~ No, in your rural letter box
I leave this note without a stamp
To tell you it was just a tramp ~
In An Unstamped Letter
in Our Rural Letter Box, Frost constructs a narrative to tell the story of a
tramp who spends a night in a pasture, on a farmer’s land, and experiences an
epiphany, despite his dark, hostile surroundings. The homeless man experiences
two stars conjoining, which encourages the moment of revelation and he leaves a
letter in the farmer’s letterbox. The poem also has a wider narrative of positions
and roles of people and objects in the universe and our perception of them.
There are several
aspects of narrative that play a part in allowing the reader to understand the
poem and relating to the wider narrative constructed. Characterisation is a key
aspect of narrative in An Unstamped Letter in Our Rural Letter Box. The
beginning of the poem displays the homeless man as worthless and inferior: “To
tell you it was just a tramp”. The keyword ‘just’ implies that the man feels
that he does not have an important position in society and maybe that he is
useless. This also links to the wider narrative, as in a world where prejudice
is rife, it is a given that a homeless person may feel outcast and like a
‘nobody’ in society as he does not meet social expectations. This is also
evident at the end of the poem in the line “Myself, in forma pauperis” which translates as ‘in the form of a pauper’.
The fact that he addresses himself as in the form of a pauper, rather than
admitting that he is, after his epiphany, shows that he realises he is of some
value and does have a place in society. It also suggests that our perception of
others can have an impact upon them and make them feel that they are of no
worth in the universe. This also links to the wider narrative – along the path
of our lives in the vast universe, we may be perceived by others in different
ways. These perceptions may be distorted and wrong, putting us down and making
us feel worthless; furthermore, it could leave us feeling unsure of our role in
society. However, these hardships may encourage us to experience a revelation
and fully understand and realise our position and purpose in the universe.
Another important
aspect of narrative is scenes and places. The homeless man’s epiphany is
brought on by “two stars having coalesced”. The natural beauty of the stars may
have encouraged him to appreciate the world around us and realise that being
homeless doesn’t matter so much when we are blessed to have a world as
beautiful as it is. This links to the wider narrative of the role of objects in
the universe; nature (the stars) has a great influence on human perception and
can allow us to comprehend situations and their meaning or purpose. The
homeless man’s description of the stars, “The largest firedrop ever formed”,
contrasts with his situation. The keyword ‘firedrop’ evokes the thought of
warmth and therefore comfort, however the man is sleeping outside in a cold,
harsh climate. Although, experiencing the two stars joining together makes his
perception of the world different as he no longer views it as such a bad place,
even for someone who is homeless: “And then your tramp astrologer”. An
astrologer is someone who uses the stars to find meaning and signs about our
journey in life, suggesting that the tramp is able to find meaning in his
situation. Ironically, the homeless man asks for forgiveness “if [he] seems to
boast”. Being a tramp must be extremely difficult and miserable, but he seems
to be fine with his circumstances, suggesting that he now has a better understanding
of the world and his life’s experiences have made him a better person. His
whole perception of the world appears to have changed, linking to the wider
narrative, just because he experienced a moment of intense, natural beauty.
