Robert Frost

Essay by DawnyailA+, April 2006

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"Poetry is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. It consists largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by its user and audience to differ from ordinary prose. It may use condensed or compressed form to convey emotion or ideas to the reader's or listener's mind or ear; it may also use devices such as assonance and repetition to achieve musical or incantatory effects" (Wikipedia, 2005).

Robert Frost is considered to be one of the most popular American poets of the twentieth century. Through his literary career he has been both celebrated and commended for his works as a poet. His simplistic style attracts readers of all literary levels. Frost uses life, human emotion, and nature usually as his main themes in his writings.

Frost uses himself, the world around him and those he admires as influences for his poems. The things symbolized in Frost's poems evolve from his life and what he cares about the most. (Halterman, 2004, p.1).

Frost started writing poetry toward the end of the 19th century and continued into the 20th century. He, along with other poets of this time wanted to reform the poetic language. He believed that an ordinary conversation could be poetic. However, when it came to form and structure, he was more of a traditionalist. He wrote rhymed verse and bland verse, but never free verse. He said, "I would sooner write free verse as play tennis with the net down." (Thompson, 2005, p. 4)

Frost uses a variety of vivid descriptions to portray the images in most of his works. His creative imagination molds each setting into a lively interpretation of the poem.