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The Fields of Our Heart: A Reflection on Robert Frost's "The Tuft of Flowers"

by Michael A. Goodwin

Robert Lee Frost published his first book of poems entitled A Boy's Will in 1913. From this collection come one of several poems that critics and anthologists alike highly regard as both lyrical and autobiographical in nature. One such critic, James L. Potter, in his book entitled [The] Robert Frost Handbook, explains "[that] Frost wore a mask in public much of the time, concealing his personal problems and complexities from his reading and listening audiences" (Potter 48). Through "The Tuft of Flowers," a kind of lyrical soliloquy, Frost "half-intentionally" reveals his personal views on the theme of fellowship (Potter 48).
In the first of three transitions the speaker, most likely a farmer, comes out to a field just after dawn to turn the freshly mown grass to dry in the sun. The farmer then searches for the mower, but finds he is all alone. Here, the reader senses the loneliness of the scene. Frost's use of figurative language such as the "leveled scene" and "an isle of trees" gives evidence to the speaker's mood of pessimism and loneliness as the speaker implies he must be "as he had been--alone" (4-5, 8). Potter writes that Frost "was often riddled with doubts aboutÖhis role in relation to his family and friends, and even his poetic powers" (Potter 47). We, too, get the sense the speaker (Frost) is suggesting that throughout his life he feels alone quite often and longs for the kinship of his fellow human being.
While the speaker yields to this pessimistic train of thought, a "bewildered butterfly" passes by "on noiseless wing" and ushers in the second transition of the poem (12). Frost uses the scene with the butterfly in the next several couplets to support his pessimistic feelings of loneliness and grief that come from the desolation of the field. Next the butterfly "[goes] round and round / As where some flower lay withering on the ground" trying to find that special flower that gave it such delight the day before (15-16). The speaker notes that the butterfly flies as far "as eye could see / (but) on tremulous wing came back to me" (17-18). Here, the butterfly seems to parallel the thoughts the speaker has about the field and the delight it brought both of them the day before. The reader can infer from this comparison that Frost, like the butterfly, has enjoyed great beauty, joy, and love at certain times during his life but because the "grass" chokes the beauty in the field, the good times are beset with feelings of loneliness and grief.
The butterfly eventually turns and leads the speaker to a "tall tuft of flowers beside a brook" (22). The significance of the flowers and the brook can not be overlooked, because at this place in the poem the mood suddenly swings from pessimism to optimism. It seems that God was trying to send a message to Frost that the field of life can be filled with beauty and he might not always be alone in his life's work (22). This couplet of the poem is significant because it gives us a clue to how God reveals to the speaker that, although the field of life appears barren, a brook nourishes the ground to give life to the beauty he possesses. In addition, through God's infinite wisdom and mercy, Frost's loneliness and grief will someday again turn back into fellowship and joy.
Although "the mower in the dew had loved [the flowers] thus / Leaving them to flourish, not for us," we get the impression that perhaps the flowers are meant as a visual clue to what the poem may be about (26). For instance, when we consider the title of the poem, the word "tuft" in The American Heritage Dictionary, is described as "a cluster of [flowers] held or grouped together." I believe Frost wishes to link this visual perception of the flowers with his ideas of fellowshipóliving or working together. This approach to interpretation is supported by Potter, who believes "few... deny that poetry is always to some extent a projection of the author's psyche, unconscious as well as conscious" (Potter 49). So, to read Frost's poetry correctly, we must not merely read what is on the surface, for to do so is to miss the hidden wisdom Frost seems to be trying to impart.
In the third and final transition, the speaker and the butterfly "lit upon, / Nevertheless, a message from the dawn" (30). With images such as the "wakening birds around" and a "spirit kindred to my own," we the readers can infer that this "message" could indeed be one of fellowship and love (33-34). The speaker realizes in the closing lines of the poem that, although apart, the speaker and the mower are working with a common goal in mind. Potter believes this to be the case as well. In a discussion of Frost's life and works, Potter writes:
Upon closer reflection, we the reader could generalize the poem's meaning to indicate humanity's need to be a part of society outwardly, and inwardly keep the fields of our hearts free from the things that would choke out "The Tuft of Flowers."

Work Cited

Frost, Robert. "The Tuft of Flowers." Robert Frost Handbook. Ed. James L. Potter. University Park: Penn State UP, 1980.


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