Robert Frost

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet who is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He was born in San Francisco, California, to journalist William Prescott Frost, Jr., and Isabella Moodie. When he was ten, following his father’s death, the family returned to their home farm in New England. After his school education, Frost was enrolled in Dartmouth, but left before graduating, and started experimenting with an amusing assortment of careers like cobbler, bobbin boy, editor and school teacher. In 1895, he married his former schoolmate Elinor White, who became his ardent supporter, soul mate and inspiration. He settled down into farming the same year. In 1897, he enrolled at Harvard, but left it half way. His plans to devote himself to full time farming did not work out well due to financial constraints and soon he had to return to teaching to support his family. He held various teaching positions for the rest of his life.

 In 1912, Frost sold his farm and sailed to England with his family. There, he had the rare privilege to be in the company of many eminent poets, both English and American, including Ezra Pound. His first collection of poems, A Boy’s will was published in 1913, followed by North of Boston in 1914. First returned to America, richer in fame and wealth, and settled down in a New Hampshire farm. Mountain Interval came out in 1916 and New Hampshire in 1923. Other important works of frost are A Farther Range, A Masque of Reason, A Witness Tree and Steeple Bush.