Synopsis
Robert Frost remains one of the greatest twentieth-century American poets. The combination of the previous sections allowed him to become one of the greatest influences in the genre of poetry. In this section, learn more about Robert Frost's long-term impact. The subsections will examine Frost's influence on poetry, readers, writers, and society by detailing his impact, explaining its significance, and providing examples of his poetry that correlate to each topic.
Frost won a total of four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry for his literary works New Hampshire, Collected Poems, A Further Range, and A Witness Tree. He remains the only poet to win this award four times.
On January 20, 1961, Frost read his poem titled "The Gift Outright" at John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration. This made him the first poet to read a poem at a presidential inauguration.
In 1960, Frost was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal for his poetry, but it was not officially bestowed upon him until 1962 by John F. Kennedy.
Frost was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature thirty-one times, but he never won the award.
Frost was named Poet Laureate of Vermont in 1961.
Robert Frost is often regarded as one of the greatest American poets. His numerous achievements and the accolades he received throughout his life attest to his lasting impact as a poet by cementing his significant role in American literature. Frost remains a household name in America due to his noteworthy ability to incorporate profound and dark philosophical themes into his poetry. These themes include humans' connection to the natural world and human isolation. The praise and recognition he acquired for his deeply complex poetry contributes to his persisting influence by displaying the seemingly endless appreciation people had for his craft. Edward J. Ingebretsen perfectly encapsulates these notions by examining the meaning behind Frost's achievements, as well as his affinity for depicting darker themes in his poetry. He writes, “. . . Frost was lavishly honored by academics and governments; some of these awards, while about Frost's poetry, were also about other concerns, as well. Questions of Frost's traditionalism or modernity, his ultimate poetic worth, may now be asked, perhaps, in different ways . . . It is not so much a matter that Frost is either 'terrifying' or tragic, but that he knew how to shape life's terror and its tragedy in graceful ways” (Ingebretsen 49).
BY ROBERT FROST
The land was ours before we were the land’s.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.
"The Gift Outright" by Robert Frost is the poem he read at John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration. This work details the history of the United States of America and the sense of identity that subsequently emerged with the country.
Frost incorporates dark themes into his poetry, permitting him to approach his craft in a unique manner with his realistic outlook on the human condition and nature's nuances.
Frost's concern with the "sound of sense" is present throughout his works, highlighting the lyrical aspects of poetry through diction and the interest in the implications of humans' speech.
Frost uses the sonnet form to enhance the "sound of sense" by utilizing rhyme scheme and poetic diction to his advantage, subsequently creating a succint work that leaves a striking impression.
As previously stated, Robert Frost's poetry often reflects the dark philosophical theme of humans' connection to the natural world. Another main concern evident in Frost's poetry is his theory of the "sound of sense." John F. Sears explains Frost's concern in his article regarding the concept of the "sound of sense." He writes, ". . . he [Frost] argues that a sentence sound can communicate an attitude or meaning apart from the meaning conveyed by the words themselves" (Sears 467). The presence of complex themes and his affinity with the "sound of sense" are predominantly discernible in Frost's sonnets. The sonnet form plays to Frost's strengths by "offering room for playful, individual maneuver with traditional constraints" (Regan 14). In his sonnet "Design," Frost seamlessly incorporates these concepts by vividly detailing nature's duality in a mere fourteen lines. The speaker's recognition of nature's simultaneous beauty and its sinister undertones reflects a darker theme by exemplifying humans' innately grave curiosity. Frost's works—including this particular sonnet—impact poetry as a genre by exploring the complexities of universal themes that inevitably accompany the human experience and the concern with poetic diction as well as the abstract quality of humans' speech patterns.
BY ROBERT FROST
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth--
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth--
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.
"Design" by Robert Frost juxtaposes the beauty of nature alongside its sinister undertones by detailing a natural yet appalling scene. The use of sonnet form in this particular poem highlights Frost's ability to demonstrate vivid poetic diction and lyrical potential.
Frost embraces the tumultuous aspects of life in his writing, influencing his readers to reflect on their own personal experiences, actions, and behaviors.
Frost's realistic poetry reflects a bleak outlook on the human experience, providing readers with the opportunity to confront the adversities that affect their lives.
Frost's works give readers an outlet to question the significance in their existences and the experiences that accompany being human.
Although Robert Frost's poetry is elegantly written, it is imperative for readers to acknowledge the realism depicted within his works in order to understand his pragmatic perspective concerning life and nature. He was a troubled man surrounded by tragedy, and this facet of his life is applicable to a considerable amount of his poetry. Although this was the unfortunate reality for Frost, a meaningful influence can be derived from it; contemporary readers are capable of examining Frost's poetry with the intention of addressing the faults or serious matters in their own lives. Regarding Frost's nature poetry, "one is essentially confronted with an examination of the confrontation between man and the natural world, which ultimately leads to man confronting himself" (Ghasemi and Mansooji 463). Frost's bleak outlook on life and nature depicted in his poetry permits modern-day readers to reflect on their lives in a substantial manner by providing a starkly realistic approach to the sheer magnitude of the human experience as well as its trials and tribulations.
A Minor Bird (1928)
BY ROBERT FROST
I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;
Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.
The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.
And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.
"A Minor Bird" by Robert Frost makes the reader of the poem reflect on their own personal grievances under the guise of a simple occurrence in nature. The speaker acknowledges his own faults and questions his behaviors toward something seemingly insignificant and innocent, allowing the reader to ponder their own actions in turn.
Edward Thomas was a British critic who was directly influenced by Robert Frost. They were close friends for a short period of time, but they mutually benefitted from each other's occupations in the literary sphere. According to Paul M. Cubeta,"Thomas was the British critic who first brought Frost significant recognition in England, and Frost alone was responsible for Thomas' writing poetry" (147).
Peter Davison is an American poet who was also directly influenced by Robert Frost. He considered Frost as his mentor regarding poetry, as his father was close friends with the poet. Guy Rotella writes, "Davison’s father taught his son to admire poetry and poets above all things, and Frost was eminent among his exemplars" (41).
Sylvia Plath was a fellow New England poet who was influenced by Frost, but not in the traditional sense. Frost was drawn to colloquial language within his poetry, but Plath accentuated language within her works. Frost's poems "attempt to play down the poetic line by accommodating it to colloquial phrasing and natural speech rhythms" while "Plath's poems toy with their musical qualities, heighten them, even flaunt them" (Dickie 11).
Robert Frost has inspired and influenced numerous writers with his works. The poets listed above were directly influenced by Frost, but contemporary writers also draw inspiration from his poetry. His poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is referenced in various novels by different authors. This attests to his impact on the literary sphere because it proves the timelessness of his poetry and shows how it is applicable to modern-day situations. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a prime example. The author effectively utilizes the poem as a device for the main character, Hazel Grace, to reflect on the pain in mortality and the transience of love. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is another example. The author has Ponyboy Curtis, the narrator, recite "Nothing Gold Can Stay" to highlight the fleeting innocence of the young characters as they actively face turmoil. The main character "quotes the poem to his younger and more vulnerable friend, Johnny Cade, as the two are hiding out in a country church after Johnny has stabbed a rival gang member" (Seale et al. 7). When Johnny later dies, he tells Ponyboy to "stay gold," referencing Frost's poem in an attempt to persuade his friend to never change in spite of his circumstances. Myriad interpretations can be derived from a singular poem by Frost, which demonstrates the universality of his poetry and his influence on various writers today.
BY ROBERT FROST
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 stay.
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is one of Frost's most referenced poems in contemporary media. The essential message of this poem is that nothing beautiful or pleasant will last forever. Many depictions of this poem in media today utilize this sentiment and apply it to unique situations.
Robert Frost is one of the greatest twentieth-century American poets whose works impact more than just the American people. Although Frost "is a New England poet, perhaps the New England poet," he is also "a poet of and for the world" (Van Doren 198). Much of his poetry utilizes New England as a setting, but Frost "induced, it happens, a nostalgia for New England in persons who never saw the place" (Van Doren 198). His unique and innovative approach to colloquial language makes his poetic voice discernible from those of his contemporaries. Frost's distinct writing style and his interest in the "sound of sense" are immediately recognizable, making him stand out amongst other twentieth-century poets. He depicts dark, philosophical, and universal themes within his poetry, which provides his readers with a bleak yet realistic outlook on the human experience as well as an outlet to relate to. These aspects of Frost's extensive craft permit him to continue to influence the modern-day literary world, which in turn impacts society at large.
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"The Road Not Taken" is arguably Robert Frost's most famous poem. It details the dilemma of uncertainty and the doubts that accompany making the right decision. This poem cements Frost's impact on the world because it encapsulates a universal experience all human beings can relate to.