The Deep Meaning of Frost's Tuft of FlowersRobert Lee Frost published his first collection of poems entitled A Boy's Will in 1913. From this collection comes one of the many poems that critics and anthologists have published. both highly regarded for their both lyrical and autobiographical nature. One such critic, James L. Potter, in his book entitled [The] Robert Frost Handbook, explains "[that] Frost wore a mask in public most of the time, hiding his personal problems and complexities from his public audiences. readers and listeners” (Potier 48). Through “The Tuft of Flowers,” a sort of lyrical monologue, Frost “half intentionally” reveals his personal views on the theme of companionship (Potter 48). In the first of three transitions, the speaker, most likely a farmer, goes out into a field just after dawn to dry freshly mown grass in the sun. The farmer then looks for the mower, but finds himself all alone. Here the reader feels the loneliness of the scene. Frost's use of figurative language such as "level scene" and "an island of trees" speaks to the speaker's mood of pessimism and loneliness, as he implies that he must be “as he had been – alone” (4-5, 8). Potter writes that Frost “was often riddled with doubts about…his role in relation to his family and friends, and even about his poetic powers” ​​(Potter 47). We too have the impression that the speaker (Frost) is suggesting that throughout his life he often feels alone and longs for kinship with his neighbor. As the speaker gives in to this pessimistic thought, a “stunned butterfly” passes “on silent wing” and inaugurates the poem's second transition (12). Frost uses the scene with the butterfly in the following verses to summarize...... middle of paper ......, Potter writes: The shared happiness depicted here... seems to be more than just a personal relationship . between two [farmers]; rather, it is a general benevolence which... makes a good world. [This] feeling is shared by the two lawnmowers in “The Tuft of Flowers”. The speaker, finding a clump of flowers deliberately left behind by a previous reaper, feels "a spirit kindred to [his own]" and concludes that "men work together... / Whether they work together or separately." » (Potter 89) On Thinking about it more closely, we readers could generalize the meaning of the poem to indicate humanity's need to be part of society outwardly and inwardly keep the fields of our hearts free from all which would stifle “The Tuft of Flowers”. . “The tuft of flowers”. Robert Frost's Handbook. Ed. James L. Potter. University Park: Penn State UP, 1980.