A pocket book of Robert Frost's poems

by Robert Frost

Here, in one volume, are the best poems of Robert Frost. Accompanied by an introduction and commentary by Louis Untermeyer, they make up an anthology that will bring you numberless hours of pleasure and joy.

Genres: Poetry

279 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1946

About the author

Flinty, moody, plainspoken and deep, Robert Frost was one of America's most popular 20th-century poets. Frost was farming in Derry, New Hampshire when, at the age of 38, he sold the farm, uprooted his family and moved to England, where he devoted himself to his poetry. His first two books of verse, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914), were immediate successes. In 1915 he returned to the United States and continued to write while living in New Hampshire and then Vermont. His pastoral images of apple trees and stone fences -- along with his solitary, man-of-few-words poetic voice -- helped define the modern image of rural New England. Frost's poems include "Mending Wall" ("Good fences make good neighbors"), "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" ("Whose woods these are I think I know"), and perhaps his most famous work, "The Road Not Taken" ("Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- / I took the one less traveled by"). Frost was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times: in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943. He also served as "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress" from 1958-59; that position was renamed as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry (or simply Poet Laureate) in 1986.

Frost recited his poem "The Gift Outright" at the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy... Frost attended both Dartmouth College and Harvard, but did not graduate from either school... Frost preferred traditional rhyme and meter in poetry; his famous dismissal of free verse was, "I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the analysis of the poem about Paul Bunyan and his wife creeped me out. It isn't romantic as the editor claims but kinda stalkerish. The commentary from the editor ruins the poetry to be honest. The poem about the Morgan horse was good, the one about the snow excellent but there is a little too much hero worship going on.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of Robert Frost's poems and an analysis of what each of the poems means. I liked the poetry, it was understandable and almost simple. I initially thought that the analysis of each of the poems would be useful, but it was annoying at times and I disliked the explanations. I think it would be better to just print all of the poems and leave it up to the reader to interpret the meaning.

One of my favorite poems that I had not heard before is To The Thawing Wind where Frost writes almost an ode to the winter weather. This is also one of the few poems that I found that refer to himself as a poet. I would recommend this book to those who struggle with interpreting poetry while also appreciating Robert Frost's works. This book is definitely a three-star poetry book in my opinion.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central idea of most of the poems was hard work. This central idea ties in with the biography given at the beginning of the book. The biography showed that, just like in his poems, Robert Frost had to work long and hard to get what he wanted. He started from humble beginnings which are the conditions a lot of the poems portray. I felt that the poems held more impact after I knew Frost’s story.

The main figurative device I found was pacing. Frost used paragraph breaks and stanza lengths to create different paces. Breaks were mainly used for dialogue but in some poems the dialogue wasn’t broken into separate lines, making it a faster pace. I was surprised to see the range of stories Frost could tell. From stories about everyday life to ghost stories, Frost’s use of mood in a lot of them payed off immensely.

I found the compilation of poems to be great for the most part. Some were peaceful, some were deep but almost all of them showed new perspectives and different stories that I enjoyed. I enjoyed his imagery and how he described nature the most, along with the meanings of some of the more thought-invoking poems. The imagery he painted with his words showed Frost’s true talent. I loved this compilation and would gladly read it a second time.

[Kellean · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some standout poems that I enjoyed, but Robert Frost's poetry style sadly isn't my type. He is lyrical and down to earth and hides deep ideas beneath deceptively simple verses; he's got a deft touch for beautiful, big thoughts compacted into a plain package. But I have never gravitated toward him and grew bored halfway through the book. His narrative-driven poems were the best to me: "Home Burial," "The Fear," "The Housekeeper," and "The Death of the Hired Man."

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these poems brought me back to my childhood. I saw the scene of a younger me reading Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening and discovering "it made all the difference" ... Robert Frost was a master of language, words and poetry. Reading this book reminded me of when I first fell in love with poetry as a teenager.

[lil1inblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skip the commentary and just enjoy the poetry. You can’t go wrong with Robert Frost.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The notes are not overly intrusive, because they are brief. They are not that enlightening, either. I have read almost all of these poems before and I derived a different experience from them.

Still, many great poems. Frost, after all.