticipating in theritualismof natureand
Pan withUs summerlautumn
make-believe, markan advancesincebothare set
The Demiurge'sLaugh summerlautumn withinthe edge of the forest.In the formerthey
"worship"in a fieldwhichhe callsa "templeofthe
PART III
heat," surroundedby trees,
Now Close theWindows autumn
A Line-StormSong autumn A saturatedmeadow,
October autumn Sun-shaped andjewel-small,
My Butterfly autumn A circlescarcely
wider
Reluctance autumn'2 Thanthetreesaroundweretall.
Onlyin thepoems whichconcludeParti and the Even moresignificant is thesettingof "Askingfor
poemswhichmake up Partii is thereuncertainty. Roses." They have come to a ruinedhouse and
Otherwisethe thirty-two poems move fromsum- gardenthat stand"in the hush of the wood" to
merthroughthecycleoftheseasonsand thencon- participatein theirmake-believe.In both cases,
clude witha secondautumn. thecouple have enteredthewoods,but theyhave
Withinthecontextof thisorderlyseasonalpro- not gone veryfar,since theyare stillon ground
gression,a complexsymbolismis articulated.A whichhas been modifiedby humanity. The youth
symboliclandscapeis definedand two acts within is notable to penetrate
intothedepthsoftheforest
it,flowerpickingand mowing,takeon significance untilaftertherecognition of his commonhuman-
beyondthe literal.They come to stand forwhat ityin "The Tuftof Flowers."In thepoem which
theyouthinitiallyconsidersto be mutuallyexclu- ends Part iI, "The Demiurge'sLaugh," he is pic-
sive ways of life-the estheticand the practical. tured as running"far in the sameness of the
Moreover, this symbology is enriched and wood."14The poems in Part in thenrecapitulate

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458 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
theentirecycle.In "Now Close theWindows,"the posed to diggingto plant flowers.With the per-
youthis indoors,butthereis no signofthefrustra- spectiveon Americaalreadyprovidedby his brief
tionexhibitedin "To theThawingWind."Now he stayin England,Frost can see the difference be-
can calmlycommandthatthehousebe shutup for tweenhimself andthosewithwhomhelivedinNew
anotheryear.In "October"and "My Butterfly" he England. His values were different. While they
is in the cultivatedlands. Finally,in "A Line- worked,he soughtthenaturalbeautyoftheorchid.
Storm Song" and "Reluctance" he ranges Moreover,he can also see the difference between
throughout thelandscape,crossingthe fieldsand himselfand theEnglish;theyactivelycultivated the
entering thewoods. "beautiful"whilehe soughtit in its naturalstate.
It is clear,then,thatthe landscape symbolism Out of thisdiscussioncomes the explicitlinkbe-
reinforces theevolutionoutlinedin thegloss. The tweenflowersand poetry:Frost's mentionof the
development of theyouthfrominitialwithdrawal "certainuselessaccomplishments" he has to his
to finalreturnindicatedin thematurepoet's com- credit-an unmistakable referenceto thepoetryhe
mentsis mirroredby the increasedfreedomwith had written forso long,and forwhichhe was now,
whichthe youthis able to move. Once this has forthefirsttime,beingrecognized.
been seen,it is possibleto considerthe two sym- The way in whichFrostutilizestheassociation
bolic acts whichtake place withinthe landscape: betweenflowersand the poetic vocation in A
flowerpickingand mowing. Boy's Willis indicativeoftheorganicunitywhich
Flowersare a recurrent motifin Frost'spoetry, the seasonal sequenceprovidedhim. Flowersare
probably appearing more frequentlythan any mentionedonly once in the firstseven poems,
othersingleelement.Their symbolicvalue in A thosecoveringsummer/fall/winter, and hereonly
Boy's Will is clarifiedby a letterFrost wroteto in passing.However,beginningwith"Wind and
SidneyCox a littleovera monthafterthevolume WindowFlower" and continuingthrough"In a
had firstappeared: Vale," the two poems writtenby the youth,
We are all pretty muchat homehereby now.You flowers are mentionedin everypoem (with the
oughtto see us, theoreticallyup to our eyesin the significant exception of "Waiting-Afield at
flowers of an Englishspring.I could say actuallyif Dusk"), and formthe primarysubjectmatterof
we wereas our neighbors amateursof gardening. I three:"FlowerGathering,""Rose Pogonias,"and
likethatabouttheEnglish-they all havetimeto dig "AskingforRoses." In thesethreepoems,flowers
in thegroundfortheunutilitarian flower. I meanthe and flowergatheringcome to symbolizethe es-
men.It marksthegreatdifference between themand theticway of life whichthe youthand his wife
our men.I likeflowers youknowbutI likeem [sic] share,and whichsetsthemofffromthe nameless
wild,andI am rather theexception thantheruleinan "they"of "In Neglect."This is particularly exem-
American village.Far as I havewalkedin pursuitof plifiedby"FlowerGathering."Heretheyouthhas
the Cypripedium, I have nevermetanotherin the
withdrawn fromhiswifeto pickflowers.Thatsome
woodson thesamequest.Americans willdigforpeas
symbolic significanceis attachedto theact is sug-
andbeansandsuchlikeutilities butnotiftheyknowit
forposies.I knewa manwhowas a bywordin five gested by the evidentpain and effort it costshim;
townships for the flowershe tendedwithhis own he has returned "gaunt and dustygrey withroam-
hand.Neighborskepthens and let themrunloose ing." After she has apparently chided him forhis
justto annoyhim.I feelas ifmyeducationin useless absence,he insiststhathe leavesonlyforher,and
thingshad beenneglected whenI see thewayfront thattheflowershe has broughtback are themea-
yardsblossomdownthisroad.Butnevermind;I have sureofhislove.Butunlessflowers are seento sym-
certainuselessaccomplishments to mycredit.No one bolize poetryand the poetic vocation,the gloss
willchargemewithhavingan eyesingleto themain makeslittlesense; "He discoversthat the great-
chance.So I can affordperhapsto yielda littleto ness of love lies not . .. in any spurit maybe to
othersforone springin thecultivation of one form meanshe desiresto be
ambition,"takenliterally,
ofthebeautiful.'5
thebestflowerpickerin thecounty.
In thisunusuallyunequivocalletter,Frostsharply Similarcohesivenessis illustratedby the treat-
distinguishesbetweenthe "utilitarian"and the mentof mowingin theseasonalcycle.This activ-
"unutilitarian";diggingforpeas and beans as op- ity,whichcorrespondsto the utilitariandigging

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 Donald T. Haynes
forpeas and beans,is onlymentioned twicein the
firstthirteenpoems, and in neither case is it sig-
nificant. Mowing is not given special emphasis
until"Waiting-Afieldat Dusk." This poem in-
troducesthe secondautumn,a factreiterated by
the gloss: "He arrives at the turn of the year."
Here theyouthentersthefieldin theevening, just
afterthelaborershaveleft. In this poem, however,
mowingexistsas something he contemplates. The
youth is shown working for the first time in
"Mowing." But here, rather than simply con-
templating workand workers,he passesjudgment
on them; his attitudeis one of guardedreserve.
Finally,in "The Tuftof Flowers,"the thirdand
finaltimetheyouthis involvedwiththe harvest,
his attitudechanges."Mowing,"then,is a transi-
tional poem. Occurringexactlybetween "Wait-
ing-Afieldat Dusk" and "The Tuftof Flowers,"
it shows,as its gloss suggests,thatthe youthhas
madeprogress, butthatmoreis needed-in taking
up the"smalltasks"he is takingup, finally, "life"
itself.But in orderto understand how qualified
hisprogressis, "Mowing"mustbe seenwithinthe
contextof the associationbetweendreamingand
creativity,something established initially in
"Waiting-Afieldat Dusk."
This poem is structuredin its entiretyon
"dreaming."It is dividedinto two sections,the
firsthavingeightlines,the secondnineteen.Each
sectionis a singlesentence,and each makes the
same point: thescenebeforetheyouthis appreci-
ated primarily because it allows himto "dream."
This is announcedin the firstline: "What things
for dream there are when spectre-like /. . .I
enteralone upon the stubblefield."This takenis
up againin thefirstlineofthesecondsection,and
repeatedin thethirdline:
I dreamupontheopposinglightsofthehour,
shadowuntilthemoonprevail;
Preventing
I dreamuponthenight-hawkspeoplingheaven,
The poem then continuesto catalog the things
upon which he "dreams." But this apparently
accountis suddenlythrownout of
straightforward
focusby the way in whichthe poem concludes:
[I dream]on thewornbookofold-golden song
I broughtnothereto read,it seems,buthold
Andfreshen in thisair ofwithering
sweetness;
Buton thememory ofoneabsentmost,
Forwhomtheselineswhentheyshallgreethereye.
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459
From startto finishthepoem is presentedin the
presenttense,and thereaderis involvedin theim-
mediacyof the experience.With the concluding
lines, though,this immediacyis qualified; the
youthhas not simplybeen contemplating as he
"dreams,"but has been composingthe poem as
partof theact of "dreaming"on thescenebefore
him. "Dreaming"then is identified with creativ-
ity.16
The nexttwopoems,"In a Vale" and "A Dream
The former,
Pang," also reston thisidentification.
theglossindicates,is a poemwritten bytheyouth.
It is an accountof nightlyvisitsto his windowby
the ghostlyinhabitantsfromthe "vale" outside.
Fromthesevisitshas comeinsightintothehidden
causes of things.But the fullsignificance of this
poem is onlymadeclearwhenit is readin lightof
"A Dream Pang":
in forest,
I had withdrawn and mysong
Wasswallowedup in leavesthatblewalway;
Andto theforestedgeyoucameone day
(This was my dream)and looked and pondered
long,
Butdidnotenter, thoughthewishwasstrong:
You shookyourpensiveheadas whoshouldsay,
stray-
"I darenot-too farin hisfootsteps
He mustseekmewouldhe undothewrong."
Not far,butnear,I stoodand sawitall
Behindlowboughsthetreesletdownoutside;
Andthesweetpangitcostmenotto call
AndtellyouthatI saw doesstillabide.
But'tisnottruethatthusI dweltaloof,
For thewoodwakes,and youarehereforproof.
That thisis a dreamis threetimesemphasized;
aside in line four,
in thetitle,in theparenthetical
and in thegloss,whichreads,"He is shownby a
dream how reallywell it is with him." He has
dreamedthathe enteredthe woods and that she
came to the edge, but would not follow.In this
light,the way in whichthe poem ends is surpris-
ing; he does not say thathe awakes. Rather,he
says "the wood wakes." Going into the woods
takes on an entirelydifferentmeaning:it is in-
volvedin thewithdrawal intotheselfwhichleaves
him oblivious to what is happeningto those
aroundhim.
Fromthisperspective,theimplications of "In a
Vale" come into focus,since this poem makes
muchthe same point. The woods of "A Dream
460 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
Pang" and the vale of "In a Vale" can both be
takento representthe primitive, darkerareas of
self,knowledgeof whichthe youthgraduallyac-
quires as he matures.Thus it becomes obvious
how the associationbetweendreamingand crea-
tivityenrichesthelandscapesymbolism. The land-
scape is not merelythe externalsettingwithin
whichtheyouthmoves,but it is also an internal,
psychological landscapeas well.Maturity,in both
the personaland poetic senses,involvesrecogni-
tion of and penetrationinto these areas. This
point,in turn,leads to a finalcommenton "A
Dream Pang."
The glossto thispoemis curiouslyambiguous-
"He is shownby a dreamhow reallywellitis with
him."Two inferences can be made.First,thepoem
functions in thecycleas did "A Prayerin Spring"
and "Flower Gathering";it is also intendedto
demonstratea furtherdiscoveryon the youth's
part. Moreover,this is clearlya positiverealiza-
tion; priorto thismomenthe did not realizehis
situationwas,in fact,so admirable.The glossthus
pointstowardan interpretation oftheentirepoem
in termsof creativity.
The withdrawalinto the woods in "A Dream
Pang" can be seen as thewithdrawalof the artist
intohimself in orderto create.He has withdrawn
and his "song," althoughinspiredby his relation
withhis wife,has been "swallowedup in leaves";
i.e., his lyricsare writtenon leaves of paper and
thus his wife does not hear them. Clearly,she
resentsthis,feelingneglected,feelingthatit is up
to himto come and seekher,"Would he undo the
wrong."As the youth,in his "dream," imagines
her feelingsabout his withdrawal,his attitude
changes.Hithertohe resentedherdemandson him
but now, discovering"How reallywell it is with
him," he assertsthat " 'tis not true" that he is
reallyseparatedfromher, even thoughhe may
have retiredinto himself."A Dream Pang" thus
can be seento complement and complete"Flower
Gathering,"since it makes muchthe same point
as the earlierpoem using different symbols.In
"FlowerGathering"theyouthalso absentedhim-
selfin orderto create,returnedto face his wife's
resentment, and thenrealized(and told her) that
she is withhim even when theyare apart. Both
poems,then,stressthe youth'sdevelopmentas a
personand as a poet,sincebothillustrate how in-
extricably boundup are thetwo.
The associationbetweendreamingand creativ-
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itydefinedin thisclusterof poems is crucialfor
understanding the next stage in the youth'sde-
velopment, whenhe beginsto realizethetruena-
ture of his relationwithothermen. "Mowing"
how narrowhis attitudestillis:
illustrates
Therewas nevera soundbesidethewoodbutone,
And thatwas mylong scythewhispering to the
ground.
Whatwasititwhispered? I knewnotwellmyself;
Perhapsit was something about the heat of the
sun,
Something, aboutthelackofsound-
perhaps,
Andthatwas whyit whispered and did notspeak.
Itwasnodreamofthegiftofidlehours,
Oreasygoldatthehandoffayorelf:
Anything morethanthetruthwouldhaveseemed
too weak
lovethatlaidtheswaleinrows,
To theearnest
Notwithoutfeeble-pointed spikesofflowers
greensnake.
andscareda bright
(Paleorchises),
dreamthatlaborknows.
Thefactisthesweetest
Mylongscythe whispered andleftthehayto make.
At theoutset,theyouthis alone "besidethewood"
cuttinggrass.The soundofthescytheremindshim
of someone whispering.Afternotingthis initial
resemblance, the youthbeginsto speculateabout
what the scytheis saying and, as he does, the
scythecomes to stand as representative of all
laborers.It is forthisimaginedlaborer,notforthe
youth,that"Anything morethanthetruthwould
have seemedtoo weak / To the earnestlove that
laid the swale in rows." The laborerwould con-
siderexcessivea "dreamofthegiftof idlehours/
Or easy gold at the hand of fay or elf." The
laborer,in short,could neverdo whatthe youth
did in "Waiting-Afieldat Dusk": viewtheworld
of workas something upon whichhis imagination
can act,and out ofwhichhe can create.Neverthe-
less, whilethe youth'sevaluationof the laborer's
potentialmaybe narrow,itis notnegative.Such a
phrase as "earnest love" is an admissionthat
thereis something positivein theworker'srelation
to his work.The pointis made even moreexplic-
itlyin thepenultimate line, "The factis thesweet-
estdreamthatlabor knows."Whileit maynotbe
as sweetas the kindof "dream" he feelsthathe
knows,he stilladmitsthat it is morethannoth-
ing.Thus thewayis clearfortherealizationof his
errorpresentedin "The TuftofFlowers."'7
Frost repeatedlydesignatedthis poem as the
pointin thecycleat whichtheyouthreenters the
 Donald T. Haynes
human community. It illustratesthisreturnonly
whenit is read withinthecontextof thecomplex
symbolismalready defined,since it brings to-
getherflowersand flowergathering, mowing,and
dreaming.At thebeginningofthepoem theyouth
is presentedin much the same situationas in
"Mowing." He is alone and consciousofhis isola-
tion.Indeed,hisinitialsummary is a universalone:
"all mustbe" alone, "whethertheyworktogether
or apart." At thismoment,following thebutterfly,
he sees thetuftofflowersand realizesthattheun-
knownworkerin the dawn must have leftthem
because, in theirbeauty,he "loved them." This
marksa clearadvanceoverthe reservedand nar-
row judgmentof "Mowing," where the youth
would only admit the "earnestlove" whichap-
preciated "truth"and nothingmore. Realizing
thatthe unknownlaborerappreciatedthe beauty
oftheflowers, he mustnow admitthatthelaborer
has transcendedthe utilitarian limitationshe had
imputedto all less sensitivemen. In the impulse
whichsparedtheflowerstheyouthrecognizes"a
spiritkindredto" hisown,and withtherealization
of a commonestheticbond,he "workedno more
alone." So powerfulis this awarenessthat the
youth is able even to imaginethe scene at the
dawn, the sound of the scytheand the birds.
Moreover,
... gladwithhim,Iworked as withhisaid,
Andweary, soughtatnoonwithhimtheshade;
And dreaming,
as it were,heldbrotherly
speech
Withonewhosethought I hadnothopedtoreach.
"Menworktogether," I toldhimfromtheheart,
"Whether theyworktogether orapart."
Whentheyouthhad earlierdecidedthat"the fact
is the sweetestdreamthatlabor knows,"he was
stressingthe distancehe feltlay betweenhimself
and others,because he alone could appreciate
beauty.But now, again "dreaming,"he imagines
theunnamedand unknownlaborerand talkswith
him.Literally,of course,no communication takes
place. But what is affirmed by the youthis his
realizationthat communicationcan take place.
Early in the cycle the maturepoet had asserted
bluntlythat the youthwas "in love with being
misunderstood."While others may have mis-
understoodtheyouthin hisinitialwithdrawal, itis
now clear that he had misunderstood his fellow-
men as well.Whenthe "tongueof bloom" spoke
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461
to him,sendinga "messagefromthe dawn," it
forced him to affirma common humanity.
Throughhis noontimeimaginativere-creationof
thescenehe has becomeawarethathe could com-
municatewith "one whose thoughtI had not
hoped to reach."'18
Thereare sevenpoemsin Partii, with"The Tuft
of Flowers" standingat the centerof the group.
The threepoems whichfollowit indicatethe re-
sultsofthiscentralrealizationconcerning "fellow-
ship." Of these,the mostimmediately relevantis
"Pan withUs," forhere,as theglossindicates,the
youthcomes to "know definitely what he thinks
... about art (his own)." In this poem Frost
aligns himselfwithWhitmanas a poetic son of
Emerson's"AmericanScholar."In accentswholly
different,"Pan withUs" makesthesame pointas
thatmade in the "Song of theExposition."Whit-
man's bumptiouscall to the muse to hang a "to
let" sign on her old worlddwellingand come to
the new is reaffirmed by Frost in the concluding
stanzas.Pan has comeoutofthewoodsand surveys
thelonelyprospectbeforehim.He tosseshispipes
aside,findingit "too hardto teach/ A new-world
song" because
Timeswerechangedfromwhattheywere:
Suchpipeskeptlessofpowerto stir
Thefruited boughofthejuniper
Andthefragile bluetsclustered
there
Thanthemerest aimlessbreathofair.
Theywerepipesofpaganmirth,
Andtheworldhad foundnewtermsofworth.
Hard upon therealizationof hiscommonhuman-
itywiththosehe grewup withfollowstherealiza-
tionaboutthenatureofhispoeticart.It willdiffer
fromthat of the past. Henceforthhis will be a
''new-worldsong" sungin new-world accentsand
itwillconcernthenew-world peoplewithwhomhe
lived forso manyyearsbeforehe recognizedhis
commonheritage.The way is clear forthe "book
of people" whichwouldbe written next.Here the
poet will turnfromlyricexpressionof his own
innerfeelingsto dramaticpresentation of themen
and womenwhosethoughts, forso long,he "had
not hoped to reach." AlthoughNorthof Boston
wouldbe written in a "sortofeclogueform,"19 the
accentswould be unmistakably American.
III
Whenone considersA Boy's Willas a narrative
462 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
cycle,it does notseemdifficult to understand why
Frost would later obscurehis originalintention.
The book does not succeed as narrativefor a
varietyof reasons. Most obviously,the quality
variessharplyfromlyricto lyric.The relaxedand
mature"October" is followedby the awkward
"My Butterfly";the economyof "The Tuft of
Flowers"onlyhighlights thegeneralizedimagesof
"The Trialby Existence."But thereis a moresig-
nificantweakness.The inner,organicunitypro-
videdby thesymbolism and supplemented by the
gloss is frequently obscuredbyexternalinconsist-
encies. There is, for example,uncertaintycon-
cerningpointof view.In manyof thepoems the
youthis clearlythe speaker,but in othersthisis
not so well defined.Probablythe most obvious
uncertainty is the shiftfromfirstto thirdperson
narrative in "Love and a Question."In thepreced-
ingpoems,theyouthhas spokenin his ownvoice.
Here,however,he becomesan objectviewedbyan
omniscientnarrator.Complicatingmatterseven
further is thefactthattreatment variesfrompoem
to poem. The seven poems of Part ii illustrate
clearlythisproblem,sincetreatment rangesfrom
the straightforward lyricrealismof "The Tuftof
Flowers,"the allegoricalpersonification of "Pan
withUs" and "The Demiurge'sLaugh," the his-
toricalromanceof "In Equal Sacrifice,"to the
outright fantasyof "The Trial by Existence"and
"Spoils of theDead." Thesepoems are of a piece
in termsof themeand symbol,but on thesurface
theydiffer radically.From thisperspective, prob-
ablyFrost'smostegregiousblunderwas theinclu-
sion of "AskingforRoses." This poem is organi-
cally integrated into the cycle,sinceit both rein-
forcesand extendsthelandscapeand flowersym-
bolism.Buton theliterallevelithas no place at all.
It is a "carpe diem" poem, explicitly linkedwith
Herrick's"To theVirgins,"and yetat thispointin
thecycletheyouthis marriedand the fatherof a
child.
As a narrative then,A Boy's Willfailsto satisfy.
Hence the reasonswhyFrost later obscuredhis
originalintention would seem obvious.He recog-
nized these weaknesses. Moreover,he realizedthe
glossnotonlyimpliedmoresignificance thansome
of the slighterlyricscould bear, but it also re-
strictedthe implicationsof others. Thus as time
wenton he quietlydisguisedtheattempt narra-
at
tive.
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Were this logic applied to any otherpoet, it
wouldbe convincing. But in thecase ofFrostit is
not because it is incomplete.It does not consider
the anomalous positionA Boy's Will comes to
occupywhenit is readas a narrative. The factthat
it is hisfirstvolumenotwithstanding, A Boy's Will
is transitional.In termsof form,it looks both
backwardand forward.During the two decades
priorto hisdepartureforEngland,Frosthad been
almostexclusivelya lyricpoet. Only two of the
poemshe would incorporateintoNorthof Boston
werewritten in America.20But afterhis arrivalhe
became intenselypreoccupiedwith the dramatic
elementin poetry.The attemptto coercethelyrics
into a narrativeis the firstmanifestation of this
newinterest.
But thereis anotherand more subtlesense in
whichA Boy's Willis transitional. In thecourseof
examiningit as a narrative, I havesuggestedread-
ings of individualpoems whichnot only depart
from the traditionalinterpretations but also
breakwithinterpretations the poet himselfsanc-
tioned, sometimesovertlyand sometimesco-
vertly.Thus the volume can be seen as a false
start.It suggeststhatat thebeginning ofhispublic
careerFrost was stilluncertainabout the poetic
stancehe wouldadopt.Onlyin thetwenties would
themythofwhatRandallJarrell called "The Only
GenuineRobertFrostin Captivity"takedefinitive
shape.One hallmarkofthemythis itsstaticqual-
ity.A narrative cyclewhichemphasizedthevarious
stagesthroughwhichhe had passedclearlycontra-
dictedthis.Onlywhenthepoet had obscuredthe
narrative wouldhe be able to reinterpret theindi-
vidualpoemsand bringthemintoconformity with
thecomplexmyth.
Withthisfinalpointthe largerimplicationsof
thisstudycome into focus.D. H. Lawrenceun-
equivocallydefinedthetaskofthecriticofAmeri-
can literature:to save thetale fromtheteller.To
no one is this morerelevantthan to Frost. Few
artistshave been moreadept at creatinga public
personaand thenreinterpreting theirownworksto
fititsneeds.Even manycasual readers,to citeone
extremeexample, are familiarwith Frost's ac-
countof how he wrote"Stoppingby Woods on a
Snowy Evening": the poem just "came" to him
aftera night-long sessionon anotherpoem. But
Thompson,in a hobnail discussionof JohnCi-
ardi's versionof the account,showsthatit in no
 Donald T. Haynes
wise harmonizeswiththe manuscriptevidence.2'
Frost workedlong and hard on "Stopping by
Woods" and thendeniedthe factbecause it was
not in keepingwiththespontaneouscreativity he
likedto avow. Such instancesthrowintosharpre-
liefLawrence'sadvice to the critic:trustthe tale
ratherthan theteller.Withthe publicationof so
muchnew information sincethepoet's death,it is
clear that the historicaland the mythicalFrost
Notes
1 The Pastoral Art of Robert Frost (New Haven: Yale
Univ.Press,1960),p. 134,n. 7. His reference is to Gorham
B. Munson'sRobertFrost: A Studyin Sensibilityand Good
Selnse(New York: Doran,1927).
2 The Selected Letters of Robert Frost, ed. Lawrance
Thompson(New York: Holt, 1964), p. 66. Thompson
pointsoutthatthisletter accompanied a "coverlessbook."
This copyis not nowexistent. Since thevolumewas not
officially
publisheduntilearlyApril1913,Thompsonsug-
gestsit mayhave beena "dummypaste-upof galleysor
pageproofsofA Boy's Will." Thisletter thusrepresentsthe
poet's commenton theworkbeforeit had receivedany
publicresponse.
I Selected Letters,p. 158. The apparent discrepancy over
thelengthof timethecycleis to recordis notsignificant
becauseof thewayin whichFrostorderedthepoems;on
thissee p. 457.
4 Frostto the editorof The Youth's Companionin an
unpublishedletterquoted by LawranceThompsonin
RobertFrost: The Early Years (New York: Holt,1966),p.
xxi. Thompsondatesthe letteras eitherlate in 1912 or
earlyin 1913.
5 This Is My Best, ed. WhitBurnett (Cleveland,Ohio:
World,1942),pp. 277-78.
6 RobertFrost Speaks (NewYork:Twayne, 1964),p. 64.
Further comment is neededon thislastpoint.Although
"The Pasture"was written whileFrostwas in England,it
was notincludedin A Boy's Will (as PhillipGerbertwice
indicatesin his book, Robert Frost, New York: Twayne,
1966,pp. 91, 161).Rather,itfirst appearedas an epigraph
to thefirsteditionof Northof Bostoln.Subsequently Frost
usuallyincludeditas theepigraphto variouscollections of
his poems-the positionit holds in the 1949 editionof
The CompletePoems,whereitimmediately precedes A Boy's
Will.However,in theRinehartpaperbackeditionof The
Selected Poems of Robert Frost (New York: Holt, 1963),
Frostincludedit,without comment, notas theepigraphto
theentirevolume,butas thefirst poemin A Boy's Will.
8 A Boy's Will (London: David Nutt,1913),pp. vii-ix.
Quotesthroughout thisstudyare fromthisvolume;how-
ever,I havefollowed theusualpracticeinstudiesof Frost
andhavenotindicated pagereferences.Therearenumerous
editionsofFrost'spoetryandall arewellindexed.
I Quotedin The Poems of Henry WadsworthLongfellow
(New York: ModernLibrary,1932),pp. 700-03.
10 Parenthood is indicatedin thetextof "StormFear."
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463
werein manywaysdifferent. Beforeanyfirmesti-
mate of Frost's contribution to Americanlitera-
ture can be made, the mythmustbe measured
againstthehistoricaland textualfacts.The present
studyis intendedas a stepin thisdirection.
SeattleUniversity
Seattle,Washington
11Whiletheidentity of the"they"is notmadeclearin
thepoem,Frostexplainedto Ezra Poundthatit was par-
ticularlypointedtowardhis grandfather-afactPound
included(to Frost'sdispleasure)whenhe wrotetheinitial
American reviewof A Boy's Will(Poetry,2, 1913,72-74).
For a fullaccountsee Early Years, pp. 410-12.
12 Whereitis impossible
to infer
anything abouta season,
I havelefta blank.Italicsindicatethatinference was used
-i.e., fromthetextofthepoemitis onlypossibletoassume
whatseasonit is not.
The onlyexceptionto theseasonalsequenceconcerns
"Spoils of theDead." Here,however, thebreakis nota
sharpone,sincethepoemhasnothing to do withtheyouth,
exceptforthelaststanzaswherean "I" speaks.Rather,it
is an account of the activitiesof "Two fairies. . . / On a
stillsummer day."
13 This discussion is indebtedto JamesCox, "Robert
Frostand theEdge of theClearing,"VirginiaQuarterly
Review,25 (1959), 73-88.
14 Woodsarealso involved intheothertwopoemswhich
follow"The Tuftof Flowers"in Partii. "Spoils of the
Dead" takesplacewithin thewoodsandin "Pan withUs,"
Pan has comefromthewoods.I stress"The Demiurge's
Laugh" becauseit is theonlyone of thethreewherethe
youthis theprimary subject.
15 Selected Letters,pp. 71-72.Generallyspeaking, Frost
usedflowers as a complexsymbolinvolving fruitioninboth
theartistic and sexualsenses.Muchofmydiscussion cen-
terson the former. Thompsondevelopsthe latterin his
treatment ofan unpublished poementitled "FlowerGuid-
ance"contained ina notebookFrostkeptwhileinEngland
(Early Years,pp. 584-85,n. 11).He also treatsitinhisdis-
cussionof "The Subverted Flower"(Early Years, p. 512,
n. 2). Thompsonnotesthatalthoughthispoemwas not
published untilA WitnessTree in 1942,itwas nevertheless
writtenin its originalformpriorto the publicationof
A Boy's Will.
ProbablyFrost'smostconcentrated use of thefloweras
a symbolofpersonaland artistic fruitionis foundin "The
SelfSeeker,"a poemalso written whilehe was in England
and includedin Northof Boston.
16 The associationbetweendreamingand creativity
establishedin A Boy's Will recurslater on in Frost's
career;"AfterApple-Picking" and "Star ina StoneBoat"
are twoimportant examples.
thatthelasttwolinesofthepoem
17 It shouldbe stressed
464 The NarrativeUnityof A Boy's Will
are separatedeclarative Thusthejudgment
sentences. can- developsas an individual
andas a poetas well.
notbe readas if"whispered" bythescythe. 19Selected Letters,p. 83.
18 Both"The TuftofFlowers" and"Mowing"followthe 20 "The Death
Early Years, p. 594, n. 5. Frostbrought
samepattern as "A DreamPang." In each case theyouth of theHiredMan" and "The Housekeeper" withhim.He
is alone and as he "dreams"he is able to imaginehimself also brought a lyricversionof"The BlackCottage"which
in theplaceofanother, theother'sthoughts.
thusintuiting he thenradicallyrevisedintodramaticform.Thompson
Thisin turnallowshimto understand themas he had not reprints theoriginalon pp. 592-93, n. 2.
21 Early Years, pp. 594-98, n. 7.
before.Imaginative then,is themeansbywhichhe
activity,

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