As contemporary poetics has opened poetry to free verse and more experimental forms, Robert Frost continued to write in traditional verse and with a great emphasis on metric rhythms and rhymes.
The appeal of Robert Frost’s poems lie in the ways he combines the modern poetics of using everyday language with a strict form, as well as his highly philosophical and intellectual subject matter, which he often approached with humor and wit.
Robert Frost has the enviable ability to create powerful and memorable “one-liners,”—even if they are actually more than one line. These are the lines that stick in our memories, the ones we are able to quote over and over again.
He manages these lines in part through his trademark adherence to metrics and by giving us the rhythmic structure, we more easily remember lines like the ending stanza to “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
What we as readers remember is the simple beauty present in his language and perfect rhyme, along with the repetition of the last line. Robert Frost’s word choice and rhyme scheme may seem deceptively simple, but the lines have an effect a bit like spell-casting—we are transfixed by the image and sound of a night settling down into itself, the vision of a solitary experience within the context of nature and of other humanity.
The appeal of Robert Frost’s poems also lies in the timelessness of his chosen subject matter. Sharply intellectual and questioning, Robert Frost wrote poetry meant to engage his readers in philosophical consideration.
One theme that Frost revisits in many of his poems is the theme of person-to-person interaction. Robert Frost’s poetry often emphasizes the importance of personal relationships, of being open to new experiences and new people, and warns against being too closed.
Frost has become so synonymous with New England poetry and being one of the fathers of American poetics, it is easy to forget that Frost was an expatriate, spending many years in England and producing great work while abroad.
Frost joins many great American writers and poets—including Gertrude Stein, Henry James, Ezra Pound—who spent significant time abroad, writing in English, contributing to the American literary scene, but across an ocean.
In England, Frost met and interacted with many well-known British poets, including Robert Graves, who produced haunting war poetry rooted in his experiences during World War I. Since we think of Frost as a quintessential early 20th century American poet, it’s lovely to remember that Frost himself spent formative years writing, living and thinking abroad.
After returning from England, Frost not only continued to contribute to American poetry by writing poems, but was a important teacher and mentor within the academic and literary world. Many current, well-know writing programs and conferences, such as Breadloaf Writer’s Conference, benefited greatly from Frost’s time and investment.
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