Robert Frost
Robert Frost was born in San Fransisco in 1874, dubbing him one of the 19th and 20th century poets. He was raised in Lawrence, MA and attended Dartmouth for about two months, but in that time was accepted into the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. Yes, Robert Frost was a frat boy. Robert Frost worked many mundane jobs such as factory worker, farmer, delivery boy, and he knew that he hated them all and just wanted to write. In 1894 he sold his first poem "My Butterfly. An Elegy" for a whole $15, which in modern times would be $415. Later on he traveled with his family to England where he published multiple books such as A Boys Will and North of Boston, his most notable works. Frost later on went to earn four pulitzer prizes for New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes (1924) , Collected Poems (1931) , A Furthur Range (1937), and A Witness Tree (1943). The year before his death JFK awarded Robert Frost with the Congressional Gold Medal for his poetry.
Nothing Gold Can Say
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can say.
This poem depicts Frost's simplistic AABB rhyme scheme that he loved to put in so many of his poems. This poem is one of the shortest of Frost's poems because he tended to write long lengthy poems as well. I just love the simple message that Frost loved to share with the world because for so many of his poems he was trying to just get people to see the actual beauty in life - not the riches or the wealth, not the lust or the power, he wanted people to see the beauty of the Earth, the gift that we get to call home.
I really enjoy Robert Frost and have used one of his most famous poem 'The Road Not Taken' when writing papers in English because it has such a great meaning. I too enjoy the simple AABB rhyme pattern of this poem, helps with the processing and reading of the poem.
ReplyDeleteI have a class where we are looking at British writers and poets. It was kind of strange how some of them seemed to worship nature, not just have look at it, respect it and get inspire by it, but they actually seemed to worship it. He doesn't fall into that category, but I would definitely like to hear more about him.
ReplyDeleteI love the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay", I think it's so simplistic and understated that it lets the beauty of the words shine through. Frost is a much more decorated poet than I thought, but then again I've never really researched any background information since he's kind of a household name.
ReplyDeleteI really like the poem. I love the simplicity of the rhyme and the beauty of nature he shows.
ReplyDeleteHaha I just love that Robert Frost was a frat boy! I feel like I can relate to Frost in the fact that he had so many odd jobs but all he wanted to do was write. I see this coming up a lot with writers of his time but also now. I went to a workshop in Yellow Springs and a lot of the speakers talked about how they tried different jobs but always ended up getting fired and returning to writing. I guess you always find your true purpose one way or the other!
ReplyDeleteI love the poem you chose. It is so simple but the meaning is heavy. I love Frost's ability to rhyme so smoothy, the poem just feels soft.