Robert Frost's Poetry

Poetry as a literally work in which the expression of ideas and feelings is given strength has had great authors overtime who took different perspectives in this genre of literature. These poets used distinctive rhythm and style to express their styles, poetic themes, outlook on life, and had their share of influence on the American society. This paper uses the basis of these styles, themes, outlook on life and subsequent influence on the American society to compare three prolific poets who ventured into this literature genre: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Maya Angelou. Robert Frost (1874-1963) holds a unique and almost sole position in the career span which mostly encompasses

Authors write poetry for many reasons including to prove a point, share life stories or to just make the reader think. Robert Frost is a great example of a poet influenced by his experiences. These influences show up in most of his poetry, but especially in “The Road Not Taken”, “Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening”, and “Birches”. Moving to the New England region the nature and people helped him become a poet of worldly fame.

Robert Frost takes our imagination to a journey through wintertime with 
his two poems "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". These two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in the snow covered woods and awakens us to new feelings. Even though these poems both have winter settings they contain very different tones. One has a feeling of depressing loneliness and the other a feeling of welcome solitude. They show how the same setting can have totally different impacts on a person depending on 
their mindset at the time. These poems are both made up of simple stanzas and diction but they are not straightforward poems.

The existence of poetry as an artform predates literacy itself. Over the course of history, poetry grew from a verbal form of art, existing mainly in religious hymns, to becoming the universal “language of the heart”. The work of William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, some of the most notable poets of history, has resonated with generations of Americans. Although they lived in a Pre-industrial world, their work remains powerful because the themes expressed in their artwork can still be applied to modern society. On the contrary, protruding among this group of ancient poets is Robert Frost, whose modern work remains just as powerful, shaping generations through his questions of existence, and depiction of loneliness in an indifferent universe. One of Frost's most celebrated poems: The Road Not Taken, is influential not only in the literary world, but also within American culture. The poems subsequent ripple through American life is analyzed by David Orr In his essay The Most Misread Poem in America. Here, Orr argues that the misread of The Road Not Taken magnifies the underlying issues in society’s understanding of both Frost and poetry as a whole.

Robert Frost was a profound American poet who remains influential to this day. His versatility of theme, and his ability to relate to the human condition makes his work timeless. His simplistic writing style has made him accessible to generations of students. Much of his writing was motivated by the many tragedies he endured beginning with the death of his father and including the deaths of of his own children and his wife who died of cancer.

Juan Avalos Professor Searl English 102 – ITV 25 November 2014 Paper 5 Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest poets in American history. Frost used a traditional style and candidly opposed the free verse style. His poetry is deceptively simple, customarily employing colloquial expression that proceeds just as readily as speech and applying a conventional style similar to that of Carl Sandberg, Emily Dickinson, and Edgar Allen Poe (Roberts & Zweig 2008). Frost 's vivid depictions, and his use of metaphors relate to conceptualizing everyday life by utilizing a perspective of specific interest to explore obscured philosophical and secular subject interests. He manages to take the reader through metaphoric interpretations of daily life by regularly associating man 's connection with nature by employing metaphors. Metaphors, in my opinion, are to poetry what color is to nature. The reader is left with a melancholy when deprived of metaphors. Frost 's first poem, "La Noche Triste," was published in 1890 for his high school newspaper at the Lawrence High School. He graduated in 1892 and was co-valedictorian with his future wife, Elinor Miriam White. Frost enrolled at Dartmouth University and Harvard, but did not earn a formal college degree. Although, Frost 's first paid poem, "My Butterfly," was published in 1894, he had struggled to find a publisher interested in his work. William Prescott Frost Jr.,

century. Most Americans recognize his name, the titles of and lines from his best-known poems, and even his face. Given his immense popularity, it is a remarkable testimony to the extent of his achievement that he is also considered to be one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, of modern American poets. "…the life and work of America's premier poet- the only truly national poet America has yet produced"(Parini23). His influence is still being felt in American life today. His success in America as well as in England has guaranteed the preservation of his legacy for generations to come. "…Frost gradually evolved from poet to cultural icon,

Robert Frost is an iconic poet in American literature today, and is seen as one of the most well known, popular, or respected twentieth century American poets. In his lifetime, Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, and the Congressional Gold Medal. However, Robert Frost’s life was not always full of fame and wealth; he had a very difficult life from the very beginning. At age 11, his father died of tuberculosis; fifteen years later, his mother died of cancer. Frost committed his younger sister to a mental hospital, and many years later, committed his own daughter to a mental hospital as well. Both Robert and his wife Elinor suffered from depression throughout their lives, but considering the premature deaths of three of their children and the suicide of another, both maintained sanity very well. (1)

make a decision and at the end of the day, the nature of the decision

Poetry is a literary medium which often resonates with the responder on a personal level, through the subject matter of the poem, and the techniques used to portray this. Robert Frost utilises many techniques to convey his respect for nature, which consequently makes much of his poetry relevant to the everyday person. The poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and “The mending wall” strongly illuminate Frost’s reverence to nature and deal with such matter that allows Frost to speak to ordinary people.

Robert Lee Frost, born in 1874, grew up in California. He was an extraordinary student, and ended his high school career as one of the valedictorians. He was very intelligent, and even went on to Dartmouth College, though he did not graduate. He was married to his former high school classmate Elinor White in 1895. Together they gave birth to six children. Later in life he attended Harvard College. Robert Frost was known for his love of nature, and portrays it in many of his poems. For part of his life he worked as a farmer, which could have contributed to his love for nature. Though Frost clearly states, “I am not a nature poet. There is almost always a person in my poems” (frostfriends.org). Frost obviously does not want people to think that he writes strictly about nature. He wants others to see the meaning behind his poetry, as well as the “human psychology” hidden underneath his poems. Frost did love nature though, not to be mistaken. He did use nature a lot throughout his poetry, he just did not want people to skim the surface of his poems and think they were about nature when they

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “ The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.

Robert Frost is perhaps one of America's best poets of his generation. His vivid images of nature capture the minds of readers. His poems appear to be simple, but if you look into them there is a lot of insight. Robert Frost spoke at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. He is the only poet to have had the opportunity to speak at a presidential inauguration. Through his poetry people learn that Robert Frost is a complicated and intellectual man who has a place in many American hearts. (Richards P.10)

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less travelled by. And that has made all the difference.” (Potter 52) Robert Frost is one of the most beloved poets in America and around the world. Many of his famous works include: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Birches,” “The Road Not Taken,” A Boys Will, and many other great works. Taking the road less travelled surprisingly, summarizes Frost slow start in finding recognition as a great American writer. Frost was not widely successful until he was thirty-eight years old. This composition will describe the slow and steady rise of Robert Frost’s reputation; his educational and career difficulties; his early literacy work being disregarded in America; and travelling to England and being assisted by his literary friends and family. All these things greatly contributed to Robert Frost’s career.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the poetry of Robert Frost for references to themes of nature, religion, and humanity and how they relate to each other. This exercise will be prefaced with a brief introduction to the man and his life as a segue to better understanding Frost’s verse. The unexpected but unavoidable aim of this composition will be to realize that Frost’s body of work is almost too sophisticated to comprehend, his manipulation of language so elusive that each reader may believe Frost is speaking only to them, as the only incontrovertible truth is the poems ‘operate on so many levels’. The reader should note that no discussion will be offered on poetry form, as that is a consideration best left to literary experts, and otherwise is not germane to thematic consideration. However, it takes little competence, more an openness, to allow the paean, hymnal lyricism of Frost’s words to insinuate themselves into one’s inner voice; synchronizing with his struggle to explain our very existence. That, instead, will be the focus of the paper.