Living The Path Less TraveledEssay Preview: Living The Path Less TraveledReport this essayLiving The Path Less TraveledIt is said that few things stand the test of time such as that of a classic piece of literature. When I think of classic literature, I think of one person, Robert Frost. Frosts work is full of symbolism, as well as, figurative language. The combination of these factors, is one that engulfs the reader as a part of his writings. This in turn creates a feeling of connective-ness. Although it is possible to connect without any knowledge of Frost and the life he led, to fully relate to his writings, one should have a general understanding of the life of Robert Frost.
Robert Frost was born on March 26th, 1874, in San Francisco, California to Isabelle Moodie and William Prescott Frost Jr. His father was a journalist, thus it is easy to conclude Frost was born with the gift of writing. Frost was the eldest of two children. However, despite his familys comfortable status within the community he did not lead what one would consider to be an easy childhood. Not only was his father and alcoholic, but after passing away from tuberculosis when Frost was eleven, he left the family with eight dollars. As a result, Frosts mother Isabelle moved the family from San Francisco to her parents house in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Neither Frost nor his sister Jeanie adapted well to their grandparents sternness and strict discipline. Thankfully though, shortly after arriving in Lawrence his mother accepted a teaching position. Thus, the family moved yet again to Salem Depot New Hampshire.
School first started off as a sensitive subject for Frost. He had started Kindergarten in San Francisco, but withdrew after the first day due to nervousness and stomach pains. Because of this he was then educated at home. However, upon arriving on the East Coast Robert and his sister Jeanie both entered school in the 5th grade. It was here that Frost greatly excelled in school. Upon graduating at the top of his class and passing preliminary entrance exams, Frost entered the prestigious Harvard College in 1891. Despite feeling bored and restless, Frost did well and was active in Harvards school newspaper, “The Bulletin”. In his first year Frost was elected and served as the Chief Editor for the 1891-1892 school year. Financially dependent
on his grandparents Frost withdrew from Harvard at the end of 1892. He then enrolled at Dartmouth, not only because it was less expensive, but because his grandparents blamed Harvard for all of his fathers bad habits. However, Dartmouth left Frost bored and restless, just as Harvard had. As a result he withdrew not long into the term. For the next few years Frost taught in various positions throughout the New England states.
Still in Frosts brief time at Harvard, he gained much more than just an education. Frost met and fell in love with fellow student Elinor Miriam White. Frost and Elinor engaged in 1892, however, they did not marry until 1895. At this time in addition to teaching, Frost began working as a reporter for both the Daily American and Sentinel newspapers. Married life was treating Frost very well. The Frost family welcomed a son, Elliot, in September of 1897. Yet, as well as things were for Frost he still felt restless. It was in 1897 that he decided to re-enroll at Harvard after borrowing the money from his grandfather. He remained at Harvard until 1899 when his daughter Lesley was born, after which he withdrew yet again. After many years of happiness, unfortunately sorrow caught up with Frost again in July of 1900, when his son Elliott died from Cholera. It was also in 1900 that Frosts mother Isabelle passed away from cancer. Happier times were still to come. Between 1902 and 1907 the Frost family welcomed three more children; son Carol, daughter Majorie, and daughter Bettina, who died shortly after birth.
Frost continued to teach up until 1912. It was then that he decided to move his family to England for a few years so that he could devote himself to writing on a fulltime basis. While in England, Frost wrote his first published poem, “A Boys Will”. With much success in England Frost made the decision to return to the United States in 1914, upon learning that Henry Holt and Company was willing to publish his books in the States. On Frosts return from England, he continued to write for many years. It was these writings that earned him four Pulitzer Prizes (1924, 1931, 1937, 1943), election into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Russel Loines Poetry Prize (1931), Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets (1953), and the Bollingen Prize for Poetry (1963); just to name a few. Still, as successful as frost was, his life was still plagued with heartache. Not only did he lose his wife to illness, his sister and two daughters to mental illness, he also lost his son Carol to suicide. Carols suicide was especially difficult on Frost in that knowing his son might attempt to take his life he spend quite a few days with him. Under the impression that all was alright once again Frost left to return to his home. Only after which Carol took his own life. Frost often had feelings of what if and regret. None the less Frost remained strong and led a remarkable life. You can see many examples of this through the poems Frost has written.
One excellent example of Frosts life entwining within his poetry is one of his early poems, “Home Burial”.“Home Burial”#He saw her from the bottom of the stairsBefore she saw him. She was starting down,Looking back over her shoulder at some fear.She took a doubtful step and then undid itTo raise herself and look again. He spokeAdvancing toward her: What is it you seeFrom up there always-for I want to know.She turned and sank upon her skirts at that,And her face changed from terrified to dull.He said to gain time: What is it you see,Mounting until she cowered under him.I will find out now-you must tell me, dear.She, in her place, refused him any helpWith the least stiffening of her neck and silence.
A good example can be found at the first mention of the “mother-in-law”: the grandmother of Frosts and his second wife, wife, and children.This fact is taken from a discussion on Frosts’ poem, published in the September issue of the journal of the American Folk Songs Society, Vol. 2: “A Poem to the Young.” The same conversation can be found in the introduction by K. N. Sorensen, The Frosts, and their Families (Bantam Books, 1968; Chicago: American Folk Songs in Press and Library, 1965) :
Some have said the same; there are others who do not and see in Frosts as a family. Some have asked and answered “what is the source of the Frosts family name?”; others have given a number of guesses, such as the source of the “father(s)”, “father(ges)” and “father(b)”. This is not meant at this moment to imply that the family names were, or can be, derived from any single person.A second source of Frosts family names can be found in an illustration by Sibbert. This is a “Family Affair” in a chapter of The Frosts, which is said to have arisen during and after Frosts’ absence. That the Frosts were brothers is known in the story of Huckleberry the Poet and the Wartime Poet, as we have seen in the Frosts in the early poems. Some of the other Frosts in the story tell stories of different names, of one family, a third, a fourth, and of many; the rest are very general. Perhaps he may think their names “came out of dreams” or perhaps they were an accident of their lives. Perhaps “fortunate that he did not seem to have been given the names he used”, or perhaps not. The Frosts were in many respects friends, of a very intimate nature. In one story a Frostrider asks a friend, “What you remember is your father(s)”, and if he gives him a fatherless name they name him Frosts at random. He will say, “That is it, you say?” or, “You remember that.” A Frostrider might also say, “That is it, I remember that too”. The Frosts were both close and apart kin, and might say “that is it”, or, “You remember that too”. However, it is important to remember this as a unique family name that the Frosts name does not represent. Perhaps it is because the Frosts were separated, for example, if the grandfather’s name were