The phenomenology of the dwelling space in Robert Frost's poetry
In many of his poems, Robert Frost deploys space, rather than time or the narrative episode, to anchor the tragic, which we define as the lack of the habitable attributes of the dwelling space. Frost brings the domestic tragic into a high degree of prominence, sketching for his readers a spatial r...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2018
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15884/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15884/1/21625-91320-2-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | In many of his poems, Robert Frost deploys space, rather than time or the narrative episode, to anchor the
tragic, which we define as the lack of the habitable attributes of the dwelling space. Frost brings the domestic
tragic into a high degree of prominence, sketching for his readers a spatial reality that is situated within the
parameters of the dwelling space. To him, this interaction with space defines a permanent struggle on the part
of human beings to create a habitable environment, one that embodies the true essence of dwelling. Following
from a critical conversation on spatiality and dwelling, we appropriate Gaston Bachelard’s and Martin
Heidegger's phenomenological notions of homeness and non-homeness to interpret Frost's nuanced spatial
dramatizations and his poetics of dwelling. Informed by the critical insights of these two thinkers, we argue that
Frost's spatial dramatizations describe a polarized, irrational environment where the notion of homeness is
built upon non-homeness and where the dweller is unable to understand his/her relationship with the dwelling
space. We thus bring attention to Frost as a modernist poet significantly contributing to the critical
conversation and phenomenological tradition on modern spaces and the modern experience of homeness/nonhomeness. |
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