Background
Arguably one of the most renowned American poets, Robert Frost was born on the sixth day of March of the year 1874 in San Francisco, California. The famous poet, who gave all his works a touch of uniqueness, has been criticized various, with the critics citing a reason or two for such criticism. Robert Frost died on the 9th day of January 1963, having fathered six children with his wife Elinor Miriam White. Frost’s father William Prescott was a man an immigrant from England, and his mother, Isabelle Moodie was a woman of Scottish descent (Ellmann and O'Clair 45). Robert, who wrote his first poem in high school, rose to be a star in the field of literature and poetry as he progressed with his education. Frost graduated from Lawrence High School in 1892. His parents introduced him to the Sweden-Borgia church, which he later left in his early adulthood. This paper seeks to explain the life and times of renowned American poet and guru in literature – Robert Frost, with special emphasis to the criticisms that his works received.
The life, times and achievements of Robert Frost
Not much is known of the childhood of Robert Frost, except for the reality that the death of his father in 1885 saw the family move to Lawrence, Massachusetts under the care and guidance of Robert Frost’s grandfather William Prescott Frost Senior. At Lawrence, Robert got baptized under the Sweden-Borgia church, which he later left as an adult. Upon graduating from high school, Robert Frost joined Dartmouth College, which enabled him to further his mastery of poetry and literature at large (Ellmann and O'Clair 59). During this time, the young man was not quite focused. He did virtually everything, including helping is teaching mother manage unruly boys at school. He did such odd jobs as delivering newspaper to buyers in the neighborhood. Although Robert Frost is associated with obsession for life in the rural setting, he spent most of young and adult life in the city.
His first poem to sell was ‘My Butterfly, My Elegy.’ The poem was published in the New York Independent. This motivated the young man to get married, he proposed a couple of time to Elinor Miriam White, to whom he got married on the 19th day of December 1895, ten years after the death of his father. Having settled, the young man attended studies at Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Bates College. During his lifetime, Robert Frost won four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry. The man is known for the prominence of rural setting in his works. This has formed the basis for the arguments of most critics.
Literary criticism of Robert Frost
Most poets and critics argue that the works of Robert Frost have no place in contemporary setting. They argue that the poet concentrated too much on traditionalism and folksy characteristics. According to the critics, the works of Frost can only be understood and properly interpreted in a certain time period along the lines of history. However, it is important to mention that not all poets think Robert Frost’s works have no place in contemporary literature (e-Notes 1). Renowned American Poet, Randall Jarrell has risen in Frost’s defense, saying that if at all there is an American poet that deserves credit, then it has to Be Robert Frost. According to Jarrell, the traditional touch with which Frost does his works adds flavor and uniqueness to literature. It makes Robert Frost stand out as a unique writer. Worth mentioning is the reality that Randall Jarrell has even published works in defense of Frost.
Those of contrary opinion argue that the works of Frost are characterized by extreme interdependencies of his literary virtues and vices. They say that Robert Frost is one poet that you cannot classify because he is an extremist, writing both extremely well and marvelously unique, and extremely dismal in some cases (e-Notes 1). The pessimists argue that Robert Frost gives too much prominence to the folksy tone, which in their view seems to kill the long poems and narratives. Excessive honesty has also been identified as a point of weakness in the poet. While Randall Jarrell thinks such honesty is literary strength, others hold contrary opinions on the same. They argue that such honesty amounts to overexploitation of his talent and charm. This, they say, brings him out as a poet that is so eager to please people.
The most notable thing about the works of Robert, except for the fact that he is too much inclined to the traditional setting, is the reality that he is extremely versatile – versatile in the sense that the man can write on anything – literally anything (www. Poetryfoundation.Org 1). The charm in his poems can be traced to his narratives as well as many of his works of literature. Randall says that the skill with which Robert Frost twists situations to fit his folksy approach is unprecedented, and cannot be matched by the contemporary poets (e-Notes 1). Such uniqueness, according to Randall Jarrell explains the popularity of Robert Frost. Despite the different opinions, scholars agree in near unanimity that, by the time Robert Frost was dying in 1963, he had achieved a lot as far as literature, and especially poetry is concerned.
Works cited
Ellmann, Richard, and Robert O'Clair. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. New York: Norton, 1988. Print.
e-Notes. Frost, Robert 1874 – 1963. Contemporary literary criticism. < http://www.enotes.com/robert-frost-essays/frost-robert-vol-9> retrieved 26th April 2013
www. Poetryfoundation.Org. biography: Robert frost 1874 – 1963. 2012 < http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/robert-frost> retrieved 26th April 2013
