Robert Lee Frost
Introduction
Robert Lee Frost was born on day 26th of the third month of 1874 in San Francisco, California. He was born to Isabelle Moodie, a teacher and William Frost who was a journalist and a teacher. Robert’s mother hailed from Scotland while his father was from England. His father was initially a teacher who later became a news editor for the Evening Bulletin of San Francisco.
Later in 1885, Robert’s father died after he got infected with tuberculosis which was caused by his drinking custom. After his death Robert and his family (his mother and his sister Jeanie Florence) moved to Massachusetts which was the birth place of his father. They had moved to this place in order to honor his father’s wishes of wanting to be buried in his birth place. During this time Robert’s family was receiving support from his grandfather. Between the years 1876 and 1929 Robert and his family moved to New England where Isabelle, his mother, went back to teaching so as to support her family (Wales, 15).
His Inspiration
Having two of his parents as teachers, Robert got exposed to reading books while he was still a young child. He concentrated too much on William Shakespeare’s works during his childhood years. Robert also enjoyed reading poem’s from such poets like William Wordsworth and Robert Burns. He was also a notable nature lover whereby his love for nature was triggered by his the rural setting where he had spend a few of his childhood years.
Education and First His Works
After he entered high school, Robert had developed his writing skills and had written his first work,’ La Noche Triste’ which he wrote in1890. However, his first piece of work was printed in the school’s magazine. Robert was a clever student who excelled in subjects such as Latin, botany, Greek as well as history. He also enjoyed playing football as an extra curriculum activity. After his high school graduation in 1892, Robert joined Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire where he studied for two months after being let down by the campus environment. Frost went back home when he took a number of jobs which included writing poems, teaching, delivering newspapers, working as a miller as well as working in other factories where he worked as changer of light bulbs and filament. In1984 Frost got is second poem “My butterfly: An Elegy” printed by the independent magazine of New York.
His Marriage and Children
However, in 1895 Robert married his love and a high school lover Elinor Miriam who was born in 1872. Robert and Miriam had parted ways after high school graduation. During their marriage life, Robert and his wife had were blessed with six children who included two sons, Elliott (1896) and Carol (1902) and four daughters, Lesley (1899), Irma (1903), Marjorie (1905) and Elinor Bettina (1907).
Hardships
Robert and his wife continued with their teaching career which obstructed his poetry work. He later joined Harvard University, Cambridge in 1897 but later left in 1899 due to an illness. He therefore failed to complete his Degree. Despite the fact that Frost failed to complete his degree course from the Harvard University, the institution later awarded him an honorary degree. The following years of Robert’s life were trying. He had a big and growing family to assist ( Ruskin, 47).
Due to the pressure of livelihood, Robert moved his family to his grandfather’s farm in Derry when he engaged in poultry farming. During this same year, Robert lost his son, Elliot, to cholera. Frost’s grief was not to end since the same year his mother died of cancer. In 1907, his last born daughter Elinor died a day after her birth. Despite all the trials and temptations that frost went through, his Derry farm remained peaceful and his farming activities continued.
During the period of hardships, Robert was inspired to write, “The Mending Wall” which he wrote in 1913 and “Hyla Brook”, he wrote in 1906. In 1911 Robert decided to make a change to his family by moving them into a different place. He therefore sold his land and moved his family to England (Shuman, 567).
Career and Works
It is worth noting that after twenty years of poetry writing; he published his first collection “A Boy’s Will” which was published in 1913 in London. His collection was later published in1915 by Henry Holt, an American publisher. Notably, Frost’s poetry was quite intriguing causing other poets such as Ezra and Thomas Edward to become good friends and helpers of Frost. These poets assisted him in advancing his poetry work.
Nevertheless, during the First World War in 1915 Frost and his family moved back to New Hampshire where he bought a new farm for his family to settle. During the following year, he became an English teacher in Amherst College. His come back in New Hampshire saw the publication of “Mountain Interval” in1916. This collection had numerous poems which he wrote while in Franconia. By then Robert had a growing audience which triggered him to take lecture tours.
Frost purchased the ‘Stone House’ in Vermont from where he wrote all the poems that are found in the 4th compilation of his poetry work, “New Hampshire” which was published in 1923 and during the same year won him an award. Among the poems found in his 4th publication is,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” .A part from farming which Robert enjoyed, he was also involved in other projects with the example of ‘Bread Loaf School of English’ which was situated in Ripton. Robert later left the stone house for his son carol immediately after the arrival of his first grandson. Carol married Lillian LaBatt (1905) (Shuman, 567).
After his son and wife moved to the stone house Lillian engaged in farming which saw her plant numerous apple trees. After Frost gave his stone house farm to his son, he proceeded to purchase another farm in Shaftsbury where he published another collection of his poetry work “West-running Brook” in 1928.Conversely, in the following year, Robert lost his only sister Jeanie. Robert had grown to be a good and an admired speaker. He spent some of his time traveling while maintaining his poetry work which he was under the care of his wife Elinor who had now become his personal secretary. Despite the time he spent on traveling, Robert upheld a remarkable poetry out put (Slyke, 629)
Due to his impressive work, Robert got a second award from Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (PPP) in 1931. This ward was for his 1930s collections. In 1937 same Robert won the same ward for “A Further Range” collection which he had published in 1936. However, this was not to be the end of his ward since he won another award in 1943 for his 1942 collection, “A Witness Tree”.
Tragedy
By 1934 all of his offspring were wedded and during this time Robert spent most of his time with his grandchildren as well as his children. However, in 1934 Robert’s daughter, Marjorie, died while giving birth to her first born? Robert grieve was to extend in 1938 when his beloved wife and the mother of his children died because of a heart problem. Two years later in, 1940, his first born son Carol who lived in the stone house which at the present a museum died after committing suicide (Mohit, 10).
Frost had left the stone house and his new farm in 1938 and proceeded to a new farm in Ripton which was situated near his founded school where he occupied a compartment while he left the main house for his colleagues and friends
Other Works
His other works included the 1939,” Collected Poem”, “A Masque of Reason” which was a play, the 1945 play,” A Masque of Mercy”, a 1947 play,” “Steeple Bush”, a poetry collection which was published in 1947. To add to his poetry work were,” Completed Poems” which was published in 1949. “In the Clearing” which was published a year before his death and finally the 1942,”The Gift outright”, which he recited during the inauguration of John Kennedy, a former American president, in 1961.
His life came to an end in on January 29th in 1963. He died in Massachusetts, Boston and his body was laid to rest in Old Bennington Cemetery in Vermont in a family land. There are some writings in his grave which are,” ‘I Had a Lover’s Quarrel with the World”. Nine moths after the death of Robert Frost, the then U.S president, John Kennedy gave a speech from which he praised Robert due to his recognition of American Art and Literature (Slyke, 629)
Conclusion
Robert Lee Frost was a great poet who inspired very many people especially the poem lovers through his intriguing poetry works. He had written many poems which are still used today for literature lessons and he actually left a brilliant legacy he is remembered by many due to his inspirational work.
Work Cited
Caren Van Slyke. Kaplan GED 2009-2010 Edition: complete self study for the GED tests. New York: Kaplan Puublishing, 2009 p 624
Ed. Mohit K. Ray. Studies in American Literature. Australia: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2002.p 10
John Ruskin. The Works of John Ruskin: Volume XXIII. Michigan: READ BOOKS, 2008.p 92
Michael Hinds. Rebound: the American poetry book. Rodopi, 2004.p 47
New South. Wales. Notes on Osteo-Malacia (Bone-Chewing). Being Results of the Examination of Soils, Herbage, &C., from. London: BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009.p 15
Shuman, R. Great American Writers: Twentieth Century. London: Marshall Cavendish, 2002.p 567
