In the “Oven Bird” by Robert Frost, the relationship between man and nature is represented as if, they are one entity. Frost sees how the changes in nature, almost represent that of life. He sees the Oven Bird as more than just a bird. He even goes as far as to say that the bird “makes the solid tree trunks sound again” (line 3), which reflects how the song of the bird brings life to what may seem like an ordinary part of nature. He talks about the seasons changing, and how the songs of the birds demonstrate that. During the spring and summer, the birds are at their peak, in song as well, just as how the flowers are in full bloom. However, as fall and winter approaches, the birds will soon cease to sing, just as how the flowers and trees are in decline. Frost compares the bird’s songs that change with the seasons, to the life and stages of man. As winter approaches, it almost represents the final stages of life, just as how nature becomes lifeless as the birds stop singing in the wintertime. Frost also acknowledges that the birds bring life to nature like how poets bring life to the words they use to write poems.
2 thoughts on “Consider the relationship between man and nature (and perhaps more specifically the relationship between the poet and the bird) in “The Oven Bird.””
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Adding on to this, I would also say that this cycle of life, in the spring and summer, to the lack of it, in the fall and winter, is a representation of how Frost felt about himself. Frost, as a poet, most likely also had his ups and downs when writing and felt it difficult to get through the lows in his life. But when he did manage to write pieces that he must have felt good about Frost thought of them as pieces that were powerful and brought about “life.”
I agree with both of you with the description of how just like seasons, there is a cyclical nature to everything. While we may feel great some times, we can fall to our depths other times. As the bird comes during spring and summer, Frost is describing some of the highlights that someone could have then, while during the winter, that happiness is not there.