Robert Frost: The Tragedy Of A Poet
Robert Frost: The tragedy of a Poet
From about 1913 until Robert Frost's death in January of 1963, almost everyone who knew him personally would say that that he was among the most learned, brilliant, provocative, and original conversationalists of the twentieth century. He was a four time Pulitzer Prize winning American poet, a teacher and lecturer and wrote many popular and often quoted poems including “The Road Not Taken”, “After Apple-Picking”, “Mending Wall”, and “Home Burial”. However while Frost was decorated in numerous awards and had great popularity and success in his career, he also dealt with more tragedy and loneliness than most men could even imagine.
Frost was born in San Francisco, California in 1874, where his father was involved in politics and journalism. His parents were Isabelle Frost, a Scottish immigrant, and William Frost, Jr., the rebellious son of a New England Republican family. The two had dated while teaching in Pennsylvania, but their dissimilar personalities put a strain on their marriage. Due to his alcoholism and eventual tuberculosis, William Frost died in 1885. His constant drinking and gambling habits left his family in a financial strain when he died. Before he did pass however, he had expressed a desire to be buried in Massachusetts where he was born, so Isabelle took Robert and his sister, Jeanie across the country back to New England.
The family resided with William Frost’s father, who gave Robert proper schooling. Once Robert attended Lawrence High school, he soon began writing his first poetry. He did extremely well in many subjects including history, botany, Latin and Greek, and played football. In 1892 he was co-valedictorian of his graduating class with Elinor White, who he later became engaged to later in that year. After graduation he entered Dartmouth, the Ivy League College in Hanover, New Hampshire, but soon grew tired of the atmosphere of campus life and left after his first semester. This caused problems...
View Full Essay