Though he passed Harvard’s entrance exams, Frost lacked the money needed to attend the school. He instead attended Dartmouth College, but left after less than a semester, and pursued a variety of jobs, including teaching and working at a textile mill. In 1894, he published a few poems in The Independent and began corresponding with its literary editor, Susan Ward. He tried to persuade Elinor to leave St. Lawrence University to marry him, but she was determined to complete her degree. On one occasion, he presented her with Twilight, a collection of five of his poems. (Cox 146) She tried to resist, but he eventually stole her heart and they married in the winter of 1995. In the early years of their marriage, Frost pursued his dream and attended Harvard; however, he soon withdrew and took up a career in poultry farming to support his growing family. The Frost’s family life, often strained by emotional and financial anxiety, was marked by a series of unfortunate events. Their first child, Elliott, died of cholera at age three. Another child, Elinor Bettina, died two days after birth. Of the four children who lived to adulthood, Frost’s daughter Marjorie died of childbed fever at age twenty-nine, and his son Carol committed suicide at age thirty-eight. Another daughter, Irma, had to be institutionalized for mental illness. (Bloom 12)
In the busy years of family responsibilities between 1900-1912, Frost pursued farming and teaching, trying to fit in the time to write poetry, often at night at the kitchen table. Living on a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, Frost published stories and articles in the Eastern Poultryman. He visited New York City in 1903 in an attempt to invest in several years at the Pinkerton Academy in Derry. He eventually moved his family off of the farm and later accepted a teaching position in Plymouth. (Bloom 13)
In 1912, Frost moved with his wife and four children to England to concentrate on poetry and book publication. A Boy’s Will was published by David Nutt and Company in1913, and was reviewed favorably by American poet and critic, Ezra Pound. Pound proclaimed Frost writing to be, “filled with artistic vigor” and “from the heart”. (Pound 19) Nutt published North of Boston a year later. After its release in New York City, the poem sold over twenty thousand copies, making Frost immediately famous. (Pound 20) Several important and well-received books followed in rapid succession. Continuing to write poetry, Frost began to pursue what would be a lifelong career as a part time teacher and full time poet. He held many position at colleges such as, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Michigan. (Bloom 13)
In the course of his lifetime, Frost was recognized with more than seventeen honorary degrees from prestigious universities in the United States and England. He continued to write books of poetry, receiving the Pulitzer Prize an unprecedented four times, for New Hampshire in 1924, Collected Poems in 1931, A Further Range in 1937, and A Witness Tree in 1943. (French 157) Late in life, Frost led a career as a cultural emissary and public personage, touring South America, Europe, and the Middle East. In 1961, he read The Gift Outright at President John Kennedy’s inauguration; His seventy-fifth and eighty-fifth birthday were even recognized by commendation from the United Stated Senate. (Bloom 14)
When Frost died on January 29, 1963, at the age of eighty-eight, he was the most popular and famous American poet of the century, a cultural icon, and an esteemed literary figure with great influence. (Costello 542) Critics continue to be devoted to the skill, eloquence, and power of his poetry.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Robert Frost. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999.
Costello, Bonnie. "Frost, Robert."Worldbook Encyclopedia. 2006 ed. 2006.
Cox, James . "Robert Frost and the Edge of the Clearing." Critical Essays on Robert Frost. Ed. Phillip L. Gerber. Boston, MA: G. K. Hall & Co., 1982.
French, Roberts. "Robert Frost and the Darkness of Nature." Critical Essays on Robert Frost. Ed. Philip L. Gerber. Boston, MA: G. K. Hall & Co., 1982.
Pound, Ezra. "Modern Georgics." Critical Essays on Robert Frost. Ed. Philip L. Gerber. Boston, MA: G. K. Hall & Co., 1982.
