Robert frost a poetic nature english literature essay

Ashley FolkertsmaMrs. MartinEnglish 11 honorsFebruary 22, 2013Robert Frost: A Poetic NatureRobert Frost was a brilliant poet who received his inspiration from the nature around him. He struggled in his life with family and personal issues. He was recognized not only for his way with words, but also for his moving topics that related to everyday life struggles. Some of these struggles included a lack of persistence and unwillingness to do whatever it took to be successful. He overcame these trials, however, and became a famous poet who changed the lives of many. Born March 19, 1874, Robert Frost grew up in San Francisco, California. He spent the first twelve years of his life in a broken home with parents who were not every child’s dream (Biography. com 1). He was named ” Robert” after the southern general in the Civil War, Robert E. Lee (Merriman 1). He did things that a normal child would do at his age like playing baseball, climbing trees, and trapping animals (Pritchard 1). His parents were very opposite of each other which caused some problems throughout his life. His mother was kind and loved to read him Shakespeare, story books, and Bible stories. Even at a young age, Robert was into reading, poetry, and memorizing writings. Since both of his parents taught in school, Robert was continually exposed to writings from popular authors like Robert Burns and William Wordsworth (Merriman 1). He also loved the languages of Greek and Latin (Pritchard 1). His father, on the other hand, was full of greed and pride. He moved to San Francisco in the gold rush to try his luck and ” score big,” but it was only the beginning of many problems (Bober 6). His father became a gambler, drinker, and, as a result, a harsh disciplinarian. He was always involved in politics and teaching, and he strove to stay in these positions as long as he was able to (Pritchard 1). A year after Robert was born; his father became the editor of the local paper, the San Francisco Daily Evening Post. A few years later, he was elected as a delegate to go to Cincinnati and attend the Democratic National Convention (Poirier, Richardson 1). In 1879, Robert started kindergarten, but he dropped out the first day after having a nervous breakdown. This was the first sign of his willingness to give up quickly. The next year, he started first grade and dropped out. He continued the next year in second grade, but quit again and was forced to be homeschooled for much of his education (Poirier, Richardson 1). In 1876 Robert’s mother started to move the two of them east while she was expecting another child. She was determined to escape her husband’s drinking and gambling problems. They moved back when his sister was born, and helped his father who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (Poirier, Richardson 2). When Robert was twelve, he experienced more trauma in his family life when his father died of tuberculosis (Biography. com 1). After Robert’s father died, the family was left with only eight dollars to pay off some expenses they owed. His mother, left with her son and daughter, moved her family to live with her parents in Massachusetts. They, like his father, were also very strict and made many rules and carried out many punishments (Pritchard, Richardson 2). Around this time, Frost began to display signs of trauma. He claimed that he could hear voices from spirits which he believed was the same gift that his mother had that they claimed was a ” second hearing,” (Poirier, Richardson 2). Frost stayed busy in high school joining the debate team, playing football; and despite his extra-curricular activities, remained number one in his class. He wrote poetry throughout his high school career including, La Noche Triste, which was published in the school’s newspaper. This poem was based on the History of the Conquest of Mexico by William Prescott. Because of this, he was named the editor of his school’s newspaper (Pritchard 2). His future wife, whom he met in high school, also published a few works in the school’s newspaper. Frost met Elinor White, his soon to be bride, at Lawrence High School and she eventually became his future co-valedictorian (Biography. com 1). When he finished high school, Frost attended Dartmouth University. It was only a few months before he dropped out of college because he felt isolated (Biography. com 1). He then, took over his mother’s eighth grade class as well as continued to write poetry. When he finished that job, he started more unfulfilling jobs including working at a factory and working menial jobs at a newspaper company (Pritchard 2). In 1894, Frost published his first poem, My Butterfly: an Elegy, in a literary journal established in New York City called the Independent, and received fifteen dollars for it (Biography. com 1). He also taught first through sixth grade at this time (Poirier, Richardson 63). In the same year, Robert proposed to his high school sweetheart, Elinor, but she refused. Being in the middle of college at St. Lawrence University, Elinor was not ready to be married until she finished college. They took long walks during the summer to talk about their future together before she left for college again (Bober 45). Frost, emotionally upset, moved to Virginia for a little while. In this time he printed two books full of his poems he named, Twilight. He kept one of these copies and sent the other one to Elinor. She did not appear to be impressed by it, and Frost became angry and burned his copy of the book and came home. When Elinor arrived home for Christmas, it was a stormy night. She gave back the ring that Frost had given to her before she left as a remembrance of himself and his proposal (Bober 67). Upon her return, Robert proposed again on December 19, 1895. Because she had finished college, she accepted his proposal (Biography. com 1). They quickly married, and decided to teach together at a school (Pritchard). Their first child, Eliot, was born in 1896. After him, they had another child, Lesley, who was diagnosed with mental illness. After this horrible event, they had four more children. They were named Carol, Irma, Marijorie, and Elinor. They did not have six children, however. Eliot died at four years old from cholera; and Elinor, their child, died a few weeks after she was born (Biography. com 1). After their first child was born, Robert attended Harvard University for two years. He, again, had to drop out because of health reasons. Frost moved his family to New Hampshire to live on a farm which his grandfather bought for him. They stayed there for the time that they were building up their family, despite the trauma of losing some of their children (Biography. com 1). Through the struggle of his personal life, Frost continued to write poetry. He found publishers for two of his poems: The Tuft of Flowers and The Trial by Existence. He struggled to find publishers for the rest of his poems, though. They did many things on this New Hampshire farm including starting a poultry farm which was very unsuccessful (Biography. com 1). He started teaching again, mostly in psychology in 1911, after selling the Derry farm and moving to Plymouth (Poirier, Richardson 3). In the same year, he moved to England to find more publishers for his poems. Frost found publishers within two months of his arrival. His first book of poems published by David Nutt was called A Boy’s Will, and a year later he published North of Boston (Biography. com 1). It was at this time that he met Ezra Pound and Edward Thomas, two critics who gave Frost good reviews of his books. Thomas and Frost would take walks through England that gave him encouragement about his writing ability, and the scenery gave him inspiration for his poem The Road not Taken, which became especially popular (Biography. com 1). Frost moved to Gloucestershire, a town in the English country, a year after he moved overseas to practice English country living (Pritchard 3). World War I broke out in 1914, sending Frost back to the United States (Burnshaw 23). He moved to a farm in New Hampshire that he had purchased, and he found some jobs teaching at colleges. Frost continued to look for publishers, and became very popular in America publishing poems that had been rejected years earlier. His main publisher was Henry Holt who was interested in a lot of his works including: North of Boston and Mountain Interval (Biography. com 1). Frost continued to write and recite his poetry to anyone who was willing to listen (Pritchard 3). In 1916, Frost was hired to teach at Amherst College for a semester, but he became popular there. His popularity gained him a position as a professor in 1923, and he worked there on and off for forty-five years (Poirier, Richardson 4). The library at the school was named in honor of him (Biography. com 2). He also became successful at Pinkerton. He revised the English curriculum and changed the way many concepts were taught, improving the learning of the students there. He wore himself out by teaching seven classes, assistant coaching at the school, and improving learning. He later resigned because it became too much for him (Pritchard 3). In 1934, his favorite daughter, Marjoirie, died a slow death while giving birth (Pritchard 6). Frost published a small collection of poems that she had written called Franconia. Four years later, Ellinor died of a heart attack. Robert collapsed and was unable to attend her cremation (Poirier, Richardson 4). His son, Carol, committed suicide two years after that. Things finally seemed to be getting better until his sister was institutionalized for a mental disorder. Because of the continued distress, Frost wrote A Witness Tree, which reflected his dark feelings towards his situation (Pritchard 7). Robert’s poems changed dramatically throughout his life. One critic, Rolfe Humphries, said that his tone seemed less dramatic with less feeling later on in his life. Instead they seemed almost sarcastic (Pritchard 8). Frost was amazed with nature as seen throughout his poetry. He loved the beauty and constant contradictions he observed in nature (Merriman 2). After Frost lived on the farm, characterization became more evident throughout his works (Parini 31). His health started to decline in 1951 when he began losing his eyesight, and he developed skin cancer two years later (Poirier, Richardson 4). His loss of eyesight affected him first when he was asked to recite a poem for J. F. Kennedy’s inauguration that he could not read. He had committed to memory his poem The Gift Outright. He spoke these words to Kennedy: The Gift Outright” The land was ours before we were the land’s. She was our land more than a hundred yearsBefore we were her people. She was ours, In Massachusetts, in Virginia, But we were England’s, still colonials, Possessing what we still were unpossessed by, Possessed by what we now no more possessed. Something we were withholding made us weakUntil we found out that it was ourselvesWe were withholding from our land of living, And forthwith found salvation in surrender. Such as we were we gave ourselves outright(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)To the land vaguely realizing westward, But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced, Such as she was, such as she would become (Frost 316).” In 1962, Frost became sick with pneumonia, and he had to be hospitalized in Miami. He developed cancer in his prostate and bladder, and he had become immobile (Poirier, Richardson 4). Frost died on January 29, 1963, due to his health problems, and his ashes were buried in a family plot in Bennington, Vermont, where there was a small memorial service for friends and family (Biography. com 2). Frost was honored for his literary works. He received more than four honorary degrees in his lifetime. He won four Pulitzer Prizes for, New Hampshire, one of his books. He also won prizes for his books including: Collected Poems, Further Range, and A Witness Tree (Biography. com 2). He was also awarded the Bollinger prize for poetry (Poirier, Richardson 4). Frost gained many honors in the United Sates for his poetry which was never fully appreciated in England (Pritchard 8). Robert Frost was a great poet who received his inspiration from nature and real life experiences around him. His unstable life allowed him to experience sorrow as seen throughout his work. He gave up easily when things seemed to get tough which caused many problems that he overcame, and became the poet remembered throughout literature. Frost’s many writings and publications expressed his love for poetry and fascination with nature that will be remembered for years to come.