Robert Frost
"He has bequeathed his nation a body of imperishable verse from which Americans will forever gain joy and understanding."
-President John F. Kennedy about Robert Frost
"He became a national celebrity, our nearly official Poet Laureate, and a great performer in the tradition of that earlier master of the literary vernacular, Mark Twain.”
-Poet Daniel Hoffman regarding Frost
The Life of Robert Frost:
Robert Frost was born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco and died January 29, 1963 in Boston. Following the death of his father at the age of 11, Robert and his mother moved to Boston. It is in the New England in which Frost spent a majority of his life. The rural landscape of New England became a major inspiration for his prose. After graduation, Frost attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, later attending Harvard University. After school, Frost worked as a teacher, a cobbler, and edited the local newspaper. Frost married his high school sweetheart Elinor Miriam White in 1895. She served as a major inspiration for his prose until her death in 1938. Frost was in Great Britain with his wife prior to World War I, but left once the war started, settling in New Hampshire. After the death of his wife, Frost taught at various Universities around the U.S. In 1961, at the age of 86, Frost read a poem at JFK's inauguration. Two years later, Frost died due to surgical complications.
Robert Frost was born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco and died January 29, 1963 in Boston. Following the death of his father at the age of 11, Robert and his mother moved to Boston. It is in the New England in which Frost spent a majority of his life. The rural landscape of New England became a major inspiration for his prose. After graduation, Frost attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, later attending Harvard University. After school, Frost worked as a teacher, a cobbler, and edited the local newspaper. Frost married his high school sweetheart Elinor Miriam White in 1895. She served as a major inspiration for his prose until her death in 1938. Frost was in Great Britain with his wife prior to World War I, but left once the war started, settling in New Hampshire. After the death of his wife, Frost taught at various Universities around the U.S. In 1961, at the age of 86, Frost read a poem at JFK's inauguration. Two years later, Frost died due to surgical complications.
His Legacy:
Frost won 4 different Pulitzer Prizes in his life in: 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943. The Pulitzer Prize has 6 categories in which writers are awarded for their excellence in "letters, drama, and music". Additionally, Frost won the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960. This award is bestowed by the U.S. Congress and is the highest civilian honor in the United States. He was awarded the honor, "In recognition of his poetry which enabled the culture of the United States and the philosophy of the world"
Frost won 4 different Pulitzer Prizes in his life in: 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943. The Pulitzer Prize has 6 categories in which writers are awarded for their excellence in "letters, drama, and music". Additionally, Frost won the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960. This award is bestowed by the U.S. Congress and is the highest civilian honor in the United States. He was awarded the honor, "In recognition of his poetry which enabled the culture of the United States and the philosophy of the world"
Why Insects?
Growing up on farms in rural New England, Frost felt a strong connection with nature. Frost frequently used insects and animals in his poetry because of this upbringing. He is however, not a transcendentalist or a nature poet. Instead, he believed that using insects and other wild life helped with the imagery of his prose; helping to relay his thoughts to the reader through his writings' vivid landscapes. Further, by using nature and its animals as the focus of his prose, Frost drew parallels to some human condition. His poems were not about nature, instead nature was the vice that he utilized to teach his lessons.
Insects Used in Frost's Poetry:
Growing up on farms in rural New England, Frost felt a strong connection with nature. Frost frequently used insects and animals in his poetry because of this upbringing. He is however, not a transcendentalist or a nature poet. Instead, he believed that using insects and other wild life helped with the imagery of his prose; helping to relay his thoughts to the reader through his writings' vivid landscapes. Further, by using nature and its animals as the focus of his prose, Frost drew parallels to some human condition. His poems were not about nature, instead nature was the vice that he utilized to teach his lessons.
Insects Used in Frost's Poetry:
- Ants in "Departmental"
- Butterflies in "Blue-Butterfly Day" and "My Butterfly"
- Moths in "Departmental" and "To a Moth Seen in Winter"
- Fireflies
- Hornets in " The White-Tailed Hornet"
- Grasshoppers in "One Guess"