The Concept of American Poetry - Essay Example

Prof’s Defining American Poetry: The Life and Work of Robert Frost Every country and culture take some time to develop a literary voice, and once developed, this voice continually shits and changes. America has a long literary tradition, but in poetry one giant towers above nearly everyone else: Robert Frost. For nearly half a century he helped develop new forms of American poetry, and give American poetry a voice moving into the 21st century and beyond. Frost’s life, like his work, spanned the entire breadth of the United States. Frost was born in California in 1874 (Gioia and Kennedy), in the city of San Francisco, and died on the other side of the continent nearly 90 years later, in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1963 at the age of 88 (Gioia and Kennedy). His background was one that was typical for many Americans – he was born to parents of Scottish and English ancestry, though his father’s family immigrated to America in one of the earliest waves of settlement in 1634 (Gioia and Kennedy). He had a varied background, never having achieved a college degree, though he also lived for a great deal of time as a farmer on a farm that his father-in-law bought for him shortly before his death. He also spent time as an English speaker, before eventually moving towards being a full time writer, lecturer and occasional teacher (). He has received numerous honorary degrees, though, as mentioned previously, never actually graduated from post-secondary education. Forst has published many works, most of which are poetry collections. Probably the most famous of these were the first, North of Boston, and other early published books such as New Hampshire. Many of the poems that he later published Frost originally wrote when he was writing poetry only part time, for instance when he was working on his farm (Gioia and Kennedy). Frost also wrote four plays, possibly the most famous of which being “A Masque of Reason,” published in 1945, and several prose works have been published of his posthumously, almost entirely letters and correspondence he wrote with other people, along with a recently published collection of his notebooks and other writing materials (Parini 73). In Frost’s poetry collections there are many poems that have won him international renown: he received four Pulitzers prizes over the course of his life, amongst the highest of an author in history (75). Naming particular poems as standing out from his amazing career might be something of a difficult task, but many of his poetry has become quite famous, including “The Road Not Taken,” “Fire and Ice,” and “The Sound of the Trees” (78). Robert Frost’s prodigious career certainly places him amongst the most critically acclaimed of all poets and authors of the past hundred years, and amongst the greats of American history of all time. Critic Randall Jarrell, for instance, places him with “Stevens and Eliot” as the greatest American poets of the twentieth century (Pritchard 23), while Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Claire of the Norton Anthology of English Literature compare him to other greats of his time such as Robinson or Hardy (34). So while Frost was certainly critically acclaimed, his critical acclaim did not single him out as the best or the most influential. What probably does so, however, is that his work was both critically acclaimed and incredibly popular (34). He was “the most popular American poet of the twentieth century,” and “most Americans recognize his name, the titles of and lines from his best known poems,” while some even “recognize his face and the sound of his voice” (Gioia and Kennendy). This unique combination of critical acclaim and popularity is what makes the argument for Frost being the greatest American poet – very few poets are able to actually become popular in the twentieth century. Frost’s popularity rests on the nature of his poetry – he has been called the “best writer of average men” that has ever lived, and this habit for writing about the everyday in a remarkable way has probably helped spur his popularity forward. His poetry is often stunningly simple on first glance, but with many layers that can be unraveled the more one delves into it. “The Road Not Taken,” possibly Frost’s most popular poem, demonstrates this combination of simplicity and complexity that is so fundamental to Frost’s combination of critical acclaim and widespread popularity. “The Road Not Taken” touches on a universal theme – the need for people to make choices in their life without full knowledge of circumstance and the results of what one’s actions will be. It also touches on people’s desire to beat their own path, with the famous lines “I took the one less traveled by / and that made all the difference” (Forst 18-20). These themes can be enjoyable for any person who reads the poem, and make them contemplate their life. For those who are critically inclined, however, this poem has many layers beyond that simple explanation. For instance, a close inspection will reveal that this poem actually talks about the process of manufacturing a life narrative out of seemingly mundane events. The speaker initially indicates that both paths are equally warn (Frost 8, and that he is was sorry he could not take both paths (Frost 2). So, in the beginning of the poem the speaker indicates that he is essentially making a random choice , and that he is plagued by indecision, wishing he could choose both, but by the end of the poem he declares that he made a bold choice, taking the road less used (even though he initially said they were equally warn). He has created a narrative for himself, the way everyone must do as they move through life. Frost is truly one of the great giants of American Literature. Coming from humble beginnings he grew to be one of the most recognized and renowned person ever to write poetry in English. He was both critically acclaimed and popular, something that is very difficult for a poet to manage in the 20th century, and his poems show a level of complexity that belies their apparent simplicity. Works Cited Gioia, Dana and X. J. Kennedy. Literature: An introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Robert Frost: Biography. Web. Frost, Robert “The Road Not Taken” 1916. Pritchard, William T. Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered . 1984. Parini, Jay. “Frost” in Columbia literary History of the United States. Ed. Emory Elliot. 1988. Read More