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Ben Phillips
To express themselves, humans regularly turn towards the beautiful, powerful, and
unknown force that is nature. Many of the most influential poems are inspired by nature. In
particular, two poems which utilize nature as a common topic are The Stars are Mansions Built
by Natures Hand by William Wordsworth and Looking for a Sunset Bird in Winter by Robert
Frost. In these two poems, Wordsworth emphasizes the beauty of the wild, while Frost creates
an allegory between a down period in life and a cold winter, but both poems employ similar
rhetorical strategies of personification and intense imagery to convey their message about nature.
Every individual can have a different response to the wonders of the natural world. From
awestruck reverence to introspective revelry, two interpretations may never be similar. This
sentiment can be seen in these two poems. On one hand, Wordsworth is simply astounded by the
beauty and magnificence that is nature. He writes, The stars are mansions built by Natures
hand, And, haply, there the spirits of the blest (ln. 1-2). Wordsworth opens the poem with a
comparison between the stars in the night sky and an expansive mansion in which all of the
planets can live happily. Wordsworth paints the image of the largest possible mansion in the
universe, and through this shows his awe and respect for the natural world. Frost, on the other
hand, uses a scene from nature to describe a human experience. In Looking for a Sunset Bird in
Winter, Frost draws parallels between a harsh winter and tough times that people face in life.
Humans experience both periods of highs and lows, and Frost turned to the image of a fierce
winter to describe his feelings during such a low time, No bird was singing in it now. A single
leaf was on a bough, And that was all there was to see (ln. 9-11). In this particular section,
Frost demonstrates how during a low point in the speakers life, the world around them appears
grey and lifeless. When Frost mentions the birds leaving during the winter and the leaves
falling from the trees, he is directly alluding to the barren feeling felt during tough times. Both
poets use the common topic of the natural world to convey very different ideas to the reader.
In describing nature, both poems share the fact they personify different aspects of the
natural world. Humans sometimes see themselves in nature. Even beginning in the early era,
humans turned towards what they saw in nature to explain their world. The complete pantheon
of Greek Gods is an example of this phenomenon. Poseidon is the Greeks explanation for the
oceans, Zeus is the explanation for the skies, Ares for war, etc. This phenomenon can be seen in
both poems. Wordsworth writes, The stars are mansions built by Nature's hand, And, haply,
there the spirits of the blest Dwell, clothed in radiance, their immortal vest; Huge Ocean shows,
within his yellow strand (ln. 1-4). Wordsworth personifies the creation of the world as Nature,
and furthers his portrayal of the wonders of nature. Comparing nature to a divine creator (aka
god), Wordsworth immediately conveys his amazement about the world him the reader.
Wordsworths personification serves to further his optimistic tone and his appreciation for the
wonders of nature. Frost uses personification as well to further his theme writing, The breath of
air had died of cold (ln. 2). In Frosts harsh, winter scene, even the air had died of cold! Frost
effectively communicates the kind of desolation that people experience during their lowest
moments through this personification. Through employing personification, both poets help make
their subject matter more understandable and relatable to the reader, and thus effectively
Lastly, both Frost and Wordsworth use intense, vivid imagery in their poems to visualize
to the reader the point of each poem When one is asked about true beauty, a common response
would be of a scene from nature: the Grand Canyon, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Snorkeling in
Hawaii, and countless other wildlife scenes are stunningly beautiful. Wordsworth writes Of
bud, leaf, blade, and flowerwas fashioning, Abodes where self-disturbance hath no part (ln. 13-
14). Describing the conception of a flower in specific detail hammers home Wordsworths point
that nature is truly astounding. How could a flower be made that is so beautiful, yet so resilient?
Wordsworth wells up emotions of amazement in the reader. Frost also uses imagery, but his
scene is yet beautiful I judged that such a crystal chill, was only adding frost to snow, As gilt to
gold that wouldn't show (ln. 13-16). In this passage Frost is metaphorically saying that he could
not see the end of his low period in life. Only adding (frost to snow) more bad things. The
harsh, unrelenting snow seems to keep piling up drifts in the woods, as Frosts life seemed to
continue to take turns for the worst. Losing ones job, a divorce, a disappointment could each
pile another layer of metaphorical snow upon the drifts of life. Frost is trying to knock the reader
over with the sheer starkness of his life situation, and nature is the perfect medium to express
these feelings. Through both poems, the readers mind is used as a canvas to display vivid nature
scenes.
Wordsworth in his poem The Stars are Mansions Built by Natures Hand and Frost in
Looking for a Sunset Bird in Winter both expertly address nature through personification and
intense imagery. Both authors find purpose in the world around them, and send very different
messages to the reader. Wordsworth hopes to show the reader the wonders of nature, while Frost
aims to describe the struggles of life. Through these poems, the reader gains insight into the