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UniversiV Micronlms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I 7925030 f BENTLEY, LOUISE DAVIS |v HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN ROBERT FROST'S DIALOGUE POEMS, m i d d l e TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, D.A., 1979 COPR, 1979 BENTLEY, LOUISE DAVIS International300 n.zeeb hoao,ann arbor,mi wioe © 1979 LOUISE DAVIS BENTLEY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN ROBERT FROST'S DIALOGUE POEMS Louise Davis Bentley A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Arts August, 1979 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN ROBERT FROST'S DIALOGUE POEMS APPROVED; Graduate Committee: Major Professôr Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Head le Department of English. Dean of the Graduate School Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN ROBERT FROST'S DIALOGUE POEMS by Louise Davis Bentley Robert Frost's twenty-two dialogues written from 1905 to 1926, poems usually showing two characters conversing, illustrate both Frost's theory of the con­ versational voice as the sound of poetry and his ability to portray human beings interacting with other humans. The linking of his poetic skill and his knowl­ edge of life resulted in a perceptive analysis of the dramatic characters in his dialogues. Four universal human relationships emerge in these dialogues support­ ing the thesis that Robert Frost was a man of keen personal observation and experience. This study concentrates on analysis of these dialogues in the light of relevant criticism about the poet and his work. Chapter one treats the poet himself and considers his poetic theory and the early experiences that tempered him for later success. Frost's two loves— people and talk— appear even in the dramatic dialogues written when he was a lonely. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Louise Davis Bentley frustrated man who felt himself a failure. From his fame in 1914 began a gradual shift in his dialogue writing. This study ends with his 1928 publication of his last human-centered dialogue. Chapter two focuses on the human relationships of strangers, situations that face all men at some time. Five dialogues treat this experience; signifi­ cantly different reactions result from the strangers' sex, age, and perception of life. Emotions from sus­ picion and paralyzing fear to trust and delightful curiosity are revealed. Chapter three considers six dialogues that trace the relationships of friends on a continuum from the casual to the close. The experiences of working to­ gether, sharing common interests, and uniting in tragedy— all reveal developing friendships. In such poems a different type of character and a different speech pattern are evident. Chapter four investigates the relationships of parents and children in four dialogues. Two emphasize paternal situations, two maternal. One of the major conclusions of this study is that Frost failed to por­ tray any but alienated, unhappy relationships in the parent-child dialogues, probably because of a failure of his own understanding. The variety of emotions Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Louise Davis Bentley evident in the other relationships is missing in the area of filial concern. Chapter five shows Frost at his best as he pre­ sents the relationship of husbands and wives, married lovers, even though this relationship is the most difficult to treat without irony or sentimentality. Seven dialogues explore the interaction of couples facing death, change, and the routine of everyday life. Frost suggests that their willingness to con­ verse carefully and to reconcile the natural, opposing views of male and female is essential if their love is to grow. The concluding chapter places these little dramas at the heart of Frost's early poetry. They epitomize both his poetic theory of the human voice speaking and many of his shaping personal experiences. Through all his dialogues he clarified his views of the individual worth and ability of man. These poems testify that individual persons offer the best example of what is meant by human, that emotions are the most important aspect of humanity, that people reveal their character through their conversation, and that talk is essential to right relationships. Although Frost was unsuccess­ ful in his parent-child presentations, he succeeded in almost every subtle nuance in portraying the re­ lationships of strangers, friends, husbands and wives. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Louise Davis Bentley When Frost's writing shifted in the 1920s from human dialogues to philosophical and political writing, he had already given ample evidence that he understood being human in a confusing world. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. RELATIONSHIPSOF FROST .................... 1 II. RELATIONSHIPS OF STRANGERS ............ , III. RELATIONSHIPSOF FRIENDS ................ IV. RELATIONSHIPS OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN. .. 139 V. RELATIONSHIPS OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES. ., . 169 VI. CONCLUSION . , BIBLIOGRAPHY . Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I RELATIONSHIPS OF ROBERT FROST Robert Frost fascinated people with his scintil­ lating talk. Throughout the many years of what he called "barding around"^ on American campuses and lecture circuits, he clearly showed his genius for the art of conversation and the art of making friends. This genius was evident not only because his public personality was so delightful to thousands but also because he, more than any other twentieth-century American poet, made the technique of conversation a distinctive trait both in his performances and in his poems. He never "read" his poems; he always "said" them.^ Critical studies offer abundant tes­ timony both to Frost's proficiency in conversation and to his poetic theory of conversation. Few critics. "To Eustace Seligman," 2 January 1957, Letter 435, Selected Letters of Robert Frost, ed. Lawrance Thompson (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1964), p. 561. ^ Milton Bracker, "The 'Quietly Overwhelming' Robert Frost," in Interviews with Robert Frost, ed. Edward Connery Lathem (New York: Hol't, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966), p. 184. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. however, have focused on the sensitive, keen under­ standing of the human relationships involved and exposed in his poetry through the characters' conver­ sations. This study will analyze various universal human relationships that Robert Frost perceived and allowed his characters to portray as they talked to­ gether in his poems and revealed their multifaceted personalities. Before analyzing his poetic characters, we should consider the poet himself. Frost's two loves— people and talk— controlled both his life and his poetry. The public Frost was, as Lewis P. Simpson has written, the "greatest exception to the private role of the poet in American society"^ because he became so extra­ ordinarily popular. He became the only American poet to be honored with