Bowman PatriciaWhy did Robert Frost write poetry?
Robert Frost began writing poetry at the age of 15 and continued until his death at 88. Both of his parents were well-educated, and his mother read to him from the Bible, classics, and Scottish tales during his childhood. Frost was an avid reader, enjoying Shakespeare and studying Greek and Latin to read classic poets in their original languages. He was a skilled conversationalist who loved language and the art of crafting it. Poetry, for Frost, was the highest form of linguistic art. He enjoyed the challenge of expressing complex ideas succinctly in poems, using traditional English meters while incorporating conversational language and tones. Frost believed that poetry’s strength lay in its compact and structured form.
What are Frost’s most famous works?
Frost is best known for “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “The Road Not Taken.” Other notable works include “Fire and Ice,” “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” “Birches,” “After Apple-Picking,” “The Death of the Hired Man,” “Home Burial,” and “Mending Wall.” In a poll conducted by America’s Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, “The Road Not Taken” was voted America’s favorite poem.
What was unique in Frost’s approach to poetry?
Frost began writing at the end of the 19th century, during the late Victorian period. He, along with others, aimed to reform poetic language, moving away from the stilted, archaic diction of his predecessors. Frost believed that ordinary conversation could be poetic. Despite his modern approach to language, Frost was a traditionalist in form and structure, writing rhymed verse and blank verse but never free verse. He famously remarked, “I would sooner write free verse as play tennis with the net down.”
What do the poems mean?
Frost’s poems often operate on multiple levels of meaning. While he describes natural settings with beautiful seasonal imagery, he connects these scenes to human experiences, offering both a literal and a deeper, more profound meaning. Many of his poems are parables—simple stories meant to remind the reader of something else, often more spiritual or psychological. Frost cautioned readers against overanalyzing his work, asserting that “the real meaning is the most obvious meaning.” He believed that a good poem should not require footnotes. Frost’s use of wordplay, form, and structure is significant, but appreciating his work on these levels alone means missing out on understanding a great mind more deeply. His poetry is full of contradictions, making him hard to pin down. Just when you think you understand a poem or the poet, he eludes you. Frost’s charm lies in his elusiveness and the refusal to provide definitive answers.
Wasn’t Frost a terrible person?
No, Robert Frost was not a terrible person. He lived a long and often tragic life, feeling unreasonable guilt and blaming himself for everything that went wrong. Frost deeply loved his family and did everything he could to protect them. He cherished one woman for over forty years, referring to her as “the unspoken half of everything I ever wrote.” He once said, “No one ever got far into my affairs and friendship that didn’t succeed with Elinor.” Frost suffered from depression at times and endured the loss of many loved ones. He was a man who sought to find truth in ordinary things and express it eloquently but modestly. He valued courage and commitment, famously writing, “The utmost reward of daring should be still to dare.” To understand the man, one should read his poetry.
