A Death from Isolation

Robert Frost stated, “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” That is a very strong statement. Unfortunately, life will come to an end and Henry Hudson’s came to an end on his fourth voyage through the northern part of North America. The poem entitled, “An Empty Threat”, by Robert Frost, deals with isolation in terms of the physical landscape, the people the speaker talks about, and the legacy of Henry Hudson.

In the poem, the speaker talks about the location through details of the landscape and what is going on around him. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker comments that, “There wasn’t always Hudson’s Bay and the fur trade” (3&4). Hudson’s Bay is located in Canada by Quebec and from the 1600’s through the 1800’s, the fur trade was very popular. This trade was what made a good establishment of North America. The French traded materials with the natives of what is now Canada. The French would give the natives kettles, pots, and other materials. In return the natives gave the French animal pelts. That is what started the Fur trade. During the 1800’s, most of the animals that they would hunt were becoming scarce, including the Great Auk. The speaker states, “With the dead race of the Great Auk!” (52), because the Great Auks are now extinct. The Great Auk was being hunted for multiple reasons, such as for food, feathers for pillows, and meat for fishing bait.

The speaker is able to talk about the isolation in description of the landscape when he states, “There’s not a soul for a windbreak between me and the North Pole” (23-25). This statement shows that what all is around him is not people or animals. The North Pole isn’t far from where the Hudson Bay is located. With most of the animals being scarce and the cold temperatures there, of course there isn’t going to be anyone around.

Not only does the speaker explain the isolation of the landscape, but it is also apparent in the way he talks about the people in the poem. The two main people he talks about in this poem are a man named John-Joe and Henry Hudson.  “And a trapper looking in at the door with furs to sell. His name’s Joe, alias John” (10-13), introduces John-Joe’s occupation as a trapper. Trappers were people who would hunt animals for the fur, pelt, or downs. Trappers were popular during the fur trade.  In the poem, the speaker describes John-Joe as an ignorant person; for he isn’t much help to find the whereabouts of Henry Hudson. The speaker states, “Except always John-Joe, my French Indian Esquimaux” (26&27). A French Indian Esquimaux is best known as an Eskimo. Eskimos are known for living in very cold regions such as Canada and the Artic.

Henry Hudson was a famous European voyager. On his fourth voyage, he came to a dead end which is now known as the Hudson Bay. “And his crew left him where be failed” (46). The speaker states that line, because Henry Hudson’s crew abandoned him. They placed him in a smaller boat, also known as a skiff, and left him to die in the Hudson Bay while they went back to Europe. Henry Hudson didn’t die alone; his son and other crew members were thrown with him. Few of the crew members that took over his ship were later put on trial. But in the end, they were acquitted.

Throughout the speaker’s illustration of isolation in the poem, he explains how it intertwines with the legacy of Henry Hudson. Though Henry Hudson was a great voyager, he was too ignorant to listen to his crew. He had come to odds with many of them which later decide to get rid of him. The speaker wrote, “It’s the old captain’s dark fate” (43), which can be defined as Hudson’s death. The speaker also states, “Better defeat almost, if seen clear, than life’s victories of doubt that need endless talk-talk to make them out” (53-57). This statement shows that Hudson has isolation in himself from his crew. The victories of doubt is the victory that Hudson wanted to accomplish, which was to find a way of travel from Europe to Asia through the waterways north of North America. “Better defeat almost” can be explained that it is better to die when you were defeated and can’t do anything about than to live in a life where your victories can be lived in doubt.

Lastly, the speaker talks about Henry Hudson when talking about John-Joe. “And between what he doesn’t know and won’t tell about where Henry Hudson’s gone” (14-16), was stated by the speaker. He states that, because no one really knows what happened to Henry Hudson or the others that were put on the boat with him. Everyone just assumed they died from exposure because they were never found. It has been thought that they died in or near the Hudson Bay. With the size of Hudson Bay compared to the size of the average skiff, they couldn’t have gotten far. That is why people have assumed what they did. But that also explains the isolation that Henry Hudson encountered. The isolation Henry Hudson acquired from a crew that had worked with him since his first voyage. He believed that they were loyal to him until everything that went down. Henry Hudson can be an inspiration, but he can also be someone you can learn your lesson from. He can be an inspiration, because he had a goal and he worked for it till the very end. But because of his arrogance, it caused his crew to defy him. So the lesson that can be learned is to not take the people you trust for granted.

The isolation of the location and the people around the speaker gives a sense of what happened to Henry Hudson. Isolation isn’t just an emotional feeling, but also physicality. Many people have felt isolated from family, friends, and society based on their own feelings or where they are located. No one should feel isolated; especially when you put your trust into people that say that they wouldn’t turn their backs on you.