Robert Frost
...hool in Plymouth. A year later, he moved his family to England. While living in England, he wrote poetry and farmed to make a living. His first book of poetry was published in 1913. He was 39 years old. The David Nut and Company published this. A short time later, World War I began and Mr. Frost decided to move his wife and family back to the United States. By this time, his works had become popular in the United States as well as Europe. He was fortunate enough to find a publisher in the United States. His career was almost at the pinnacle of his fame. Fame came quickly for this inspiring poet and never left. "From this point on Frost was sought out, entertained, lionized as intensely as he would allow" (Gerber 10). During the next few decades, Frost, taught at many colleges in the United States. In 1931, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Collected Poems. In 1938, his wife died. At age 65, a year of retirement for most, Frost still had a quarter of a century of poetry to write before his death. "He began teaching at Harvard-quite a vindication for the man who had tried Harvard so many years earlier and withdrawn"(Gerber 20). By late adult hood, Frost was well established and famous for his works. He was the first representative of literary arts to be included in a formal inaugural program. At the age of 88, he was ask to speak at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. A short time later, Frost died in Boston. The fruitful life of Robert Frost, led to the publication of many great books of poetry. Robert Frost's poetry is known to many people and is enjoyed by most. His first book of published poetry was A Boys' Will, published in London in 1913. These writings represent the immature poetry of a writer in search of self. The poems demonstrate the sadness of his past and his inspirations for the future. One of the main qualities of the book is how Frost reveals the scenes of nature. The book describes New England, the soil he worked with his own hands on his farm in Derry. "The reader finds himself in the midst of the wooded valleys and the wooded hills, he hears the blue jay's screech and the whimper of hawks beside the sun; he comes upon the purple-stemmed wild raspberry, the sodden pasture lanes of late fall, and the abandoned cellar holes gradually being reclaimed by nature" (Cox 49). Frost's ability to portray the landscape became a functional part of his writing. North of Boston, the second book published by Mr. Frost, was the greatest achievement of his career. It was in these writings that Frost threw aside his boyhood writings and bloomed into the mature writer of a grown man. In both language and theme, North of Boston stands apart from his previous writings. The speaker in these poems is usually careful and often sneaky, meditating on his many years of observation and experience. He oriented himself and came into his own. The people reflected in this book are caught up in the struggles of everyday life-holding a farm together, paying bills, the routine of daily chores and at the same time not breaking under stress. Some examples of his writings from this book are "Home Burial," "The Fear," and "The Death of the Hired Man". In "Home Burial," a mother is burdened with the grief of her childs death. In "The Fear," a common law wife unconsciously disguises her desires as obsessions. And "The Death of the Hired Man," the farmer discovers the meaning of home-and learns that everyone needs at least one place of refuge where one can feel safe. "Throughout each poem in North of Boston Frost insistently projects the theme of alienation, of man's isolation from his fellow man. The old-style farmer in "Mending Wall" not only refuses to pull down the useless barriers but, to make matters worse, insists upon having the last word: "Good fences make good neighbors"" (Cox 52). A Witness Tree was published in 1942. In this book, the readers hear the voice of a man who has lived many years beyond discovery and is now looking back upon his life. Frost did not go through life from one happiness to another. "When he considers the apparent predominance of tragedy and sorrow in the world, he wonders why he has ever been happy" (Cox 53). In "Happiness Makes Up in Height," Frost describes a couple retreating to a house in the woods for solitude. He has progressed from his writings of happiness to writings of reflection. Reflecting on Frost's life, there were many influences that contributed to his great works of poetry. The writings of Frost were influenced simply by his everyday surroundings. The ...