Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Frost experienced both triumph and tragedy in his own life. Many members of his family suffered from depression, including himself. He tried journalism, factory work, poultry farming, and teaching before publishing his first book of poetry at age 40.
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Robert Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire
Using plain speech with traditional meter, Robert Frost wove deep meaning into the rural New England scenes that he portrayed, sometimes poignant and tragic, sometimes humorous and dark.
President John F. Kennedy said that Frost “understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit.”
By Howard SochurekLIFE Photo Collection
"[Frost] sorrows with those who work hard in fields and who grieve over hardship, accidents, and deaths. He admires the hardiness of others - their wit and labor and ‘springtime passion for the earth.’”
- Reginald Gibbons, Northwestern University
Robert Frost (1943-11) by Eric SchaalLIFE Photo Collection
Poetry Collections
Frost's second book of poetry, North of Boston (1914), was a critical success, establishing him as the poet of New England.
A later collection, New Hampshire (1923), won a Pulitzer Prize.
“Questioning Faces” (1958)
“The winter owl banked just in time to pass
And save herself from breaking window glass.
And her wings straining suddenly spread
Caught color from the last of evening red display of underdown and quill
To glassed-in children at the windowsill.”
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