Our Own Making: Choice in Robert Frost's 'Trial by Existence'

An idea developed in Milton's Paradise Lost is that humans are the only animals lucky enough to have free will; our own choices which we consciously or unconsciously decide determine our quality of life both on earth and in death.  Robert Frost's "Trial by Existence" explains the effect that our choices have on us.  We choose our own destiny which is ultimately our own making.

The first three stanzas of the poem explain the process by which the soul, while in heaven, freely chooses to come to earth.  The souls created by God are lining up, waiting anxiously to see who will be willing to take the "trial by existence."  Stanza 4 shows the seriousness of this choice:  “To view once more the sacrifice / Of those who for some good discerned / Will gladly give up paradise” (26-28).  Even the souls in heaven know that coming to earth will be a “trial,” a test, of the soul's worthiness of his/her love of God.  However, though this choice alone bears great responsibility and will have effects of great magnitude on the soul, it is not the hardest or the most critical decision; the most difficult choice or series of choices will come after the soul has been born on earth, the choices that it must make to get back to paradise, heaven.

The souls know the danger that lies in the choice to give up heaven.  They know “good and ill / Beyond a shadow of a doubt” (42-43) about their decision to come to earth.  They are not making this important decision uninformed.  Therefore, each daring soul knows that s/he may never make it back to paradise; instead, s/he may die and be sent to hell.  Still, the souls think “The talk of earth's unhonored things / Sounds nobler there than 'neath the sun” (45-46).  They feel that the challenge is too exciting to pass.

This anticipation of choice should sound somewhat familiar.  We've all had a choice that, regardless of the warnings of trouble and strife, the anticipation and excitement of the choice makes us somewhat reckless, daring evil to change our minds and tempt us into a different path.  Stanzas 3 and 4 exemplify this anticipation.

One more thing will be coupled with this choice to make it more difficult:  God will erase the recollection of the soul's time in heaven and his/her choice to descend to earth:

   ‘One thought is agony of strive
The bravest would have by for friend,
   The memory that he chose the life;
But the pure fate to which you go

The copyright of the article Our Own Making: Choice in Robert Frost's 'Trial by Existence' in Modern American Poetry is owned by Karen Powers Liebhaber. Permission to republish Our Own Making: Choice in Robert Frost's 'Trial by Existence' in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic