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Robert Frost: Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart
Celebrate Robert Frost's 150th birthday with a deluxe keepsake edition featuring 16 of his greatest poems—with brilliant essays highlighting his special genius and the power of memorization to unlock the magic of his language
During a public reading Robert Frost was once asked why he so frequently recited his poems from memory. With typical wit, he “If they won’t stick to me, I won’t stick to them.” Remarkably among the modern poets, his poems “stick” to the
Here, poet and Frost biographer Jay Parini presents these and 12 other Frost poems to learn by heart. In short accompanying commentaries, Parini illuminates the stylistic and imaginative features of each of the poems, drawing in biographical material from Frost’s life to provide further context. “The goal of this little book is to encourage readers to slow down—to listen to Frost’s words and phrases, to locate their deepest rhythms, and hear the tune of each poem as it unfolds. . . . Memorizing a poem can teach us much about a poem’s structure and argument, and about the resonance of particular words. And best of all, memorization makes a poem part of our inner lives. Once committed to memory, a poem is available to us for recall at any time—and the occasions for remembering it will make themselves known to us. It isn’t something we have to work at.”
Anyone who has read and loved Frost’s poetry will want to own and treasure this little gift edition. Those reading Frost for the first time or those wishing to become better acquainted with one of America’s greatest poets will not find a better, more insightful guide than Jay Parini.
During a public reading Robert Frost was once asked why he so frequently recited his poems from memory. With typical wit, he “If they won’t stick to me, I won’t stick to them.” Remarkably among the modern poets, his poems “stick” to the
Here, poet and Frost biographer Jay Parini presents these and 12 other Frost poems to learn by heart. In short accompanying commentaries, Parini illuminates the stylistic and imaginative features of each of the poems, drawing in biographical material from Frost’s life to provide further context. “The goal of this little book is to encourage readers to slow down—to listen to Frost’s words and phrases, to locate their deepest rhythms, and hear the tune of each poem as it unfolds. . . . Memorizing a poem can teach us much about a poem’s structure and argument, and about the resonance of particular words. And best of all, memorization makes a poem part of our inner lives. Once committed to memory, a poem is available to us for recall at any time—and the occasions for remembering it will make themselves known to us. It isn’t something we have to work at.”
Anyone who has read and loved Frost’s poetry will want to own and treasure this little gift edition. Those reading Frost for the first time or those wishing to become better acquainted with one of America’s greatest poets will not find a better, more insightful guide than Jay Parini.
147 pages, Hardcover
Published March 12, 2024
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About the author
Robert Frost
1,042 books5,051 followersFlinty, 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 25, 2024
Sharing Poetic Pointers with Old Friends
How shall we collectively mark Robert Frost's sesquicentennial on March 26, 2024. (He was born in 1874 and lived to 88 in 1963.)
Well, here's a wonderful way—
A brand new Library of America (LoA) book arrived on my doorstep this week, looking nothing like the dozens of other LoA volumes that have earned their places on my library shelves over the years. This one is slim and teal blue without a typical LoA photograph, no dust cover at all, and only touches of white and black as counterpoint to the teal cloth covering the hardback: white silhouettes of birch leaves encircling the book's title that is set in black.
Yet, the moment I opened the cover, I was carried back 50 years to the old overstuffed chairs in a seminar room in the University of Michigan's East Quad where the recently arrived Russian poet Joesph Brodsky taught us absolutely green undergraduates the power of poetry.
Having survived his encounter with the Russian Gulag, Brodsky taught poetry in a far different way than the tenured professors teaching literature at UofM. He did not assign "papers." In fact, he did not evaluate our "class participation"—thankfully, because most of what we had to say was embarrassingly naive. At the end of the term, he rated our performance in the class on memorization—how well we could master and then repeat in a future class long passages from Frost, the Psalms and Anna Akhmatova among others.
"Why?" we asked.
"Because the most important thing you can learn is to be careful about what you pack into your head," he said, pointing toward his own even-then-balding head with the fingers clutching one of his endless cigarettes.
Again, we asked: "Why?"
“Because, someday, if you are sent to a prison camp—the poetry you carry in your memory may be your entire world. So, we must choose well what world we will carry, no?”
There was a very long silence. What could we say to that? As he watched us squirming in our big chairs, he finished his cigarette and immediately started another one.
Then, one night in the middle of that term, he came into the seminar room, lit his first cigarette of the class, plopped himself into a chair and began, "Tonight, we encounter Storm Fear." Without further introduction, he declaimed the opening line:
When the wind works against us in the dark
He went on to recite from memory the entire poem, then looped back after another long pause and repeated just that first line.
When the wind works against us in the dark
His question was: "What is Frost doing here? Anyone?"
Utter silence.
"Why is this opening line so terrifying—certainly to anyone who has lived through a blizzard in a remote place? Think! Think! What is Robert Frost doing here so—brilliantly!" And he let that final word drizzle very slowly from his mouth. "Yes, brilliantly," he repeated. "Why is it?"
Silence.
Then, he proceeded to tell us. He talked about that opening line for a full half an hour. I recall it vividly and even made note of it in my daily journal at the time. He held forth for half an hour on nine words!
Well, that's why I fell in love with this little teal book—because Parini chose Storm Fear as the first poem of 16 that he is encouraging his readers to "learn by heart." In fact, I am so committed to this idea—because it reconnects me with the wisdom Brodsky taught us half a century ago—that I immediately bought a second copy of the book and had it shipped to my Frost-loving daughter's front door.
I checked with her first by telephone. Out of the 16 poems in this volume, we collectively "know" 13, meaning we can immediately summon something about each of those 13 from hearing the poem's title alone. Three of the 16 were surprises to us and it took us a while to look them up and realize that they, too, were old friends we seem to have forgotten. My daughter already claims she has several of these memorized—has had them in her mind for many years. I would say the same, but I hope in coming months to refresh my memories and learn some new ones "by heart."
And I should say that my daughter and I quickly realized that the reason some of our personal favorites are not in this volume is that it would be unlikely for us to commit them to memory. Do you remember the length of Death of the Hired Man? It's 160 lines in the edition near my desk. Birches is long enough to commit to memory and it's a mere 59 lines in my edition.
So, given the constraints of this goal—learning by heart—we think Parini made wise selections. Plus, Parini's commentaries, which follow each poem, are excellent pointers to the deeper treasures in Frost's deceptively plain verses. And, no, Parini doesn't run on as long as Brodsky used to, when he analyzed these poems—but I do recognize pointers Brodsky shared with us in some of Parini's notes. And I use the word "pointer" here because, in my experience, that's the best way to think about poetry—to "point out" to each other the many doorways and paths that open up from excellent poetry.
So, I will end this review with a simple list of the 16 as a way to entice more of you from Goodreads to consider ordering a copy of this marvelous little book. Consider this list of 16 as a "calling"—a calling from your own memories of lines you may once have loved—and perhaps do to this day:
Storm Fear
Mowing
Reluctance
Mending Wall
After Apple-Picking
The Wood-Pile
The Road Not Taken
Hyla Brook
Birches
Putting in the Seed
'Out, Out—'
The Sound of Trees
Fire and Ice
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evenign
Design
Directive
How shall we collectively mark Robert Frost's sesquicentennial on March 26, 2024. (He was born in 1874 and lived to 88 in 1963.)
Well, here's a wonderful way—
A brand new Library of America (LoA) book arrived on my doorstep this week, looking nothing like the dozens of other LoA volumes that have earned their places on my library shelves over the years. This one is slim and teal blue without a typical LoA photograph, no dust cover at all, and only touches of white and black as counterpoint to the teal cloth covering the hardback: white silhouettes of birch leaves encircling the book's title that is set in black.
Yet, the moment I opened the cover, I was carried back 50 years to the old overstuffed chairs in a seminar room in the University of Michigan's East Quad where the recently arrived Russian poet Joesph Brodsky taught us absolutely green undergraduates the power of poetry.
Having survived his encounter with the Russian Gulag, Brodsky taught poetry in a far different way than the tenured professors teaching literature at UofM. He did not assign "papers." In fact, he did not evaluate our "class participation"—thankfully, because most of what we had to say was embarrassingly naive. At the end of the term, he rated our performance in the class on memorization—how well we could master and then repeat in a future class long passages from Frost, the Psalms and Anna Akhmatova among others.
"Why?" we asked.
"Because the most important thing you can learn is to be careful about what you pack into your head," he said, pointing toward his own even-then-balding head with the fingers clutching one of his endless cigarettes.
Again, we asked: "Why?"
“Because, someday, if you are sent to a prison camp—the poetry you carry in your memory may be your entire world. So, we must choose well what world we will carry, no?”
There was a very long silence. What could we say to that? As he watched us squirming in our big chairs, he finished his cigarette and immediately started another one.
Then, one night in the middle of that term, he came into the seminar room, lit his first cigarette of the class, plopped himself into a chair and began, "Tonight, we encounter Storm Fear." Without further introduction, he declaimed the opening line:
When the wind works against us in the dark
He went on to recite from memory the entire poem, then looped back after another long pause and repeated just that first line.
When the wind works against us in the dark
His question was: "What is Frost doing here? Anyone?"
Utter silence.
"Why is this opening line so terrifying—certainly to anyone who has lived through a blizzard in a remote place? Think! Think! What is Robert Frost doing here so—brilliantly!" And he let that final word drizzle very slowly from his mouth. "Yes, brilliantly," he repeated. "Why is it?"
Silence.
Then, he proceeded to tell us. He talked about that opening line for a full half an hour. I recall it vividly and even made note of it in my daily journal at the time. He held forth for half an hour on nine words!
Well, that's why I fell in love with this little teal book—because Parini chose Storm Fear as the first poem of 16 that he is encouraging his readers to "learn by heart." In fact, I am so committed to this idea—because it reconnects me with the wisdom Brodsky taught us half a century ago—that I immediately bought a second copy of the book and had it shipped to my Frost-loving daughter's front door.
I checked with her first by telephone. Out of the 16 poems in this volume, we collectively "know" 13, meaning we can immediately summon something about each of those 13 from hearing the poem's title alone. Three of the 16 were surprises to us and it took us a while to look them up and realize that they, too, were old friends we seem to have forgotten. My daughter already claims she has several of these memorized—has had them in her mind for many years. I would say the same, but I hope in coming months to refresh my memories and learn some new ones "by heart."
And I should say that my daughter and I quickly realized that the reason some of our personal favorites are not in this volume is that it would be unlikely for us to commit them to memory. Do you remember the length of Death of the Hired Man? It's 160 lines in the edition near my desk. Birches is long enough to commit to memory and it's a mere 59 lines in my edition.
So, given the constraints of this goal—learning by heart—we think Parini made wise selections. Plus, Parini's commentaries, which follow each poem, are excellent pointers to the deeper treasures in Frost's deceptively plain verses. And, no, Parini doesn't run on as long as Brodsky used to, when he analyzed these poems—but I do recognize pointers Brodsky shared with us in some of Parini's notes. And I use the word "pointer" here because, in my experience, that's the best way to think about poetry—to "point out" to each other the many doorways and paths that open up from excellent poetry.
So, I will end this review with a simple list of the 16 as a way to entice more of you from Goodreads to consider ordering a copy of this marvelous little book. Consider this list of 16 as a "calling"—a calling from your own memories of lines you may once have loved—and perhaps do to this day:
Storm Fear
Mowing
Reluctance
Mending Wall
After Apple-Picking
The Wood-Pile
The Road Not Taken
Hyla Brook
Birches
Putting in the Seed
'Out, Out—'
The Sound of Trees
Fire and Ice
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evenign
Design
Directive
October 15, 2024
Frost's poetry is always five stars but the commentary on the poems was just ok. I did like the notes on The Road Not Taken as it added good historical insight.
March 7, 2024
One of my New Year's resolutions for 2024 was to read more poetry. When I was young, I had an aversion to poetry. I remember reading the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and skipping over the verses recited by elves and others in these books. Over time I enjoyed reading song lyrics and a smattering of poetry. Last year when reading Thoreau I started reading the poems included in his longer works. That led me to the resolution above and this collection of 16 Robert Frost poems celebrating the poet's 150th birthday.
Similar to Thoreau, many of Frost's poems in this collection are inspired by the farms and woods of New England. "After Apple-Picking", "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" hearken back to high school English classes. The editor of this collection, Middlebury author and academic Jay Parini, is an excellent guide through these poems. His commentaries dig deep into Frost's rhythms and language and how each poem relates to Frost's life experiences and surroundings.
The poetry is excellent and Parini is an wise, knowledgeable guide. I'll leave this book on an easily accessible shelf for re-reading and someday I may commit one or two of Frost's poems to memory.
Similar to Thoreau, many of Frost's poems in this collection are inspired by the farms and woods of New England. "After Apple-Picking", "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" hearken back to high school English classes. The editor of this collection, Middlebury author and academic Jay Parini, is an excellent guide through these poems. His commentaries dig deep into Frost's rhythms and language and how each poem relates to Frost's life experiences and surroundings.
The poetry is excellent and Parini is an wise, knowledgeable guide. I'll leave this book on an easily accessible shelf for re-reading and someday I may commit one or two of Frost's poems to memory.
June 1, 2024
I have always wanted to memorize poems dear to my heart to call forth when I need to soothe myself with beautiful words and images. I've never been especially good at recalling poems line by line, but I always remember how I felt when I read, re-read, and fell in love with a poem. One of my forever favorites is Frost's "Birches." The lines comparing birch trees to "girls on hands and knees that throw their hair Before them over their heads to dry in the sun" has stayed with me since I first read it almost 50 years ago. This collection, gathered and annotated by scholar Jay Parini, includes several of Frost's poems I know and a few new to me. Parini offers advice for how to memorize poems and why we should give it a try. He is the author of a well-regarded 1999 biography of the poet entitled Robert Frost: A Life. It's easy to think of Frost as the simple New England farmer spinning hearty American poetry, but Parini reminds us that Frost's poetry is often "lovely, dark and deep," just like his Snowy Woods. I borrowed a copy from the library, but this is such a beautiful volume, I plan to add a copy to my personal library. And I am patiently working my way through memorization of a few my favorite Frost verses.
July 7, 2024
Library of America is a treasure. I wish I had more time or bandwidth to look closer at the underrated dark and deep poems of Robert Frost. This little book helped.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews