Bleh

[Todd_1]

<p>Works Cited</p>

<p>Bloom, Harold, ed. Robert Frost. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Frost, Robert. “Robert Frost.” Archive of Classic Poems. 2004. Selendy Communications. Sept. 2004.<a href="http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Robert_Frost"&gt;http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Robert_Frost&lt;/a>.
Pritchard, William H. "Frost’s Life and Career.” Modern American Poetry. 1994.
Oxford University Press. Oct. 2004. <a href="http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/life.htm"&gt;http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/life.htm&lt;/a>.
"Robert Frost." Canada’s America. Canada, Mark. 1997. Nov. 2004 <<a href="http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/canam/frost.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/canam/frost.htm&lt;/a> >.</p>

<p>Robert Frost: An Unforgettable Poet
Nature has inspired countless poets from primitive times to the present. Robert Frost used the beauty of nature—that which exists inside as well as out—to draw people together. He was a well-loved poet whose natural and simple verse imbued his readings with a charismatic resonance beyond that of words on a paper. His motivation in life had been to discover his inner purpose. Robert Frost is admired for being a poet of prestigious merit and has secured his reputation as a major influence; the ambition in life he strived for had been fulfilled: to write “a few poems it would be hard to get rid of.”
To understand how Frost became such an important American poet, his early life should be analyzed. He was born on March 26th, 1874, in San Francisco, California, the first child of William Prescott Frost, Jr., and Isabelle Moodie Frost. He had an unstable experience with his early years of schooling. He dropped out of kindergarten, due to stomach pains, and returned only to drop out of first and second as well. Finally he was educated at home in 1882. His father’s health had slowly deteriorated over the years, and in 1885, tuberculosis killed him. With high expenses, the family chose to migrate to Lawrence, Massachusetts to stay with Frost’s grandparents. He disliked their “stern and rigorous discipline.” (Pritchard) The following year, the family moved to Salem Depot, New Hampshire, where his mother began to teach. Jeanie, his sister, entered fifth grade with him; they were in the same grade because of his previous school experience. He then passed the entrance examinations for Lawrence High School and enrolled in a college preparation program. Next year, he graduated at the head of his class, a significant difference when compared to his elementary school years. His early life was ironic; he seemed unable to adapt in any environment, but it had a heavy influence on his poetry.
His first published poem “La Noche Triste” appeared in the Lawrence High School Bulletin in April. He soon grew restless. After entering Dartmouth College, he dropped out after only one semester. In 1894, he returned to Salem to teach grades one through sixth, when The Independent, a New York literary journal, informed him they were going to publish a poem he wrote titled “My Butterfly: An Elegy.” Meanwhile, he tried to convince a woman named Elinor, whom he attended school with, to marry him. He finally succeeded on December 19th. Everything seemed to be going well for Frost. In 1896 they had a son named Elliot, and the following year Frost entered Harvard as a freshman after borrowing money from his grandfather. Two years later he withdrew from the college and discovered his mother had advanced cancer. Frost had another child named Lesley. Sever depression afflicted the family in 1900 when Elliot died of cholera and Frost’s mother died of cancer. Times were devastating and Frost’s health declined. He found Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and it left a profound impact on him, as would be seen in his later poetry. As his life continued, Frost had a son in 1902 named Carol, a daughter Irma in 1903, a daughter Marjorie in 1906, and his last child in 1907, Elinor Bettina, however she died three days after her premature birth. Over this decade he wrote, but seldom published any of his poetry. He inherited a farm during the later portion of the decade after his grandfather passed away. However, in 1912, he sold it and moved to England with his family; this is where he could devote himself entirely to writing (Pritchard).
On April 1st, 1913, Frost published his first collection of poems, titled A Boy’s Will. It gained international reputation, and Frost also got to meet several literary figures: Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Ford, William Butler Yeats, and others. The poems dealt mainly with human tragedies and fears as well as the complexities of life itself. “The design of the book—what is put in, what is left out, the groupings of the poems, the headnotes—expresses a “choice” about the portrait of man and poet that Frost wanted to present” (Bloom 45). Several of the poems involved making a decision and finding a less distorted view of life. For example, in “Into My Own”, the speaker talked of “steal[ing] away” into a plethora of scenes which envelope life. The speaker did not see why “they should e’er turn back” and resonantly suggested that if found “they would not find me changed from him they knew—Only more sure of all I thought was true” (Frost 5). The speaker reached a moment of clarity, and with the final line asserted what he had known. A connection could be drawn from this poem to Walden, since both involve seeking the comfort of nature, especially to reflect. Nature had left a profound impact on Frost as he had grown up, and it is evident especially in A Boy’s Will.
He used consistent ideas in his poetry. Besides a deep conviction for Nature, his subjects pertained to the following ideas: the complexity of life and death, issues shrouding society, and other discursive topics. “The Road Not Taken” particularly highlighted a mix of these subjects. The speaker in the poem decided to take a road less traveled, which metaphorically can be compared to any major decision life poses, and that “made all the difference” (Frost 900). Representing nature on an allegorical level strongly appealed to Frost as many of his poems have proclaimed. When reading his poetry, it is easy to be consumed by it.<br>
In 1923, Frost published perhaps his most famous poem “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Many of Frost’s readers appreciated how his poems could be read on various levels. Avoiding the inscrutable meaning, the reader of this poem can enjoy the beauteously evocative surface design. The imagery immediately reminds the reader of winter and places them in the location, in the “lovely” woods, supported by the consistent flow the poem has. On a metaphorical level, however, the poem is actually an elegant suicide wish. The winter images no longer provide an appealing sense, but instead create a feeling of melancholy, and suggest that the speaker has longed for death. After analyzation, the reader can infer how Frost scrupulously polished each aspect of the poem: its rhythm of soft sounds and a “lovely” rhyme scheme. “The pressure of distant responsibilities” (Bloom 76), suggested abstractly, is represented by the woods and appeals to the speaker. However, at the end he realizes he must continue, for he has “promises to keep”, duties to fulfill, and “miles to go before [he can] sleep” (Frost 896), much to do before he accepts death. However, the repetition of the last two lines may suggest the speaker cannot escape the influences which surround him; the white and black world which lulls him.<br>
After more recognition, Frost leisurely enjoyed the years which followed. He spent time giving talks and readings of his poetry, usually at the University of Michigan after he had accepted a $5,000 fellowship. In 1924, he won the Pulitzer Price for his “New Hampshire” poem. He also received honorary Litt.D. degrees from Middlebury College and Yale University. During 1925, his friends honored his fiftieth birthday by holding a dinner; he believed he had been born in 1875. A few years later he published more of his works, “Collected Poems”, then won the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1931. In the early 30s he continued a heavy lecture schedule to earn more money, specifically for his children’s expenses, including Marjorie’s wedding. Soon after, Marjorie tragically acquired puerperal fever and died. (Pritchard) Elinor’s health was also declining. This latest blow was especially devastating and under doctor’s orders Frost and his wife moved to the Key West. Frost could tell his wife’s health was slowly dwindling. However, he still managed to receive another Pulitzer Prize award in 1937 for “A Further Range” and also got elected into the American Philosophical Society. Meanwhile, Elinor underwent surgery for her breast cancer. Her life continued to deteriorate.
In 1938, heart failure murdered his wife; Frost collapsed upon hearing the news and failed to attend the cremation. The emotional instability he experienced at this time drew attention. His son Carol then committed suicide with a deer hunting rifle in 1940. This horrified Frost, who had tried to tear his son away from the fatal thoughts which had grown stronger since the death of Elinor. Frost continued to write though. He published “A Witness Tree” in 1942, dedicated to Kathleen Morrison; it has been regarded as one of the finest love poems ever written. The following year he won the Pulitzer Prize yet again for it. Thus, he became the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize four times. Irma and Lesley were now his only remaining children, and Irma’s mental stability was also declining. Mental instability had torn his family apart; the mental illness his mother encountered, Frost seemed to have passed on to each of his descendants.</p>

[Todd_1]

<p>Frost entered the 50s, and they slowly dragged on for him as his later years approached. Struggling with the threat of facial cancer, he had to memorize most of his poems due to worsening eyesight. In 1953, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets. Afterwards several friends invited him to the White House under Eisenhower’s presidency. At the end of the decade he envisioned Kennedy as the next president and, with his prophecy true, received an invitation to the inauguration to read a poem. The sun prevented him from seeing the poem he had written for the event, so he instead recited “The Gift Outright” from memory. He was then stricken with Pneumonia and fell seriously ill to it. Exhausted, Frost resigned himself to his home and refused to leave. The doctors discovered cancer in his prostate and bladder and soon after he suffered from a second pulmonary embolism. That same night he died. His ashes were placed in the family plot, in Old Bennington, Vermont (Bloom 45). The nation will forever mourn the loss of such an important icon.
Despite a life surrounded by suffering, Frost left a profound impact, an unforgettable legacy. When he died, the nation wept the loss of their most influential American poet, who had inspired generations. His love of Nature and ability to communicate through poetry are unsurpassed. Henry David Thoreau was kept alive by Walden; Frost had been kept alive by his inspirational poems which have outlasted his life. They continue to embolden and inspire.</p>

<p>Robert Frost’s Life and Poetry
I. Introduction
A. Nature and Poetry
B. Robert Frost is admired for being a poet of prestigious merit and has secured his reputation as a major influence; the ambition in life he strived for had been fulfilled: to write “a few poems it would be hard to get rid of.”
II. Early Life
A. Childhood
1. Difficulties in School
B. High School
III. Middle Life
A. First Published Poem
B. Marriage
C. Children
IV. Popularity
A. Collection of poems
1. “Into My Own”
V. Consistent Themes
A. Nature
VI. Most Famous Poem
A. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”
1. Outer meaning
2. Inner meaning
VII. Later Life
A. Pulitzer Prize Accomplishments
B. Elinor’s death
1. Mental instability in descendants
VIII. Old Age
A. White House
B. Presidential Inauguration
C. Death
1. Impact
IX. Conclusion
A. Legacy
B. Walden Similarity
C. Impact</p>

<p>If anyone ever sees these posts, ignore them.. I had to find a way to put my paper online to print it at school besides email :P</p>

[Todd_1]

<p>Nature has inspired countless poets from primitive times to the present. Robert Frost used the beauty of nature—that which exists inside and outside—to draw people together. He was a well-loved poet whose natural and simple verse imbued his readings with a charismatic resonance beyond that of words on a paper. His motivation in life had been to discover his inner purpose. Robert Frost is admired for being a poet of prestigious merit and has secured his reputation as a major influence; the ambition in life he strived for had been fulfilled: to write “a few poems it would be hard to get rid of.”
To understand how Frost became such an important American poet, his early life should be analyzed. He was born on March 26th, 1874, in San Francisco, California, the first child of William Prescott Frost, Jr., and Isabelle Moodie Frost. Frost had an unstable experience with his early years of schooling. He dropped out of kindergarten, due to stomach pains, and returned only to drop out of first and second as well. He finally was educated at home in 1882. His father’s health had slowly deteriorated over the years, and in 1885, tuberculosis killed him. With high expenses, the family chose to migrate to Lawrence, Massachusetts to stay with Frost’s grandparents. He disliked their “stern and rigorous discipline” (Pritchard). The following year, the family moved to Salem Depot, New Hampshire, where his mother began to teach. Jeanie, his sister, entered fifth grade with him; they were in the same grade because of his previous school experience. He then passed the entrance examinations for Lawrence High School and enrolled in a college preparation program. Next year, he graduated at the head of his class, a significant difference when compared to his elementary school years. His early life was ironic; he seemed unable to adapt in any environment, but it had a heavy influence on his poetry.
His first published poem “La Noche Triste” appeared in the Lawrence High School Bulletin in April. His life then grew restless. After entering Dartmouth College, he dropped out after only one semester. In 1894, he returned to Salem to teach grades one through sixth, when The Independent, a New York literary journal, informed him they were going to publish a poem he wrote titled “My Butterfly: An Elegy.” Meanwhile, he tried to convince a woman named Elinor, whom he attended school with, to marry him. He finally succeeded and on December 19th they were married. Everything seemed to be going well for Frost. In 1896 they had a son named Elliot, and the following year Frost entered Harvard as a freshman after borrowing money from his grandfather. Two years later he withdrew from the college and discovered his mother had advanced cancer. Frost had another child named Lesley. Sever depression afflicted the family in 1900 when Elliot died of cholera and Frost’s mother died of cancer. Times were devastating and Frost’s health declined. He found Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and it left a profound impact on him, as would be seen in his later poetry. As his life continued, Frost had a son in 1902 named Carol, a daughter Irma in 1903, a daughter Marjorie in 1906, and his last child in 1907, Elinor Bettina, however she died three days after her premature birth. Over this decade he wrote, but seldom published any of his poetry. He inherited a farm during the later portion of the decade after his grandfather passed away. However, in 1912, he sold it and moved to England with his family; this is where he could devote himself entirely to writing.
On April 1st, 1913, Frost published his first collection of poems, titled A Boy’s Will. It gained international reputation, and Frost also got to meet several literary figures: Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Ford, William Butler Yeats, and others. The poems dealt mainly with human tragedies and fears as well as the complexities of life itself. “The design of the book—what is put in, what is left out, the groupings of the poems, the headnotes—expresses a “choice” about the portrait of man and poet that Frost wanted to present” (Bloom 45). Several of the poems involved making a decision and finding a less distorted view of life. For example, in “Into My Own”, the speaker talked of “steal[ing] away” into a plethora of scenes which envelope life. The speaker did not see why “they should e’er turn back” and resonantly suggested that if found “they would not find me changed from him they knew—Only more sure of all I thought was true” (Frost, Selendy). The speaker reached a moment of clarity, and with the final line asserted what he had known had always been true. A connection could be drawn from this poem to Walden, since both involve seeking the comfort of nature, especially to reflect. Nature had left a profound impact on Frost as he had grown up, and it is evident especially in A Boy’s Will.
Frost used consistent ideas in his poetry. Besides a deep conviction for Nature, his subjects pertained to the following ideas: the complexity of life and death, issues shrouding society, and other discursive topics. “The Road Not Taken” particularly highlighted a mix of these subjects. The speaker in the poem decided to take a road less traveled, which metaphorically can be compared to any major decision life poses, and that “made all the difference” (Frost. Selendy). Representing nature on an allegorical level strongly appealed to Frost as many of his poems have proclaimed. When reading his poetry, it is easy to be consumed by it.<br>
In 1923 (Canada), Frost published perhaps his most famous poem “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Many of Frost’s readers appreciated how his poems could be read on various levels. Avoiding the inscrutable meaning, the reader of this poem can enjoy the beauteously evocative surface design. The imagery immediately reminds the reader of winter and places them in the location, in the “lovely” woods, supported by the consistent flow the poem has. On a metaphorical level, however, the poem is actually an elegant suicide wish. The winter images no longer provide an appealing sense, but instead create a feeling of melancholy, and suggest that the speaker has longed for death. After analyzation, the reader can infer how Frost scrupulously polished each aspect of the poem: its rhythm of soft sounds and a “lovely” rhyme scheme. “The pressure of distant responsibilities” (Bloom 76), suggested abstractly, is represented by the woods and appeals to the speaker. However, at the end he realizes he must continue, for he has “promises to keep”, duties to fulfill, and “miles to go before [he can] sleep” (Frost 896), much to do before he accepts death. However, the repetition of the last two lines may suggest the speaker cannot escape the influences which surround him; the white and black world which lulls him.<br>
After more recognition, Frost leisurely enjoyed the years which followed. He spent time giving talks and readings of his poetry, usually at the University of Michigan after he had accepted a $5,000 fellowship. In 1924, he won the Pulitzer Price for his “New Hampshire” poem. He also received honorary Litt.D. degrees from Middlebury College and Yale University. During 1925, his friends honored his fiftieth birthday by holding a dinner; he believed he had been born in 1875. A few years later he published another collection of his poems, Collected Poems, then won the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1931. In the early 30s he continued a heavy lecture schedule to earn more money, specifically for his children’s expenses, including Marjorie’s wedding. Soon after, Marjorie tragically acquired puerperal fever and died. Elinor’s health was also declining. The latest blow was especially devastating and under doctor’s orders Frost and his wife moved to the Key West. Frost could tell his wife’s health was slowly dwindling. However, he still managed to receive another Pulitzer Prize award in 1937 for “A Further Range” and also got elected into the American Philosophical Society. Meanwhile, Elinor underwent surgery for her breast cancer. Her life continued to deteriorate.</p>