Fear of God
Robert Frost’s
poem “Storm Fear” is a picture of a winter storm from the security of inside a
family’s home. The narrator, probably the father of the family, watches as the
snow falls to the ground outside while feeling the warmth from the fireplace
indoors. However, as the fire dies and
the cold begins to seep into the house, he starts to worry about how his family
will be able to dig out of the snow that is piling higher and higher. I believe
this snow storm is a representation of sin in our lives and the fear the
narrator feels about getting snowed in is a representation of his fear of sin.
The progression
of the surface meaning of “Storm Fear” is an important element in the meaning
of the poem. The narrator starts out feeling very secure and comfortable “It
costs no inward struggle not to go/Ah no!” (Frost 240). However, as the “cold
creeps as the fire dies at length” (Frost 12) he starts to feel depressed. This
is a very common stereotype; cold makes people feel sad versus warmth makes
them feel good. Stripped of the fleeting comfort that the fire brought, the
narrator succumbs to despair and then applies that reaction to the rest of
life. He asks how he will have the strength to survive the trials of life if he
can’t even fortify himself against the cold: “And my heart owns a doubt/Whether
‘tis in us to arise with day/And save ourselves unaided” (Frost 16-18). Frost
uses nature in this poem to bring the narrator to ask questions about his life.
The title of the poem, “Storm Fear”, suggests that as the narrator begins to
fear the effects of the storm on his family, he also begins to experience
doubts and fear about his life. One critic says of Frost’s use of nature in his
poetry “Nature itself does not fear, nor does it know fear, but fear can grow
out of man’s relationship with it” (Bass 603). The narrator’s feeling of fear
about his life is in direct correlation to the fear he feels about being snowed
in.
Upon a second
reading of the poem, the reader starts to see parallels between the snow storm and
the questions that the last three lines raises that were not obvious on the
first reading. In the first line, the narrator says “the wind works against us
in the dark/And pelts with snow/The lower chamber on the east” (Frost 1-3). A
few lines down, the narrator describes the wind as a “beast”. The wording of
these lines is very significant. Frost is drawing a parallel here between the
storm, the devil, and sin. The narrator says the wind “works against” him “in
the dark.” This, combined with the reference to the wind as a “beast”, suggests
that the wind is a parallel to the devil. This is the first of several
references to Biblical themes. Throughout the Bible, believers are exhorted to
arm themselves against the devil implying that he is actively seeking to attack
them. The narrator’s mention that the
wind is blowing from the east is also significant. Because it is usually an
east wind that brings cold weather, an easterly wind has become an analogy for
sin, despair, and trouble. The fact that the snow is coming from the east
suggests that the snow is a representation of sin. Similar parallels between the cold and sin
are included in later lines. The narrator says “Those of us not asleep subdued
to mark/How the cold creeps as the fire dies at length” (Frost 11-12). This
describes how sin can “creep” into people’s lives when their “fire” for right
dies. Those two lines also provide
another parallel to life. People don’t normally see themselves diverting from
the course they believe is right. It is a gradual “creeping” that will lead
them astray. Just as a tiny misalignment on a compass will cause you to end up
in a completely different place from where you intended, small choices and
compromises can lead you to a place in your life that you never wanted to be.
The quiet setting that the narrator is watching the snow in is also very
suggestive of quiet meditation about life.
The reader also
sees parallels between the comfort the fire brings to the narrator and the
comfort people have, or think they have, in life. When the narrator says “It
costs no inward struggle not to go” (Frost 7), he is making a statement about
how he feels about his life. He also
says “I count our strength/Two and a child” (Frost 9-10). At the first reading,
this line appears to be a mere statement about how many people are in the
house. However, I believe that this is another statement about how the narrator
feels about his life. He feels as if he is strong and able to withstand the
storm of life. This is another example of how Frost makes use of Biblical
themes; when people feel secure and strong, that is often when a “storm” of
life hits and they are knocked down and humbled. Another parallel between the
storm and life is the significance of the barn in to the narrator. He describes
it as “the comforting barn” (Frost 15) and despairs when the snow storm covers
it from view. This is a reference to the temporal things people take comfort in
in life. The narrator derives security from the view of his barn and when that
is taken away, so is his security. This is a representation of how people whose
happiness and security depend on temporal things can be cruelly disappointed when
those things are taken away.
Frost’s handling
of the highly Biblical theme of sin is unusual. One critic says of Frost “He
[Frost] proffered religious affirmations only equivocally or ironically”
(Liebman 417). Another speaks of Frost’s
use of religious themes in his poetry “The speaker in the poetry keeps alive
the possibility that something greater than man sustains order and purpose in
the universe” (Juhnke 153). In this poem, Frost chooses to handle the theme of
sin seriously and utilizes the powerful image of a snow storm to illustrate it.
Frost makes use
of poetic devices to illustrate his meaning. The repetition of the “s” sound
throughout the entire poem is significant. The “s” sound is most commonly
associated with a “shhh” which contributes to the quiet atmosphere of the poem.
The differing length of the lines is also suggestive of the drifts of snow that
are the central metaphor of the poem.
I immensely
enjoyed this poem. Frost’s choice to use a winter storm to illustrate the
weakness of man and their need for divine assistance was perfect. The imagery
he used created a sense of raw, unrehearsed emotion. I not only felt for the
narrator, I felt with him. However, the narrator of this poem is not
necessarily the spiritual hero the reader is lead to assume. He only admits he can’t
save himself when he has no choice. How much credit does a man deserve when he
asks for help only when he is down? Humility is a trait that can’t be limited
to the trials of life. If people began to exercise it more often, they might
find that happiness depends not on what you have, but how you see what you
have.
Works Cited
Bass, Eben. "Frost's Poetry of Fear." American
Literature 43.4 (1972): 603-15. JSTOR. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
.
Frost,
Robert. Robert Frost’s Poems. Ed.
Louis Untermeyer. New York:St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2002.Print.
Juhnke, Anne K. "Religion in Robert Frost's Poetry: The Play
for Self Possesion." American Literature 36.2 (1964): 153-64. JSTOR.
Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
.
Liebman, Sheldon W. "Robert Frost, Romantic." Twentieth
Century Literature 42.4 (1996): 417-37. JSTOR. Web. 3 Feb.
2013.
.
