Love and Nature in the Poems of Robert Frost

2316 Words5 Pages

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” (Frost 697) Robert Frost was a unique writer of the 20th century. In his poems “Nothing Gold Can Stay” "Birches" "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" "Fire and Ice" and "Mending Wall" Robert Frost explores the theme of nature, and the human emotion love.

Robert Frost is considered a humanist and is one of the most well-known American poets. “If the United States ever adopted a national poet, chances are it would be Robert Frost. By the time Frost died in 1963 at the age of 88, an admiring public had all but carved his face on Mount Rushmore. His poetry was beloved. Frost earned the Pulitzer Prize a record four times. Though he never graduated from college, more than forty universities and colleges have awarded him honorary degrees. Not only was Frost tapped to speak at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, but the handsome young President-elect was actually worried that the crowd would be more interested in the august poet than in him.” (Shmoop Editorial Team).

Frost cannot be defined into one category, or era, but the recurring themes in his poems would be nature and love. “Frost stood right at the crossroads of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He does not fit neatly into any one era. He was one of the first poets to advocate for individualism in language, before the idea was fashionable—in 1920,” (Shmoop Editorial Team).

“In the typical spring poems, like "Nothing Gold Can Stay," dawn goes down, or falls, to day, reminding us in its beauty mainly of its transience”(Baym 717). “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is a beautiful poem about nature. The poem goes into much detail about the changing colors. There ar...

... middle of paper ...

...Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. 697. Print.

Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” “Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing.” 7th ed. Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. 655-56. Print.

Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”“Sound and Sense: an Introduction to Poetry.” 8th ed. Perrine, Laurence, and Thomas R. Arp. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College, 1992. 133-34. Print.

Harris, Kathryn G. "Language and Form in "Nothing Gold Can Stay"" Robert Frost: Studies of the Poetry. With an Introd. Boston, MA: Hall, 1979. Print.

Little, Michael R., and Harold Bloom. "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Bloom's How to Write about

Robert Frost. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. Print.

"Robert Frost: Biography." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 2008. Web. 27 Apr 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem, “Stopping by Woods…” speaks of a time that the author paused during a trip to simply enjoy the quiet and beauty of nature. During this short stop, he contemplates mortality and his life so far. Frost also cleverly uses the poems form and sounds to enhance the poem, to entice the readers senses, and immerse them in the scene.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost: Iceman for the Ages

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost is often known as one of the greatest American poets of all time. Although he is sometimes remembered as hateful and mean spirited, his life was filled with highs and lows. These differentiating periods are represented throughout his poetry. Frost once said that “A poem begins in delight, and ends in wisdom.” As can be seen, this quote not only reflected his poetry, but his life. Though many years of his life were troubled by misfortune, Frost always seemed to persevere. Robert Frost was a talented, thoughtful poet whose life was filled with complexity and tragedy (brainyquote.com).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Robert Frost Acquainted With The Night

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost is regarded as one of the most distinguished American poets in the twentieth century. His work usually realistically describes the rural life in New England in the early twentieth century and conveys complex social and philosophical themes. But his personal life was plagued with grief and loss, which is also reflected in his poems and the dark energy distinguishes Robert Frost’s poems, frequently conveyed in the use of lexical words like dark and its derivatives or synonyms, woods, snow, night, and so on. (Su, Y)

    Read More

  • Inquisitive Travelers

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    Print. Frost, Robert. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”, Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama, Robert DiYanni, Sixth ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007. 767.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Lover Not Taken, by Blanche Farley and The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost, Robert. “The Lover Not Taken.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2007. 696-697.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Lee Frost was an honored American Poet who received four Pulitzer Prizes for his works. His poetry reflected realistic illustrations about rural life in the twentieth century, while his poetry also tackled social issues. Robert Frost was known for his use of metaphors in his poetry about the landscape, human nature and history. He was greatly inspired by his wife, Elinor. The other two people who had a significant impact on his life were Ezra Pound and Edward Thomas. Edward Thomas inspired one of Frost’s famous poems called, “The Road Not Taken.”

    Read More

  • Nature in Robert Frost's Poems

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    strengthens his viewpoint and regards Frost as ―one of the most intuitive poets [. . . h]e sees

    Read More

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

    421 Words  | 1 Pages

    Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is about a person the speaker, who stops near the woods when it is snowing out to take a break and look around. He notices how beautiful it is to look at the snow falling in such a peaceful way out of the dark sky.

    Read More

  • The Dark Side of Robert Frost’s Nature

    2355 Words  | 5 Pages

    Robert Frost is known for his poems about nature, he writes about trees, flowers, and animals. This is a common misconception, Robert Frost is more than someone who writes a happy poem about nature. The elements of nature he uses are symbolic of something more, something darker, and something that needs close attention to be discovered. Flowers might not always represent beauty in Robert Frost’s poetry. Symbolism is present in every line of the nature’s poet’s poems.

    Read More

  • The Psychology of Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry

    3049 Words  | 7 Pages

    His poetry is in the main psychologically oriented with emphasis on specific recurring themes, which include, but are not limited to, loneliness, retreat, spirituality, darkness, and death. Frost said himself repeatedly, “I am not a nature poet. There is almost always a person in my poems” (quoted in Thompson). This may be hard for some to grasp, as Frost is world renowned for his alleged nature theme. Contrary to popular opinion, nature is not Frost’s central theme in his poetry; it is the contrast between man and nature as well as the conflicts that arise between the two entities.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Robert Frost’s Use of Natural and Rural Depictions in his Poetry

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...uses his poetry to celebrate, compare, and contrast the beauty of nature and rural living. Throughout Frost’s poetry he draws upon the beauty of nature to build up vast amounts of scenery. To contrast from nature, Frost also uses the integration of industrialized rural life. Frost uses nature to build the beauty in his poetry, but also uses it to say things that cannot be said with words alone. Heller once wisely spoke: “Maybe freedom really is nothing left to lose. You had it once in childhood, when it was okay to climb a tree, to paint a crazy picture and wipe out on your bike, to get hurt. The spirit of risk gradually takes its leave. It follows the wild cries of joy and pain down the wind, through the hedgerow, growing ever fainter. What was that sound? A dog barking far off? That was our life calling to us, the one that was vigorous and undefended and curious.”

    Read More

  • Robert Frost's Experience of Nature

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost wrote his poems during the early- to mid-20th century, and that was during the time period of a huge change in the rural community. This was a very influential point for the people in America, because of the drastic changes of a rural community. People were used to living on secluded farms, that had no grocery store and everything relied on their work on the farm. Children would grow up around nature and using the world around them as their playground. With the new rural community people were getting away from the isolation and moving into mass groups into cities, which rid of nature as a playground for little kids. It seemed as if nature was being thrown out of the picture as the world grew, but Robert Frost made a point of including the beauty and importance of nature in his poems. There is something poetic about nature, and Robert Frost always mentioned these in his poems. In Frost’s poems, Birches, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and Out, Out-, he includes the importance for children to play on trees, to admire all nature around, and to stop to admire nature sometimes.

    Read More

  • Symbols and Symbolism in the Poems of Robert Frost

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frost was a rural Yankee whose writings reflect everyday experiences-his own experiences, but was one who saw metaphorical dimensions in the everyday things he encountered. These everyday encounters held ground as his subject manner, combined with the rural setting of New England nature, seasons, weather and times of day. Frost’s goal was to write his poetry in such a way that it would cover familiar ground, but in an unfamiliar way or uncommon in expression.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Nature in Robert Frost's Poetry

    392 Words  | 1 Pages

    Robert Frost is an amazing poet that many admire today. He is an inspiration to many poets today. His themes and ideas are wonderful and are valued by many. His themes are plentiful however a main one used is the theme of nature. Frost uses nature to express his views as well as to make his poetry interesting and easy to imagine in your mind through the detail he supplies.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost Writes About Nature

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    Robert Frost and his wife decided in 1912 to sell their farm house in New Hampshire and move to England, where Frost wrote his first two books of poems. Frost was originally from San Francisco where he grew up and spent most of his childhood. Although a lot of his writing have natural parts in them, Frost doesn’t consider himself as a nature poet. “I’ve only written two poems without people in ‘em. Does that make me a nature poet? Well, I don 't think so” (Frost Interview). This shows Frost 's opinion about him being considered a nature poet. Most people consider Frost as a nature poet, but looking deeper into his work then just reading it, one can argue that he is not. When looking at Frost 's work we see that although a lot of it involves nature in it, it also involves a person, a person that is admiring, working, or using nature. When analyzing his writing, Frost uses nature to show deeper in depth lesson...

    Read More

More about Love and Nature in the Poems of Robert Frost

Open Document