Community, Boundary and Identity: the House Image in Robert Frost's Poetry

• Main Authors: Keng-hsiung Chen, 陳耿雄
• Other Authors: Chung Ling
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/52619574391770014528

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 外國語文學系研究所 === 88 === Community, Boundary and Identity: The House Image in Robert Frost�s Poetry Abstract The house image is ubiquitous in the poetry of Robert Frost. It seems that Frost has a predilection for houses. In Frost�s poetry, too often the house plays a vital role in the landscape, or is the place where the story goes. It is by virtue of the house image that Frost not only presents the scenery of New England but also reveals the community in New England. At the same time, he dexterously delineates the community in and around the house. In some of his poems, the characters were put in the house to talk to the outer world. The window becomes the boundary between man and nature. When it comes to boundary, we cannot miss the wall and the tombstone. While the wall dominates Frost�s poetry and is usually the boundary between man and man, between man and animals, the tombstone divides the living and the dead and is sometimes the bridge that connects the world of the living and the world of the dead. From Frost�s poetry, we may discover the boundary that does exist is possible to be crossed. The window, like the wall and the tombstone, is a kind of boundary; however, the house per se is closely related to identity. The house, in Frost�s poetry, seems to be a symbol of identity. The persona often constructs his own identity by dint of building a house. Different people live in different houses. The house is the root of our being; the style of the house has something to do with the identity of the house owner. This thesis falls into six parts. In the introduction, I give an outline of the whole thesis and clarify the reason why I begin with an extra Chapter One. In Chapter One I illustrate with beautiful pictures to expound the development of New England houses. In Chapter Two, I discuss the house in New England community as well as the community in the house. In Chapter Three, I refer to the issue of boundary, including the boundary between persons, the boundary between man and nature, and the boundary between life and death. The conclusion sums up the outcome of each and every chapter.