Welcome!

Welcome to my Robert Frost Independent Poet Study. I hope you enjoy exploring and learn something new along the way!

Biography

On March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California, one of America’s most well-known poets was born - Robert Frost. At eleven years old, Frost's father who was a journalist died due to tuberculosis. After this tragedy, Frost, his sister, and his mother moved in with his grandparents in Lawrence, Massachusetts. After Frost graduated high school in 1892, he went to Dartmouth College. In 1894, Robert Frost published his first poem, “My Butterfly: An Elegy,” in New York City in The Independent. After being initially rejected, Frost proposed to Elinor White for the second time, she accepted, and on December 19, 1895, they got married. Elliot, their first child, was born in 1896, and Lesley, their second child, was born in 1899. Frost went to Harvard University for two years, but in 1900, he and his family moved to a farm property in New Hampshire that was bought for them by Frost’s grandpa. It was at this farm during sunrise that Frost wrote many of his poems that would later become famous. There were, however, challenges that arose in his personal life while living on the farm for the next twelve years such as his firstborn dying of cholera in 1900.  In 1912, the Frost’s moved to England where he published his first book of poems. Once World War I began in 1914, they returned to America where Frost found a new publisher, Henry Holt, who he would work with for the rest of his life. Frost began teaching at several colleges with Amherst College being the most noteworthy. He left his job there, however, when Elinor died in 1938 due to heart issues and cancer. Frost was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 and was asked to speak at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. He also received four Pulitzer Prizes. Frost died on January 29, 1963, due to prostate cancer.

References
"Robert Frost Biography." Biography.com. N.p., 17 May 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/robert-frost-20796091>.

My Favorite Poem - "Home Burial"

“Home Burial” is my favorite poem because Frost expressed very strong feelings in simple, easy-to-understand language. Frost set the tone by describing the situation through dialogue and using a free verse format. The wife, Amy, is grieving the loss of their son, and she resents her husband because he does not seem to be grieving in the same way. Throughout the poem, the husband's and wife’s marriage seems to fall apart over the loss of their son. 

Here is a link to the poem:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53086

Here is a recording of the poem:

Frost's Use of Poetry Devices

One poetry device that Robert Frost uses effectively is simile. 

“A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, / And dead wings carried like a paper kite.” (“Design” Frost 7-8).

This selection represents Frost's use of similes quite well. The speaker compares a flower to a froth and compares carrying the dead wings of the moth to carrying a paper kite. By using similes, Frost is able to set the tone. Froth can contribute to a more a gloomy tone. Also, the idea that a paper kite is being carried instead of flown contributes to a depressing tone.

A second poetry device that Robert Frost uses effectively is repetition.

“Making the gravel leap and leap in air, / Leap up, like that, like that, and land so lightly” (“Home Burial” Frost 79-80).

This selection is just one example of Frost's use of repetition. In this poem, the grieving wife, Amy, is speaking to her husband and describing how he dug their own son’s grave. Amy feels angry, and she is hurt because her husband does not seem phased by, what should have been, a traumatizing experience. The repetition used in describing how the husband dug the grave shows his systematic and seemingly unemotional approach to the situation.

Overall Evaluation

Robert Frost is worthy of study because he wrote about important lessons in everyday life. This made his writing very easy for people in his time to relate to; in fact, his writing is still easy for people to relate to today. This is because the themes and principles in his poetry are timeless. There is always something that can be learned from his poetry, and there are always life lessons that can be taken away from it.

One thing I personally connected with in the perspective essay I read was that, as Amy Lowell put it, “His imagination is bounded by what he has seen, he is confined within the limits of his experience…” This information seems to be accurate for Frost; many of his poems were written while he was living on his farm in New England and surrounded by nature. Therefore, it makes sense that nature is a reoccurring theme and influence in his poetry, such as in “After Apple-picking” or “Design.”  I can relate to this type of bounded imagination. It is much easier for me to write about events that I have experienced or seen. While some may see it as confining, I think there is great value in writing from personal experience. By doing this, it is more likely that the reader can relate to and understand the writing. For example, I cannot help but wonder if “Home Burial” reflects the tension that grew between Frost and his wife after their oldest child, Elliot, died. By writing about his own experiences, Frost could accurately convey strong emotions through his writing. This is a skill all writers should desire to have, and Frost has left a legacy of writing that can inspire others. He is worth studying because of the important themes he includes in his poetry and the great example he sets for writers today. There was nothing that particularly challenged my faith or worldview.