Robert Lee Frost Biography

Robert Lee Frost, one of the most highly esteemed poets of the twentieth century, was different from other writers of the Modern Period. He received four Pulitzer Prizes and forty-four honorary degrees (Pritchard). New England was Frost's "solid rock" in his writings; therefore, nature shows up in a lot of his writings (Waggoner). His poetry expresses a common emotion and everyday experiences, and it is written in simple language that affects any common reader (Magill 716-728). Frost also used ambiguity in his writings which help people apply his writings to their life (Jason 1337). "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom" Frost once said ("The Writing").

Frost was born in California, but after the death of his father he moved to Massachusetts (Pritchard). Frost considered himself a native New Englander. One critic referred to him as the "Voice of New England" (Waggoner). Due to his life in New England, one major theme in his writings was nature. An example is "Birches". The speaker in "Birches" saw some birch trees that had been blown over by an ice storm. This reminds the speaker of when he was a child swinging from the trees. Frost included very distinct descriptions of the storm and the child playing in the birches (Magill 722-723). His poems dealt with the irreversible change of the seasons (Liebman). Frost wrote many more poems that deal with nature. In fact, the first poem in his first book and the last poem of his final book are both about encounters with nature. Some say Frost was a common American writer who was in love with nature, such as James Fenimore Cooper. However, others say the woodsman he wrote about as "independent, defiant of urban artificially and at one with nature was one of his conceptions of himself." His poems about nature portray many different themes. Frost used the woods as a place that could be used "for restoration of spirit through vigorous activity and communion with nature". Frost refers to the perils and joys of isolation in nature (Magill 717).

Frost used day and night as topics in many of his writing. Such as in "Acceptance", "Acquainted with the Night", and "Home Burial". He used the winter and night because they are "times that tend to isolate people, and throw them on their own resources, to encourage reflection". Frost used daylight to show and observe people in their ordinary ways. For example, he was very interested in the relationship between a husband and a wife. "Perhaps no other poet has portrayed the give and take of marriage so variously and so vividly." "The Telephone" and "Home Burial" are a couple of Frost's poems about marriage and ordinary ways. When he talked about daylight his poems took place in the countryside and focused on simple things (Magill 717).

Frost's success came from his simple ways of writing. Frost used everyday words that people can easily understand and can apply to everyone, but with this simplicity comes a deeper meaning in all of Frost's works.