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Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry
Braiding together biography and criticism, Adam Plunkett challenges our understanding of Robert Frost’s life and poetic legacy in a pathbreaking new work.
By the middle of the twentieth century, Robert Frost was the best-loved poet in America. He was our nation’s bard, simple and sincere, accompanying us on wooded roads and articulating our hopes and fears. After Frost’s death, these cliches gave way to equally broad (though opposed) portraits sketched by his biographers, chief among them Lawrance Thompson. When the critic Helen Vender reviewed Thompson’s biography, she asked
whether anyone could avoid the conclusion that Frost was a “monster.”
In Love and The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry, Adam Plunkett blends biography and criticism to find the truth of Frost’s life—one that lies between the two poles of perception. Plunkett reveals a new Frost through a careful look at the poems and people he knew best, showing how the stories of his most important relationships,
heretofore partly told, mirror dominant themes of Frost’s enduring withholding and disclosure, privacy and intimacy. Not least of these relationships is the fraught, intense friendship between Frost and Thompson, the major biographer whose record of Frost Plunkett seeks to set straight.
Moving through Frost’s most important work and closest relationships with the attention to detail necessary to see familiar things anew, Plunkett offers an original interpretation of Frost’s poetry, tracing Frost’s distinctive achievement to an engagement with poetic tradition far deeper and more extensive than he ever let
on. Frost invited his readers into a conversation like the one he sustained with his literary forebears, intimate and profound, yet Frost kept his private self at a remove. Here, Plunkett brings the two together—the poet and the poetry—and draws us back into conversation with America’s poet.
By the middle of the twentieth century, Robert Frost was the best-loved poet in America. He was our nation’s bard, simple and sincere, accompanying us on wooded roads and articulating our hopes and fears. After Frost’s death, these cliches gave way to equally broad (though opposed) portraits sketched by his biographers, chief among them Lawrance Thompson. When the critic Helen Vender reviewed Thompson’s biography, she asked
whether anyone could avoid the conclusion that Frost was a “monster.”
In Love and The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry, Adam Plunkett blends biography and criticism to find the truth of Frost’s life—one that lies between the two poles of perception. Plunkett reveals a new Frost through a careful look at the poems and people he knew best, showing how the stories of his most important relationships,
heretofore partly told, mirror dominant themes of Frost’s enduring withholding and disclosure, privacy and intimacy. Not least of these relationships is the fraught, intense friendship between Frost and Thompson, the major biographer whose record of Frost Plunkett seeks to set straight.
Moving through Frost’s most important work and closest relationships with the attention to detail necessary to see familiar things anew, Plunkett offers an original interpretation of Frost’s poetry, tracing Frost’s distinctive achievement to an engagement with poetic tradition far deeper and more extensive than he ever let
on. Frost invited his readers into a conversation like the one he sustained with his literary forebears, intimate and profound, yet Frost kept his private self at a remove. Here, Plunkett brings the two together—the poet and the poetry—and draws us back into conversation with America’s poet.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 14, 2025
There is much to like about this book, yet at the same time, one realizes this is yet another person interpreting the opinions of a bunch of other people to form an opinion himself that, like all the others, is smugly confident he has the definitive one of Robert Frost.
I felt it also bogged down and was just as catty as all of the other books on Frost about did he or didn’t he actually have a physical relationship with his secretary AFTER his wife died. Yawn.
All the poets are presented as insecure and petty and duplicitous and fame-focused. All of the parasites, including the literary critics and wannabe and eventual biographers are despicably needy. The whole group seemed too worried about who was Frost’s closest friend, who knew him best. Frost became a minor character in the last third of the book as the author focused on those around the poet and their interactions with each other and their “true” feelings about Frost.
The author’s emphasis on the cattiness and drama of the entire group over decades might be a writing style appropriate for a current culture infatuated with “real life” personality driven tv dramas, but given the book increasingly went there, I found myself forgetting at times that I had enjoyed some of the actual poetry criticism and analysis in the first half.
Also this was another lazy book without reference numbers within the text for end notes. I ding a star for that because, in my opinion, it allows too much latitude for the author to blend their thoughts and opinions into the actual record, and Plunkett offered plenty of that opportunity for potential obfuscation. But I am not a scholar and there weren’t endnote numbers so I really can’t say.
I felt it also bogged down and was just as catty as all of the other books on Frost about did he or didn’t he actually have a physical relationship with his secretary AFTER his wife died. Yawn.
All the poets are presented as insecure and petty and duplicitous and fame-focused. All of the parasites, including the literary critics and wannabe and eventual biographers are despicably needy. The whole group seemed too worried about who was Frost’s closest friend, who knew him best. Frost became a minor character in the last third of the book as the author focused on those around the poet and their interactions with each other and their “true” feelings about Frost.
The author’s emphasis on the cattiness and drama of the entire group over decades might be a writing style appropriate for a current culture infatuated with “real life” personality driven tv dramas, but given the book increasingly went there, I found myself forgetting at times that I had enjoyed some of the actual poetry criticism and analysis in the first half.
Also this was another lazy book without reference numbers within the text for end notes. I ding a star for that because, in my opinion, it allows too much latitude for the author to blend their thoughts and opinions into the actual record, and Plunkett offered plenty of that opportunity for potential obfuscation. But I am not a scholar and there weren’t endnote numbers so I really can’t say.
April 9, 2025
Plunkett's text is a fine corrective to the stubborn belief that Frost was a great poet but a monstrous human being. A great poet, yes, but also a complex and contradictory person with all too human flaws.
June 13, 2025
My Goodreads friends and followers know that I primarily, very much primarily, read serious nonfiction. But, in addition to some novels, novellas, etc., I also read poetry — and write it.
Frost is not at, or near, the top of my list. But, as a modern American poet with a long shadow, and not knowing a lot about Frost's biography, I figured I would give this a go. (After a discussion with a friend a number of years ago, I put together my thoughts on "Mending Wall.")
And, pages 18-19 are why many well-read people like me scoff at literary critics, whether MFAs or not (I don't know if Plunkett has that degree).
Talking about "The Freedom of the Moon," he claims that there's Jesus nativity symbolism there. No, really.
Tosh. First and above all, there's no manager in Matthew. Second, the moon isn't mentioned in either birth narrative. Third, if you're going to pull that level of "reading in" what's going to stop you from adding anything you think, anywhere? Tis true, per my link, that Frost encouraged a degree of reader-response criticism, but this is ridiculous.
But, he doesn't stop there.
Plunkett then claims the second stanza is an allusion to Jesus' baptism. He says its "crooked trees" are an allusion to the Baptizer talking about the people of Israel, per Matthew quoting Isaiah, and that Frost's image of dropping the moon in the water to see "The color run, all sorts of wonder follow" is about Jesus' actual baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
More tosh and after Plunkett continued in that vein for 2-3 more pages, at that point I closed the book.
I'll give it a gentleman's two stars, but may come back to 1-star it after all. Nah, I'll beat the rush and do it now. Because, with "reader response" (from biblical criticism) interpretations like this (I googled the poem and found 3-4 sites with interpretations and none listed this) you'll shove in anything, and therefore your ideas of the "Life" of the poems will themselves be skewed.
I mean, beyond a "straight" reading, it's clear that this is about more than just nature, but about human attempts to control nature, and what might be called proto-environmentalism. See this critique. But, a more subtle version of "The Coming of the Magi" this poem is NOT.
And, that is important per the backstory of Plunkett's misinterpretation. It's within the context of him talking about a young Lawrance Thompson, later Frost's original biographer, presenting a poem to him that Washington had written when Frost was a guest speaker at Wesleyan University. The poem, "Delusion," is about childhood believe in an imaginary Santa Claus and the irony of parental forms of misbelief.
The bond and "hook" developed out of Thompson's presentation of his poem is strong enough without misinterpreting "The Freedom of the Moon" and trying to create a false hook.
Frost is not at, or near, the top of my list. But, as a modern American poet with a long shadow, and not knowing a lot about Frost's biography, I figured I would give this a go. (After a discussion with a friend a number of years ago, I put together my thoughts on "Mending Wall.")
And, pages 18-19 are why many well-read people like me scoff at literary critics, whether MFAs or not (I don't know if Plunkett has that degree).
Talking about "The Freedom of the Moon," he claims that there's Jesus nativity symbolism there. No, really.
Images of the Nativity cluster around the "hazy tree-and-farmhouse cluster" — the tree and farmhouse like the manger in which Jesus was born, the haze like the magi's gifts of frankincense and myrrh, the jewel like those of the bejeweled magi. The speaker sees the new moon with a star in one instance, without in another, just as a star appears over a manger as a sign of the Nativity in the Gospel of Matthew but not in the Gospel of Luke. (It was Frost's wont to allude to theological disputes.)
Tosh. First and above all, there's no manager in Matthew. Second, the moon isn't mentioned in either birth narrative. Third, if you're going to pull that level of "reading in" what's going to stop you from adding anything you think, anywhere? Tis true, per my link, that Frost encouraged a degree of reader-response criticism, but this is ridiculous.
But, he doesn't stop there.
Plunkett then claims the second stanza is an allusion to Jesus' baptism. He says its "crooked trees" are an allusion to the Baptizer talking about the people of Israel, per Matthew quoting Isaiah, and that Frost's image of dropping the moon in the water to see "The color run, all sorts of wonder follow" is about Jesus' actual baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
More tosh and after Plunkett continued in that vein for 2-3 more pages, at that point I closed the book.
I'll give it a gentleman's two stars, but may come back to 1-star it after all. Nah, I'll beat the rush and do it now. Because, with "reader response" (from biblical criticism) interpretations like this (I googled the poem and found 3-4 sites with interpretations and none listed this) you'll shove in anything, and therefore your ideas of the "Life" of the poems will themselves be skewed.
I mean, beyond a "straight" reading, it's clear that this is about more than just nature, but about human attempts to control nature, and what might be called proto-environmentalism. See this critique. But, a more subtle version of "The Coming of the Magi" this poem is NOT.
And, that is important per the backstory of Plunkett's misinterpretation. It's within the context of him talking about a young Lawrance Thompson, later Frost's original biographer, presenting a poem to him that Washington had written when Frost was a guest speaker at Wesleyan University. The poem, "Delusion," is about childhood believe in an imaginary Santa Claus and the irony of parental forms of misbelief.
The bond and "hook" developed out of Thompson's presentation of his poem is strong enough without misinterpreting "The Freedom of the Moon" and trying to create a false hook.
April 6, 2025
Plunkett juga menghubungkan pemikiran Frost dengan esai Emerson “The Poet”, yang menyatakan bahwa “fakta-fakta dunia memiliki makna berlipat ganda.” Puisi-puisi Frost menelusuri keragaman makna ini, dengan mengundang pembaca untuk melihat fakta-fakta dunia sebagai pengalaman yang juga bersifat spiritual dan estetik.
Dengan demikian, bab ini mengangkat Frost bukan hanya sebagai penyair Amerika yang menggambarkan alam, tapi sebagai pemikir besar yang mencoba mendamaikan observasi realistis dengan kerinduan manusia untuk menemukan makna.
Penutup bab mengangkat pertanyaan menarik: mengapa Frost menyembunyikan bahwa buku puisinya adalah buku tentang duka? Jawabannya, menurut Plunkett, adalah karena Frost menyadari bahwa puisi terbaik tentang kehilangan tidak perlu mengucapkannya secara eksplisit—cukup dengan membuat pembaca merasakannya.
ecara keseluruhan, bab ini mengungkapkan bahwa “The Road Not Taken” bukan tentang membuat pilihan besar, tetapi tentang bagaimana kita membentuk dan mengingat pilihan itu, dan bagaimana kita hidup dengan cerita yang kita bangun tentang diri kita sendiri.
Frost meminjam gagasan ini, tetapi dengan twist yang lebih personal dan filosofis—ia menyebut hubungan tersebut sebagai “a relation of elected friends,” yakni pertemanan yang dipilih, seolah disahkan oleh kekuatan ilahi.
Melalui puisinya, ia lebih memilih menunjukkan bahwa mereka saling menjadi penuntun, tanpa dominasi, seperti dua bintang yang berputar dalam orbit yang sama.
Kalimat ini menyatakan bahwa terlalu sadar akan batas antara manusia dan alam bisa menjadikan seseorang tidak lagi mampu “merasakan” atau memasuki alam dengan kehadiran penuh—kecuali dalam mimpi
Frost percaya bahwa agama, cinta, sastra, dan pertemanan adalah hal-hal yang tak bisa direduksi menjadi ilmu pasti. Dan justru dalam ketidakpastian itulah letak keindahan dan kebenaran yang lebih tinggi.
Dengan demikian, bab ini mengangkat Frost bukan hanya sebagai penyair Amerika yang menggambarkan alam, tapi sebagai pemikir besar yang mencoba mendamaikan observasi realistis dengan kerinduan manusia untuk menemukan makna.
Penutup bab mengangkat pertanyaan menarik: mengapa Frost menyembunyikan bahwa buku puisinya adalah buku tentang duka? Jawabannya, menurut Plunkett, adalah karena Frost menyadari bahwa puisi terbaik tentang kehilangan tidak perlu mengucapkannya secara eksplisit—cukup dengan membuat pembaca merasakannya.
ecara keseluruhan, bab ini mengungkapkan bahwa “The Road Not Taken” bukan tentang membuat pilihan besar, tetapi tentang bagaimana kita membentuk dan mengingat pilihan itu, dan bagaimana kita hidup dengan cerita yang kita bangun tentang diri kita sendiri.
Frost meminjam gagasan ini, tetapi dengan twist yang lebih personal dan filosofis—ia menyebut hubungan tersebut sebagai “a relation of elected friends,” yakni pertemanan yang dipilih, seolah disahkan oleh kekuatan ilahi.
Melalui puisinya, ia lebih memilih menunjukkan bahwa mereka saling menjadi penuntun, tanpa dominasi, seperti dua bintang yang berputar dalam orbit yang sama.
Kalimat ini menyatakan bahwa terlalu sadar akan batas antara manusia dan alam bisa menjadikan seseorang tidak lagi mampu “merasakan” atau memasuki alam dengan kehadiran penuh—kecuali dalam mimpi
Frost percaya bahwa agama, cinta, sastra, dan pertemanan adalah hal-hal yang tak bisa direduksi menjadi ilmu pasti. Dan justru dalam ketidakpastian itulah letak keindahan dan kebenaran yang lebih tinggi.
September 16, 2025
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know anything about poetry. I do know a lot about Vermont and wanted to read this book to learn more about Frost, as he is revered in Vermont. I also wanted to understand poetry a little bit better. This book accomplishes both of those, although little of the book seems set in Vermont, more in New Hampshire (gasp!). I appreciated the book for creating the setting and context of his life at the time he wrote certain poems and then describing how the poem is related to those events. I found that pretty enlightening and realized that part of my problem is that I simply read poems too quickly.
On the other hand there was a lot of inside baseball on poetry and especially about his primary biographer that was really over my head. While much of a description of the poetry was understandable and helpful, there were also some sentences like this. “Like Frost’s other most famous and most anthologized poem, “The Road Not Taken”, “Stopping by Woods” is a rare combination of naturalness and form. Its lines of almost perfectly regular iambic tetrameter fold into a perfectly regular rhyme scheme of augmented Dantean terza rima like that of a foreshortened canto– yet the dramatic force of the lines is to wear their staging lightly and seem to one’s suspended disbelief spoken in pure spontaneity.” I think that means this is harder than it looks, hence the genius.
Frost doesn't always sound like the nicest man, another feature of the genius artist I guess.
It wouldn't surprise me if this book is on the reading list for many college courses. I read the first half and skimmed through the second. But I enjoyed it, made me appreciate the poetry much more. For unlearned engineer like me, I think that's OK.
On the other hand there was a lot of inside baseball on poetry and especially about his primary biographer that was really over my head. While much of a description of the poetry was understandable and helpful, there were also some sentences like this. “Like Frost’s other most famous and most anthologized poem, “The Road Not Taken”, “Stopping by Woods” is a rare combination of naturalness and form. Its lines of almost perfectly regular iambic tetrameter fold into a perfectly regular rhyme scheme of augmented Dantean terza rima like that of a foreshortened canto– yet the dramatic force of the lines is to wear their staging lightly and seem to one’s suspended disbelief spoken in pure spontaneity.” I think that means this is harder than it looks, hence the genius.
Frost doesn't always sound like the nicest man, another feature of the genius artist I guess.
It wouldn't surprise me if this book is on the reading list for many college courses. I read the first half and skimmed through the second. But I enjoyed it, made me appreciate the poetry much more. For unlearned engineer like me, I think that's OK.
September 1, 2024
The first time I encountered Robert Frost was when I read "The Road Not Taken" in my high school textbook. Since then, I have been a devoted admirer of his work. Although I always wanted to read his biography, I never found the time, and I was concerned that reading about a writer's life might be dull compared to enjoying his poetry. However, this book is a dream come true! For the first time, I have come across such a meticulously drawn perspective on a poet and his craft.
Adam Plunkett has masterfully depicted Frost's narrative, capturing the events that influenced him to create such thought-provoking poems. The author made a commendable effort in his research, ensuring he gathered information from a wide array of sources, resulting in a well-rounded view. It seems he incorporated perspectives from all those who contributed to Robert Frost's development, knitting a narrative that reflects everyone's insights. The author is neither biased in his criticism nor overly generous in his praise of Frost's literary achievements.
Plunkett has employed articulate language and carefully crafted his writing style to resonate with Frost's poetry, making the reader feel a deep connection while reading both. Two of my favorite poems were included, and the accompanying analysis was beautifully done.
I couldn't find any grammatical errors or awkward sentences. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I greatly admire the author's dedication to its creation. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in gaining insights into America's most beloved poet and to those who appreciate Robert Frost's poetry.
Adam Plunkett has masterfully depicted Frost's narrative, capturing the events that influenced him to create such thought-provoking poems. The author made a commendable effort in his research, ensuring he gathered information from a wide array of sources, resulting in a well-rounded view. It seems he incorporated perspectives from all those who contributed to Robert Frost's development, knitting a narrative that reflects everyone's insights. The author is neither biased in his criticism nor overly generous in his praise of Frost's literary achievements.
Plunkett has employed articulate language and carefully crafted his writing style to resonate with Frost's poetry, making the reader feel a deep connection while reading both. Two of my favorite poems were included, and the accompanying analysis was beautifully done.
I couldn't find any grammatical errors or awkward sentences. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I greatly admire the author's dedication to its creation. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in gaining insights into America's most beloved poet and to those who appreciate Robert Frost's poetry.
September 4, 2024
Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost's Poetry offers a nuanced account of the poet's life and work. Adam Plunkett successfully combines a detailed biography of one of America’s greatest poets with literary criticism and analysis attempting to get to the truth of Frost's life. He reveals a new Frost through a careful and detailed look at the poems and people around him, both colleagues, friends and family.
Whether you are a life long fan of Frost or new to his work, this book is a must-read. I had previously only come across his perhaps most famous poem “The Road Not Taken” which I thought mistakenly had been titled “The road less travelled” but knowing more of his life have grown to understand much more of his poetry.
The title “Love and need” is a good one as the book delves deeply into Frost's personal experiences, often reflecting on the pain and grief he experienced after the death and mental illness of family members. His poems explore themes of mortality, the fragility of life, the loss of innocence, and the enduring nature of love, its joys and frustrations.
Love and Need is a scholarly and insightful book which offers a fresh perspective on the poet's work, revealing the complexities of his life and the enduring power of his poetry.
My thanks to the publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the author and Net Galley for providing a complimentary ARC digitally, for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
Whether you are a life long fan of Frost or new to his work, this book is a must-read. I had previously only come across his perhaps most famous poem “The Road Not Taken” which I thought mistakenly had been titled “The road less travelled” but knowing more of his life have grown to understand much more of his poetry.
The title “Love and need” is a good one as the book delves deeply into Frost's personal experiences, often reflecting on the pain and grief he experienced after the death and mental illness of family members. His poems explore themes of mortality, the fragility of life, the loss of innocence, and the enduring nature of love, its joys and frustrations.
Love and Need is a scholarly and insightful book which offers a fresh perspective on the poet's work, revealing the complexities of his life and the enduring power of his poetry.
My thanks to the publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the author and Net Galley for providing a complimentary ARC digitally, for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 19, 2025
The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry by Adam Plunkett is a thoughtful and engaging look at one of America’s most well-known poets. Plunkett does a great job exploring the depth of Frost’s work, making connections between his life and the themes in his poetry. The book is insightful without feeling overly academic, making it easy to enjoy whether you’re a longtime fan or just getting into Frost’s poetry. Plunkett’s passion for the subject really comes through, offering a fresh perspective on why Frost’s work still resonates today. A great read for poetry lovers!
December 29, 2025
I read Love and Need for my Book club in Lisbon. It introduced me to the world and poetry of Robert Frost. İt elucidated clearly how the artist and their art are always in tension and influenced by each other. I was taken by the poetry and read and reread several times. I continue to reread The Silken Tent, Two Tramps for the Mud over and over again.
Frost is a man of a certain era I ponder as to how one with such sensibilities would fair in the 21st century. I whole heartedly recommend Love and Need to anyone who is interested in Poetry or contemplation for that matter.
Frost is a man of a certain era I ponder as to how one with such sensibilities would fair in the 21st century. I whole heartedly recommend Love and Need to anyone who is interested in Poetry or contemplation for that matter.
December 24, 2025
This was a book group choice, one that I probably wouldn't have picked up otherwise. And I read books for enjoyment (which I get from both fiction and non-fiction), but this one didn't work for me. It was boring. The biographical part was interesting, but it kept being interrupted by long assertions as to the meaning of poems, which didn't seem to me to be any more or less likely than other possible meanings.
March 18, 2025
A modern take on a beloved poet. Highly recommend.
March 19, 2025
A masterpiece! Adam Plunkett is a great mind and a true legend.
December 5, 2025
Kinder to Frost than other biographies (Jay Parini, I'm looking at you) and more engaged with the poetry than with the life. Probably the best Frost book that I've read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews