Document Type
Honors Thesis
Major
English
Advisor(s)
Jonathan Barron
Committee Members
Jacquelyn Gill, Elizabeth Neiman
Graduation Year
May, 2025
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
Many of Robert Frost’s poems feature scenes of rural New England life and nature, and as such, he is appropriately known as the New England poet. Traditionally, his poetry’s emphasis on New England’s landscape and ecology, along with his usage of myth, has been considered as pastoral, a poetic genre that idealizes rural life and anthropocentrically romanticizes nature. In contrast, this Honors Thesis argues that Robert Frost creates his own mythic struggle based on an understanding of what Jane Bennett calls the vital force. Frost’s usage of myths directly relates to his usage of landscape and ecology; this transforms his myths into what I call ecomyth. This thesis defines ecomyth as typically (1) oral and/or fluid in its telling, (2) saying something unknowable in terms of something knowable, (3) creating a momentary stay against confusion to therefore help us better understand the world around us, and (4) (attempting to) identify or represent a vital force as found in nature. To prove this, this Honors Thesis analyzes the intersection of ecology and mythology within three Robert Frost poems: “Mending Wall,” “Pan With Us,” and “Paul’s Wife.” This Honors Thesis concludes that Frost’s ecomyth encourages a mutual, dialogic relationship between nature and humans and discourages exploitation of land and resources.
Recommended Citation
Day, Matthew, "Ecology, Mythology, and Ecomyth in Robert Frost" (2025). Honors College. 934.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/934