Robert Frost
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Robert Frost
Robert Frost is a familiar name to many people for his poetry and less familiar for his thought-provoking quotes. He once said, “I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” in which he indeed did. His life consisted of many twists and turns that, in some other person, could prove to be a damper in ones success. Frost took advantage of the hard times and turned them into good; changing his streak on America as a great poet.
Robert Frost was born on March 26th, 1874 in San Francisco, California to Isabelle Moodie Frost, casually known as Bell, and William Prescott Frost (Costello). During his young childhood, the Frost family lived in a small apartment. His father was a journalist, and his mother stayed at home raising her son (Angyal 556). Frosts father was an alcoholic, a gambler, and a devoted politician (Ron Carnell) during Roberts childhood, so his mother would shelter him from the abuse by teaching him inspirational literature, and reading scripts from the Bible (Angyal 557). It was during this rough time, at such a tender age, that Roberts poetic niche began.
Roberts father died in 1885 of Tuberculosis, when Frost was only 11 years old. His remaining family moved to the east to be with his grandparents (Angyal 557). This was the beginning of his famous New England themed poetry. They were located in Lawrence, Massachusetts for much of Frosts late childhood and teenage years (Angyal
557). To support the family, Bell began teaching at a local elementary school. Robert helped out with expenses with small part time jobs in-between school (Angyal 558).
Robert Frost was an excellent student; achieving in sports, debate, and editor of the school newspaper. Robert graduated co-valedictorian in 1892 with Elinor Miriam White. He then attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 1892 (Angyal 558). However, he only was enrolled for one semester. He returned home to work in different jobs such as factory hand and newspaperman (Pritchard). In 1894, his first poem was sold to a New York magazine, The Independent, entitled My Butterfly: An Elegy, (Pritchard) which was written for his soon to be wife, Elinor Miriam White (Ketzle).
In 1895, Robert Frost married Elinor in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Wanting to expand the family, they gave birth to a son only a year after they were joined in Holy matrimony naming him Elliott (Winnick). During that time, the couple both taught at local schools (Pritchard). 1897 Robert decided to attend college again, in which he enrolled in Harvard as a special student for three semesters (Angyal 560).
After leaving Harvard, Frosts family moved to a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, purchased by Frosts grandfather. In 1900, his second child was born, a daughter with the name Lesley (Pritchard). During this quiet time in the country, undisturbed by the business of the city life, Frost enjoyed spending time appreciating his family and the majestic view of the New England setting. He wrote many poems that would soon be the contents of which were his future published volumes. His first child, Elliot, died of Cholera the same year. Alas, along with the death of Elliot, Frosts mother dies of cancer; on a happier note, his family is extended even more after the sad losses of his dear loved ones with two girls and one boy over 4 years (Angyal 560).
Unfortunately, Frosts farming was unsuccessful, and he began teaching at a secondary school in New Hampshire. He was an English teacher at Pinkerton Academy for 5 years. He accepted an offer to teach at the State Normal School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1911 and sold the Derry farm. However, he only worked there for less than a year before retiring to devote full attention to his family and writing (Schmidt 2).
In 1912, Frost moves his family to England in hopes of advancing his writing publication (Angyal 560). His odds of being noticed by the right publishers were for him, and his poetry was divulged in 1913, accepted by a London publisher. His first book was titled A Boys Will, followed by North of Boston printed a year later (Ron Carnell).
After success