2. Brief Biography
Robert Lee Frost was born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, CA
Father Will Frost dies. Family returns to Lawrence, MA for burial.
Robert enters Lawrence H.S. 1888
Publishes first poem “La Noche Triste in May, 1890
Graduates co-valedictorian of Lawrence H.S. with Elinor White in
1892
Enters Dartmouth College in 1892. Leaves before the end of the
term.
1893-1895 – works in a mill, as a reporter, teacher
Marries Elinor White, Dec. 19, 1895. First child Elliot born
9/25/96.
Enters Harvard College 1897. Leaves 1899, returns to Lawrence.
Robert and Elinor have 5 more children 1899-1907.
3. Brief Bio. continued
DEATH
First child Elliot dies at age 3 in 1900
Mother, Isabelle, dies of cancer 4 months later
Sixth child Elinor dies within days of birth, 1907
Fifth child, Marjorie, dies during childbirth, 1937
Wife, Elinor, dies of a heart attack, 1938
Third child, son Carol, dies of suicide, 1940
4. (Some) Recognition
Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry
1923 – New Hampshire
1931 – Collected Poems
1937 – A Further Range
1943 – A Witness Tree
Gold Medal for Poetry, National Institute of Arts and
Letters, 1939
Gold Medal, Poetry Society of America, 1941
Award, Academy of American Poets, 1953
Congressional Gold Medal, 1960
(presented by John F. Kennedy, 1962)
Inaugural Poet for John F. Kennedy, 1961.
5. A Modest Ambition
It has been noted that Frost’s
ambition as a writer was to write
“a few poems that it would be
hard to get rid of.”
(R.H. Winnick)
6. Frost’s stylistic hallmarks
Frost is often described as a pastoral poet
a. Of or relating to the country or country life;
rural.
b. Charmingly simple and serene; idyllic.
c. Of, relating to, or being a literary or other
artistic work that portrays or evokes rural life,
usually in an idealized way.
Those who criticize Frost label him as “detached” from
modern society, content to sing of sweet nostalgia for
the good things of the past.
7. Look more closely
Frost uses rural imagery to explore
something of larger symbolic or
metaphysical significance.
Nature can be either or both the central
theme of a poem, or merely a backdrop or
physical setting for a very human
or even existential theme.
8. Some hallmarks of Frost’s poetry
SUBJECTS
rural scenes and
landscapes
farming and farmers
the natural world
ALSO
psychological struggle
experience
will
purposefulness
acceptance
9. Some themes
Relationship to fellow man
Tragedy
Strong and sensitive feelings for the non-
human natural world
Fate / death
Trust in oneself, fellow man, the future
10. Sound
“I want them all to sound different. Listen
for the tune.” – Robert Frost
Be careful to examine the
possibilities of sound and
wordplay in the poems
11. Tone and Drama
“It’s the tone I’m in love with; that what poetry is,
tone.” – R.F.
“Literature is performance in words.” – R.F.
Frost uses drama and situation to vary the tones.
He employs distinctive human tonalities,
generally subdued and low key, ranging the
scale of human emotion.
12. Form
Short to medium length poems, generally.
Highly structured in terms of meter,
rhythm, and rhyme.
Traditional stanzaic organization
“I would sooner write free verse as play
tennis with the net down.” – R.F.
13. Region
Frost was often thought of as a regional
poet (New England), but described himself
as a “realmist.”
His poems are universal, but told in the
setting he knew and loved.