Robert Lee Frost was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century and has been widely acclaimed internationally. He was named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He is very well known for his realistic depictions of rural life.
When Frost was only 10 he moved from San Francisco to New England. His work and personality seemed to have been profoundly influenced by his new home, and also were affected a series of personal tragedies that befell him. In 1895, Frost married Elinor Miriam White, whom he'd shared valedictorian honors with in high school and who was a major inspiration for his poetry until her death in 1938.
In his early adult life Frost was only moderately successful as a published poet. Buoyed by his first poetry publication he proposed marriage to High School classmate Elinor White in 1894. At the time she refused because she wanted to complete her college degree before marriage. The next year he asked White again for her hand in marriage, and having completed her studies she agreed.
For nine years Frost worked on a farm in New Hampshire while writing poetry. He wasn't a natural farmer, and eventually resumed work in the field of education. The family decided after a few years that Frost's poetry might be better received in England and moved to a small town outside of London in 1912.
The move proved to be a wise one, and Frost's first collection of poetry was published in England in 1913. Having broken the literary world the Frost family moved back to America during World War I. Frost began a notable career as a poet, lecturer, and teacher at Amherst College.
In 1924 Frost won the first of his four Pulitzer prizes for poetry. He accepted several additional teaching positions throughout the United States for the next four decades, and was awarded honorary degrees at over 40 universities. In 1961 at the age of 86 Frost recited a poem at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration.
During his lifetime, Frost would receive more than 40 honorary degrees, and in 1924, he was awarded his first of four Pulitzer Prizes, for his book New Hampshire. He would subsequently win Pulitzers for Collected Poems (1931), A Further Range (1937) and A Witness Tree (1943).
Frost is considered a literary treasure for his consistent style and the depth of his poetic work. He died in 1963 after suffering from prostate cancer.
For more information about Robert Frost, please visit the website about Robert Frost at www.robertfrost.org.
By
Brent Tan