Robert Frost facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Frost
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Frost in 1941
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| Born | Robert Lee Frost March 26, 1874 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1963 (aged 88) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (no degree) Harvard University (no degree) |
| Notable works | A Boy's Will, North of Boston, New Hampshire |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse |
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. His poems were first printed in England before they came out in the United States. Frost was known for writing about real country life, especially in New England during the early 1900s. He used simple, everyday language to explore big ideas about life and people.
Robert Frost was honored many times during his life. He is the only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became a very well-known writer in America. In 1960, he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his poems. Then, in 1961, he was named the official poet laureate of Vermont.
Contents
Robert Frost's Life Story
Early Years
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco. His father, William Prescott Frost Jr., was a journalist. His mother, Isabelle Moodie, was from Scotland. Robert's family had been in America for a long time.
His father worked as a teacher and later as an editor for a newspaper. When his father died in 1885, Robert's family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. They were helped by Robert's grandfather. Robert finished Lawrence High School in 1892.
Even though he is known for writing about country life, Frost grew up in a city. He published his first poem in his high school's magazine. He went to Dartmouth College for a short time. After that, he worked different jobs, like teaching and delivering newspapers. He felt that writing poetry was his true calling.
Adult Life and Career
In 1894, Robert Frost sold his first poem, "My Butterfly. An Elegy," for $15. He was very proud! He asked Elinor Miriam White to marry him. She wanted to finish college first, but they married in December 1895.
Frost went to Harvard University from 1897 to 1899 but left because he was sick. His grandfather bought a farm for Robert and Elinor in Derry, New Hampshire. Frost 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 went back to teaching English. He taught at Pinkerton Academy and then at the New Hampshire Normal School.
In 1912, Frost and his family moved to Great Britain. His first book of poems, A Boy's Will, came out there in 1913. In England, he met other important poets like Edward Thomas. Thomas inspired Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken".
In 1915, during World War I, Frost returned to America. He bought a farm in Franconia, New Hampshire. This farm was his summer home for many years. Today, it is a museum called The Frost Place. Frost taught English at Amherst College for many years. He encouraged his students to pay attention to the sounds of spoken English in their writing.
In 1924, he won his first of four Pulitzer Prizes for his book New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. He won more Pulitzers for Collected Poems in 1931, A Further Range in 1937, and A Witness Tree in 1943.
For over 40 years, Frost spent his summers teaching at the Bread Loaf School of English in Ripton, Vermont. He greatly influenced the school's writing programs. His old farmstead there is now a National Historic Landmark. Frost also taught at the University of Michigan and lived in Shaftsbury, Vermont. His house in Shaftsbury is now a museum.
Later in his life, Frost spent his winters in Florida. He bought a small property there and called it Pencil Pines. He said he never made money from anything that didn't involve a pencil.
Frost received more than 40 honorary degrees from universities like Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge. He never actually graduated from college himself! Several schools and libraries were named after him.
In 1960, Frost received the Congressional Gold Medal. President Kennedy gave it to him in 1962. Frost was 86 years old when he read a poem at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. He tried to read a new poem but couldn't see it in the bright sunlight. So, he recited "The Gift Outright" from memory.
In 1962, Frost traveled to the Soviet Union. He hoped to meet Nikita Khrushchev and talk about peace between the two countries.
Robert Frost died in Boston on January 29, 1963. He was buried in Vermont. His epitaph (the words on his tombstone) is from one of his poems: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world."
Many of Frost's writings, letters, and photos are kept in special collections at libraries like the Jones Library and Dartmouth College.
Personal Life and Challenges
Robert Frost faced many sad times in his life. His father died when Robert was 11. His mother died in 1900. His younger sister, Jeanie, had mental health challenges and died in a hospital. Frost and his mother also dealt with depression. His daughter Irma was committed to a mental hospital. His wife, Elinor, also had periods of depression.
Elinor and Robert Frost had six children. Sadly, most of them died before their father. Their son Elliott died young from cholera. Their daughter Marjorie died after childbirth. Their baby daughter Elinor Bettina died just one day after birth. Only two of their children, Lesley and Irma, outlived their father. Frost's wife, Elinor, had heart problems and died in 1938.
Robert Frost's Work
Themes in His Poetry
Critics say that Frost's best poems explore big questions about life. They often show how lonely a person can feel in a world that doesn't seem to care. Some critics noted the serious and sometimes sad side of his poems, especially those about life in rural New England.
However, others focused on the friendly, country-like feel of his work. They said he perfectly captured the spirit of New England. They noted his frequent use of farm life and nature settings. In these poems, Frost was most interested in "showing the human reaction to nature's processes." Even when his poems were a bit funny or critical, he always showed "sympathetic humor" towards his characters.
Awards and Honors
Robert Frost was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 31 times!
In 1922, he was chosen as the Poet Laureate of Vermont. Later, in 1961, the state legislature officially named him the Poet Laureate of Vermont.
He also won the 1963 Bollingen Prize.
Pulitzer Prizes
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
Legacy and Influence
- Robert Frost Hall is a building at Southern New Hampshire University named after him.
- After President John F. Kennedy died, a reporter quoted Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Frost was one of President Kennedy's favorite poets.
- Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, kept a book of Robert Frost's poems by his bedside.
- Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is important in the book The Outsiders and its movie.
- His poem "Fire and Ice" inspired the title of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.
- The band New Found Glory named their first album Nothing Gold Can Stay.
- At the funeral of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, his son Justin quoted "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
- The poem "Fire and Ice" is also used in the book Eclipse from the Twilight series and its movie.
- The band First Aid Kit referenced "Nothing Gold Can Stay" in their album Stay Gold.
- An episode of the TV show The Mentalist is titled "Nothing Gold Can Stay."
- Verses from "Fire and Ice" are used in the video game Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.
Selected Works
Poetry Collections
- 1913. A Boy's Will
- 1914. North of Boston
- "After Apple-Picking"
- "The Death of the Hired Man"
- "Mending Wall"
- 1916. Mountain Interval
- "Birches"
- "Out, Out"
- "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"
- "The Silken Tent"
- 1962. In the Clearing
Plays
- 1945. A Masque of Reason
- 1947. A Masque of Mercy
See also
In Spanish: Robert Frost para niños
- List of poems by Robert Frost
