Student Question

How does Frost's "After Apple-Picking" compare to Whitman's "Song of Myself" in terms of their visions of nature?

Quick answer:

Frost’s poem, “After Apple-Picking” exemplifies a newer and perhaps less certain vision of nature in comparison with Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” because Frost’s poem has a weary attitude about nature whereas Whitman’s poem is jubilant about nature. Frost’s poem takes place during winter, so the setting distances it from Whitman’s poem as the cold weather places restrictions on the speaker. In Whitman’s poem, nature is aggressive and robust, as Whitman says, “Nature without check with original energy.” In Frost’s poem, nature is curbed and constrained.

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Robert Frost’s “After Apple-Picking” exemplifies a newer and perhaps less certain vision of nature in comparison with Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” because Frost’s poem has a weary attitude about nature whereas Whitman’s poem is jubilant about nature.

Frost’s poem takes place during winter, so the setting distances it from Whitman’s poem as the cold weather places restrictions on the speaker. In Whitman’s poem, nature is aggressive and robust, as Whitman says, “Nature without check with original energy.” In Frost’s poem, nature is curbed and constrained. The speaker’s interaction with nature doesn’t make him jubilant and agile like Whitman’s speaker but puts him to sleep and in a passive position. Frost’s speaker is immobilized by nature. Meanwhile, Whitman’s speaker leisurely moves through nature. “I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass,” says Whitman.

The weary attitude in Frost’s poem can also be seen in the moderate way the speaker picks apples. The speaker doesn’t pick every apple. “There’s a barrel that I didn’t fill,” admits the speaker. The theme of tiredness and weariness precludes the speaker from having an extravagant, all-inclusive attitude about nature. If Whitman’s speaker was picking the apples, it’s reasonable to claim he would have filled the barrel. “Song of Myself” reflects a no-holds-barred relationship with nature, with Whitman writing, “I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked, / I am mad for it to be in contact with me.” Frost’s speaker is less mad and more cautious.

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