Solitude

(Part of a TPCASTT analysis, Grade 9 English)

Connotation: In the first stanza, the narrator introduces us to the boundless beauty of nature; to its forests, valleys, rivers, mountains and everything else that it has to offer. This beauty is not possessed by man; on the contrary, it remains true and unspoilt with the absence of human presence. This symbolises freedom in its truest sense. The narrator also puts emphasis on the extreme isolation of the setting in the poem (“And mortal foot hath ne’er or rarely been;”, etc.): usually this would also entail extreme solitude, but the poem continues on to disprove that this isn’t exactly what solitude is all about. Lord Byron says that being alone in nature is anything but solitude, it is only to experience Nature as it was meant to be experienced; untouched and alive. ‘Nature’ in this context could also symbolise Mother Nature, so that the individual in nature is not alone because he or she is in the presence of the spirit of living things. “Converse with Nature’s charms,” personifies ‘Nature’s charms’ as something capable of having a conversation with. This could also mean that the person in question is not alone, for he has the plenitude of life all around him to commune with the roots of his existence; to commune with the depths of human spirituality within himself and within other living things. In this sense, this is not solitude.

Continuing with the second stanza, the poem shifts to a place where there is obviously a multitude of bustling crowds, everyone in a hurry to get where they need to go. The narrator refers to the senses: “To hear, to see, to feel and to possess,” to describe the experiences felt by someone standing alone in a large crowd (“the shock of men”). In the poem, we discover that to have no friends, family or community is what it means to truly be alone. It’s all about connections and the ability for a person to build relationships with others, to display reciprocity towards one’s fellow man. If one does not possess any lasting social ties with any other human being, one is in utter solitude, for the soul needs to communicate with another that understands who one is. “…kindred consciousness” refers to someone else who can relate to one’s plight and share sympathy and advice, giving the caring and love that all of us need. To envy the honoured, the popular, the desired and the loved (“Of all the flattered, followed, sought and sued;”) is shown to be fruitless, for they could obviously could care less if one was in existence or not. It is inferred that at least in the midst of nature, one has the ability to commune with other living things; but in a world where one has no spiritual connections to another being, one is truly in the depths of solitude. In essence, if nobody cares about an individual and they do not care about anyone else, this is the true meaning of solitude; the absence of caring souls in a whole world of men. This is what it means to be more alone then in a remote site in the wilderness with no man around for miles.

The meaning I take from Frost's poem is a very literal one. Someone has
cut down a birch tree and suggested he come and clean up the branches
because he can use them to set his peas to climb on them in his garden. He
is a natural observer of nature's ways and he sees that if he doesn't
remove the downed brush soon, it will impede the growth of the new flowers
that are already coming up beneath them. He is killing two birds with one
stone, both cleaning up for the sake of what's beneath, and taking home
what can be utilized. It can be a metaphor for thriftiness, good
stewardship, environmental awareness, etc, etc, and definitely is a poem
that emphasises that we should make hay while the sun shines, not just let
things go to seed. Don't procrastinate, keep working, the good work of the
world revolves on such principles. I find it to be an upbeat and pragmatic
message.