Frost Is a Poet of Nature or Not

Why Poems Use Symbolism

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Symbols in poems can be derived from nature, animals and religion to represent people, ideas, and thoughts and feelings of individuals. It is the job of the poet to not take the usage of symbols lightly. When the poet uses objects to represent people and thoughts, it requires readers to use their own experience and the knowledge that a symbol can have multiple meanings. The use of symbols enhances the reading of a poem. Symbols like the season of Spring or cocoons can represent new life, while falling leaves and the end of the year represent death.

Robert Frost and Symbolism

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The Pasture and Directive. Spring (as in water spring) is very meaningful in Frost's poetry. Spring represents origin or source, almost in a Proustian sense. Other variations include "brook" Hyla Brook and West-Running Brook. Water often deals with an emotional state.

Come In: "But no, I was out for stars." The star is one of the chief symbolic images in Frost's poetry

What Is the Meaning of Symbols in Poetry?

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Emily Meehan

Emily Meehan began freelance writing in 2007. She wrote for her graduate school newspaper "The Public Servant," covering subjects ranging from politics to arts education. Meehan has a Master of Public Service and Administration from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science in sociology from Brigham Young University.

By Emily Meehan, eHow Contributor

What Is the Meaning of Symbols in Poetry? thumbnail A line from a Robert Frost poem with symbolic meaning

The 19th-century English writer William Hazlitt called poetry, "the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself." Symbolism is the technique of describing objects and imbuing them with new meanings. Symbolism in poetry adds to the effect of the universal language and provides multiple levels of meaning for interpretation by readers

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