Frost's Early Adult Years and Personal Life

Robert Lee Frost was born in March 26th, 1874 in San Francisco, California to journalist William Prescott Frost, Jr., and Isabelle Moodie. He moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts after his father death in 1885. Frost was interesting in writing because his father was a writer as well, for the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. He published his first poem in his high school's magazine. During his high school years he went to Dartmouth College and later attended Harvard University in Boston. He never earned a college degree. He tried different occupations such as teacher, cobbler, and editor of the Lawrence Sentinel. No matter what he tried to do with his life, his real passion was writing poetry. His first published poem, "My Butterfly" appeared on November 8th, 1894 in the New York newspaper, The Independent. 

"My Butterfly" First Published Poem

Thine emulous fond flowers are dead, too, 
And the daft sun-assaulter, he 
That frighted thee so oft, is fled or dead: 
Save only me
(Nor is it sad to thee!) 
Save only me 
There is none left to mourn thee in the fields. 
The gray grass is not dappled with the snow; 
Its two banks have not shut upon the river; 
But it is long ago-- 
It seems forever-- 
Since first I saw thee glance, 
With all the dazzling other ones, 
In airy dalliance, 
Precipitate in love, 
Tossed, tangled, whirled and whirled above, 
Like a limp rose-wreath in a fairy dance. 
When that was, the soft mist 
Of my regret hung not on all the land, 
And I was glad for thee, 
And glad for me, I wist. 
Thou didst not know, who tottered, wandering on high, 
That fate had made thee for the pleasure of the wind, 
With those great careless wings, 
Nor yet did I. 
And there were other things: 
It seemed God let thee flutter from his gentle clasp: 
Then fearful he had let thee win
Too far beyond him to be gathered in, 
Snatched thee, o'er eager, with ungentle grasp. 
Ah! I remember me 
How once conspiracy was rife 
Against my life-- 
The languor of it and the dreaming fond; 
Surging, the grasses dizzied me of thought, 
The breeze three odors brought, 
And a gem-flower waved in a wand! 
Then when I was distraught 
And could not speak, 
Sidelong, full on my cheek, 
What should that reckless zephyr fling 
But the wild touch of thy dye-dusty wing! 
I found that wing broken to-day! 
For thou are dead, I said, 
And the strange birds say. 
I found it with the withered leaves 
Under the eaves. 

Elinor Miriam White

Robert Frost married Elinor Miriam White in 1895 who was a major inspiration for his writings. After marriage, the couple tried living a farming life in New Hampshire. Not satisfied with such life, Robert Frost along with his wife and family moved to England. It was there where Frost met and was influenced by such contemporary British poets as Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves. While in England, Frost also established a friendship with the poet Ezra Pound, who helped to promote and publish his work. His wife was major inspiration for his poems until her death in 1938. They had six children together, but only two of them outlived their father. 

Mini Biography

Robert Frost, One of The Most Beloved American Poets

Robert Frost's Accomplishments

4 Pulitzer Prizes for poetry

           1.1924 for New Hampshire

           2.1931 for Collected Poems

           3.1937 for A Further Range

           4.1943 for A Witness Tree

1939- Gold Medal by The National Institute of Arts and Literature

1953- Awarded The Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets

1960- Congress awarded Frost a gold medal in recognition of his poetry

1961- Speaks at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy

1963- Awarded The Bollingen Prize for Poetry

JFK Inauguration

Robert Frost was given the honor to speak at John F. Kennedy's Inauguration. As inauguration day approached, Frost surprised himself by composing a new poem, "Dedication", which he planned to read as a preface to the poem Kennedy requested. However, on the drive to the Capitol on January 20, 1961, Frost worried that the piece, typed on one of the hotel typewriters the night before, was difficult to read even in good light. When he stood to recite the poem, the wind and the bright reflection of sunlight made reading the poem impossible. He was able, however, to recite "The Gift Outright" from memory.

Part of the inauguration speech

Poems

List of Robert Frost's Most Famous Poems

Robert Frost wrote many poems, about many different aspects of life. He maintained that a poem is "never a put-up job.... It begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a loneliness. It is never a thought to begin with. It is at its best when it is a tantalizing vagueness." This is statement to me is a powerful one and perfectly explains how a poetry should be written. It should be written through emotions one is feeling at a perticular moment not through over thinking one's feelings, simply from the heart and not from the mind...