Characteristics of the poetry of Robert Frost

Paper no.10- The American Literature

1. Characteristics of the poetry of Robert Frost Name : Parmar Krupa Jivabhai Roll no. : 20 Enrollment no. : 2069108420180040 M.A.Sem : 3 Year : 2017-2019 Email id : [email protected] Paper : 10 Submitted to : Department of English

2. About The Author Robert Lee Frost born on 26 march,1874 and died on 29 January,1963. Robert frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America.

3. Continue... He is highly regards for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. Frost was honoured Frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer prizes for poetry. He was awarded the Congressional Gold medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont.

4. Robert Frost’s poems Stopping by woods on a snowy evening Fire and ice The road not taken Mending wall Home Burial The witch of coos Blue Barriers

5. Characteristics of Robert Frost’s Poetry Clarity and Simplicity Realism His Philosophy Dramatic Quality Metaphysical Elements Lyrical Quality

6. 1.Clarity and Simplicity Simplicity is the style of man is suitable for Frost. His poems are so simple that an ordinary reading can understand the impulse and meaning. Precisely his poetry is clear and specific. He doesn’t give any room for ambiguity. Clarity and simplicity in frost should not be mistaken for triviality.

7. Continue… There are many who accuse frost of shallowness of thought. Willingly or unwillingly, one should treat frost “ as a simple bard with a gift for verifying”. Simplicity is the hallmark of Frost’s poems; the poet of nature keeps his poems in their natural figure, without any artificial make up to decorate them. But it is said that slow waters run deep; this simplicity is very subtle and deceptive.

8. 2.Realism Frost truly said of himself, “ I am not a regionalist, I am a realist. I write about realms of democracy and realms of the spirit.” Frost is a realist in the sense that he sees life steadily. In ‘stopping by woods on a snowy evening’ the best known poems of the 20 th century, reminds every reader of purpose, promises and obligations.

9. Continue… It expresses the conflict felt by everyone. Frost doesn’t want to escape he knows that ‘Earth is the right place for love’. This fact shows how much Frost believes in reality. Frost’s realism is enriched with his optimism. He never with dreams from the bitter realistic of life rather he has presented all the terrible realistic of life ion has the different poems.

10. 3.His Philosophy Robert Frost has a balanced philosophy of life. He is neither a pessimist to see darkness all around nor an optimistic fool who fails to understand the practical and realistic sense of life and nature. Though sometimes he is frightened by nature yet he enjoys it his fill. About social life also he remains a practical thinker who bases every experience on some or the other cause.

11. Continue… This philosophy is at the same time modern and scientific and at the same time not non- relogious . Thus his philosophy is based on rationality not on any ununderstandable mysticism.

12. 4.Dramatic Quality A very important feature of Frost’s Poetry it is dramatic Quality. Poems like ‘Home Burial’, ‘Blue Barriers’ and ‘The witch of coos’ the best example of Frost’s genius in writing dramatic poems. In ‘Home Burial’ we have a man and wife facing a crisis. The wife is almost cracking up under the strain of the grief caused by death of their child.

13. Continue… In Home Burial and The Death of Hired Man , the scenes and dialogues, characters with complete narrative skill are as shown as we see a stage-play.

14. 5.Metaphysical Elements Robert Frost is a metaphysical poet in the tradition of Emerson and Emily Dickenson. This means that he tries to go beyond the seen to unseen. As in all great metaphysical poetry, the tension increase between the simple feet and the mystery which surrounds it, until the total meaning flashes in the final morals.

15. 6.Lyrical Quality In many of his best-known poems, Robert Frost employs the oldest of old ways to be new, namely the lyric form. The essential feature of a lyric is its musicality, and a lyric achieves its musical effects by traditional techniques of meter, rhyme and stanzaic patterns. Much of Robert Frost’s reputation is based on such lyrics as ‘Stopping By Woods’ and ‘The Road not Taken’.