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Critical Appreciation and Themes
Critical Appreciation and Themes
“Tree at My Window” differs from most of Frost’s nature poems in its locale. Instead of being
out in the fields or woods, the speaker is looking out his bedroom window at a nearby tree. He
closes his window at night, but out of love for the tree he does not draw the curtain. This is an
unmistakably modern nature poem.
The poem, Tree At My Window, talks about man and nature. "The tree" means not simply a
tree in front of the window, it can also be a reflection of someone's spirit and soul. If you stay
with the tree, feel about it and look at it for a long time, you will find yourself making a
subconscious conversation with the tree. We see Frost saying:
“Vague dream head lifted out of the ground,
And thing next most diffuse to cloud,
Not all your light tongues talking aloud
Could be profound.”
And it will form a internal connection between you and the tree. Eventually the tree will become
another you, who is able to understand yourself more than you do. And this discovery is always
delightful and relaxing. It feels like we find a soul mate who we can tell every single secret to
him or her. That is the magic of the nature and this is how the poem wants to show to the readers.
The first and second stanzas are mainly talking about how the poet sees the tree out of the
window at night and keeps the curtain up and has a deep, subconscious and spiritual conversation
with it. Frost says:
“Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me.”
Then the rest of the stanzas talks about how the poet has seen the tree suffering for the outside
violent wind at night; the tree has also known the poet fell asleep in a state of disaster, dilemma
and worry. In an isolated place, fate connects the poet and the tree together. The tree is
concerned about the harsh environment; in contrast, the poet worries about the anxiety in his
mind.
Tree At My Window is really a short but fascinating poem. Robert Frost uses a simple way to
perfectly reveal the good relationship between man and nature. From the poem it seems like the
poet rejects the decision made by the fate, who puts the poet himself and the tree together
because he thinks they are not alike. The tree cares about the storms and heavy rain; the poet
worries about the dillema and emotional changes. But the fate thinks she makes a right thing to
put their "heads together" because they actually have a connection. And this is the main point of
the poem: man and nature are able to understand each other.