Robert Frost facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Frost
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Frost in 1949
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| Born | March 26, 1874 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1963 (aged 88) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright |
| Notable works | A Boy's Will, North of Boston, New Hampshire |
| Notable awards | |
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Elinor Miriam White
(m. 1895; died 1938) |
| Children | 6 |
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Robert Lee Frost (born March 26, 1874, died January 29, 1963) was a famous American poet. He was well-known for writing about everyday rural life in New England during the early 1900s. His poems often explored deep ideas about life and philosophy, using simple, natural language.
Robert Frost was highly respected throughout his life. He is the only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became a very important literary figure in America. In 1958, he was named United States Poet Laureate, and in 1960, he received the Congressional Gold Medal. He was also named the poet laureate of Vermont in 1961. Many people consider him one of the greatest American poets of his time.
Contents
Robert Frost: An American Poet
Early Life and First Poems
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California. His father, William Prescott Frost Jr., was a journalist. His mother, Isabelle Moodie, was from Scotland. Robert's family had roots in early American history, with ancestors who settled in New England in the 1600s.
His father worked as a teacher and later as an editor for a newspaper. When Robert was 11, his father passed away. After this, his family moved across the country to Lawrence, Massachusetts. They were helped by Robert's grandfather.
Robert graduated from Lawrence High School in 1892. He published his first poem in the school magazine. He was also the class poet and shared the top student honor with Elinor White, who would later become his wife. He briefly attended Dartmouth College but left to pursue other interests. He worked various jobs, like teaching and delivering newspapers, but he felt his true calling was to write poetry.
A Poet's Journey to England and Back
In 1894, Robert Frost sold his first poem, "My Butterfly. An Elegy," for $15. This was a big achievement for him. He proposed to Elinor Miriam White, and after she finished college, they married in 1895.
Frost studied at Harvard University for a couple of years but left due to illness. His grandfather bought a farm for Robert and Elinor in Derry, New Hampshire. Robert worked on the farm for nine years. During this time, he wrote many poems that later became famous. Farming was not very successful for him, so he returned to teaching English at Pinkerton Academy and later at the New Hampshire Normal School.
In 1912, Frost and his family moved to Great Britain. They settled in a small town outside London. His first book of poetry, A Boy's Will, was published there in 1913. In England, he met other important poets like Edward Thomas and Ezra Pound. His second book, North of Boston, was published in 1914.
Life in New England and Famous Works
In 1915, during World War I, Frost returned to America. He bought a farm in Franconia, New Hampshire. Here, he continued his career of writing, teaching, and giving lectures. This farm became the Frost family's summer home for many years and is now a museum called The Frost Place.
From 1917 to 1938, Frost taught English at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He encouraged his students to pay attention to the sounds and rhythms of spoken English in their writing. He called this approach "the sound of sense."
He won his first of four Pulitzer Prizes in 1924 for his collection New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. He also won Pulitzers for Collected Poems (1930), A Further Range (1936), and A Witness Tree (1942).
For many summers and falls, from 1921 to 1962, Frost taught at the Bread Loaf School of English in Ripton, Vermont. He greatly influenced the school's writing programs. His former farmstead in Ripton is now a National Historic Landmark. He also taught at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and lived in Shaftsbury, Vermont, where his house is now a museum.
Later in his life, Frost spent his winters in Florida. He bought a property there and named it Pencil Pines. He said he had never earned money from anything that didn't involve using a pencil.
In 1958, Frost was appointed United States Poet Laureate. He was 86 years old when he read a poem at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961. He tried to read a new poem but couldn't see the words in the bright sunlight. Instead, he recited "The Gift Outright" from memory. In 1962, he even traveled to the Soviet Union to promote peaceful relations.
Robert Frost passed away on January 29, 1963, at the age of 88. He was buried in Vermont. His epitaph reads: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." This line comes from his poem "The Lesson for Today."
Family Life and Challenges
Robert Frost's life also held many personal challenges and moments of sadness. He experienced the loss of his father when he was young, and later his mother also passed away. His sister faced difficult health struggles and passed away. His family experienced significant health challenges, including periods of deep sadness for some members. His wife, Elinor, also faced periods of sadness.
Sadly, Robert and Elinor faced many heartbreaks, as several of their children passed away at young ages. Their son Elliott died young, as did their daughters Marjorie and Elinor Bettina. Only two of their six children, Lesley and Irma, outlived their father. Elinor, Robert's wife, had health issues throughout her life and passed away in 1938.
What Are Robert Frost's Poems About?
Main Ideas in Frost's Poetry
Robert Frost's poems often explore important questions about life and what it means to be human. He frequently wrote about the beauty and challenges of rural life in New England. His poems show how people interact with nature and the world around them.
Critics have noted that Frost often captured the spirit of New England life. He used everyday settings and farm life to show human reactions to nature. While some of his poems have a serious side, he often used a kind and understanding humor when describing his characters and their lives.
Poets Who Inspired Frost
Poets Frost Inspired
- Robert Francis
- Seamus Heaney
- Richard Wilbur
- Edward Thomas
- James Wright
Awards and Special Honors
Robert Frost was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 31 times, showing his worldwide recognition.
He received over 40 honorary degrees from universities like Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge. He even received two honorary degrees from Dartmouth College. Several places were named after him, including the Robert Frost Middle School in Virginia and the main library of Amherst College.
In 1960, Frost was awarded a United States Congressional Gold Medal. This award recognized his poetry for enriching American culture and global philosophy. President John F. Kennedy formally presented it to him in March 1962. He also received the Edward MacDowell Medal in 1962 for his contributions to the arts.
In 1922, he was elected Poet Laureate of Vermont. Later, in 1961, the state legislature officially named him Poet Laureate of Vermont. He was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1931 and the American Philosophical Society in 1937. In 1963, he won the Bollingen Prize.
Robert Frost's Pulitzer Prizes
Robert Frost won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Poetry four times:
- 1924 for New Hampshire: A Poem With Notes and Grace Notes
- 1931 for Collected Poems
- 1937 for A Further Range
- 1943 for A Witness Tree
How Robert Frost Influenced Culture
Robert Frost's work has had a lasting impact on culture:
- Robert Frost Hall is an academic building at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- In 1963, a reporter ended a broadcast about President John F. Kennedy's casket with a passage from Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
- Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, kept a book of Robert Frost's poems by his bedside.
- The poem "I Could Give All to Time" inspired the title of Wallace Stegner's 1987 novel Crossing to Safety.
- His poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is featured in the 1967 novel The Outsiders and its 1983 film.
- The poem "Fire and Ice" influenced the title of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.
- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is the name of a 1999 album by the band New Found Glory.
- At the funeral of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 2000, his son Justin quoted "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
- The poem "Fire and Ice" is referenced in Stephenie Meyer's 2007 book Eclipse from the Twilight Saga. It is also read in the 2010 film adaptation.
- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is referenced in First Aid Kit's 2014 album Stay Gold.
- The line "Nothing gold can stay" is featured in songs by American singer Lana Del Rey.
Many of Frost's original writings and letters are kept in special collections. These include the Jones Library in Amherst, Massachusetts, Amherst College, the University of Michigan Library, and Dartmouth College.
Famous Poems by Robert Frost
Well-Known Poetry Collections
- 1913. A Boy's Will
- "The Demiurge's Laugh"
- 1914. North of Boston
- "After Apple-Picking"
- "The Death of the Hired Man"
- "Mending Wall"
- 1916. Mountain Interval
- "Birches"
- "Out, Out"
- "The Oven Bird"
- "The Road Not Taken"
- 1923. New Hampshire
- "Fire and Ice"
- "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
- "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
- 1928. West-Running Brook
- "Acquainted with the Night"
- 1930. Collected Poems of Robert Frost
- 1936. A Further Range
- 1942. A Witness Tree
- "The Gift Outright"
- "A Question"
- "The Silken Tent"
- 1947. Steeple Bush
- 1949. Complete Poems of Robert Frost
- 1962. In the Clearing
Plays by Robert Frost
- 1929. A Way Out: A One Act Play
- 1929. The Cow's in the Corn: A One Act Irish Play in Rhyme
- 1945. A Masque of Reason
- 1947. A Masque of Mercy
See also
In Spanish: Robert Frost para niños
- List of poems by Robert Frost
