Frost's "Neither Out Far Nor in Deep," p.1406

On first reading I thought that this was a fun little grass is greener on the other side type of poem, but upon closer examination, I determined that while that may be true on one level, it is just a few moments contemplation away from being a captivating 450 word blog post.

Robert Frost begins by painting a picture of the inherent curiosity of people as they turn to pay attention to the sea. I don’t believe that it was by accident or necessity of rhyme that he is speaking about “people along the sand.” The ones along the sand are those who notice the sea most prominently, thus they are the ones tormented by it. It also should be noted that I read the land as being what we have or may have and the sea being what we may not. As people “turn their backs on the land,” they are ceasing to appreciate the things that they do have or can obtain. Then as they “look at the sea all day,” they covet the wives of their neighbors.

I suspect that when Frost mentions the ship continuously raising its hull as it passes by he is talking about the flaunting of what the people on the beach desire, as well as the duration of their obsession. Perhaps this is even a reference to envy that people feel as they see the ship indulging itself on the glass-like wetter ground that they lack the buoyancy to enjoy. I have to admit that I fail to see the symbolism of the standing gull being reflected in the water. Maybe the purpose for including this line is to show that the reflection of the gull standing on the pier gives the illusion that the water is in fact just wetter ground and not impossible for the people to inhabit.

Regardless of whether or not the people have more options and opportunities on “land” then they do at “sea” the temptations (waves) of the things that people may not have persist indefinitely and in response they will always lust for those things.

The final section of the poem addresses the mystery of the desire. “They cannot look out far” and “cannot look in deep” to learn more about their dream. The mystery of the ocean is largely responsible for the appeal it possesses. An adventure with a known end is not and cannot be as exciting. The last two lines of the poem further confirm my suspicion that the poet is describing a yearning for what cannot be obtained. The sea is just one example of the flirtatious unknown. Those people who are not on the shore are finding their own objects of affection to channel their desires.