The Cambridge introduction to Robert Frost PDF
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This page intentionally left blank P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 TheCambridgeIntroductionto Robert Frost RobertFrostisoneofthemostpopularofAmericanpoetsandremains widelyread.Hisworkisdeceptivelysimple,butrevealsitscomplexities uponclosereading.ThisIntroductionprovidesacomprehensivebut intensivelookathisremarkableoeuvre.Thepoetryisdiscussedindetail inrelationtoancientandmoderntraditionsaswellastoFrost’s particularinterestsinlanguageandsound,metaphor,science,religion, andpolitics.Faggenlooksbacktotheliterarytraditionsthatshape Frost’suseofformandlanguage,andforwardtoexaminehisinfluence onpoetswritingtoday.TherecentcontroversiesinFrostcriticismandin particularinFrostbiographyarebroughtintosharpfocusastheyhave shapedthepoet’slegacyandlegend.Themostaccessibleoverview available,thisbookwillbeinvaluabletostudents,readers,andadmirers ofFrost. RobertFaggenisBartonEvansandH.AndreaNevesProfessorof LiteratureatClaremontMcKennaCollege. P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 The Cambridge Introduction to Robert Frost ROBERT FAGGEN CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521854115 © Robert Faggen 2008 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2008 ISBN-13 978-0-511-42901-9 eBook (EBL) ISBN-13 978-0-521-85411-5 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-67006-7 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 Contents Preface page vii Acknowledgments viii Listofabbreviations ix 1 Life 1 2 Contexts 13 3 Works 25 Frost’spoetics 25 Thesoundofsense 26 Poetryandmetaphor 36 Pastoral 49 “Menworktogether” 64 Laborandbeauty 83 Women,nature,andhome 92 Thedialogueofhome 98 Frostandthepoetryofnature 109 Frostandbelieving-in 133 Journeysintomatter 136 Sacrifice 149 Beliefandtruth 154 Justice,mercy,andpassionatepreference 158 4 Reception 162 1920s–1940s 165 1947–1963 167 Frostandthepostmodern 173 Notes 175 Guidetofurtherreading 179 Index 185 v P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 Preface Robert Frost became an American sage. His public popularity as well as the approachabilityandrenownofafewofhisjustlybrilliantlyrics–“TheRoad NotTaken,”“FireandIce,”“StoppingbyWoodsonaSnowyEvening”–have obscuredtheimmenserangeofhisachievementandsubtletyasanartistand his complexity as a thinker. This was partly Frost’s own doing as he enjoyed theevasionsstrangelymadepossiblebythegreatfameinhislateryearsthat hadeludedhiminhisearlydecades.Atfirstashyperformer,Frostbecamea charmingreaderofhisownwork.Thesoundofapoemwassoimportantto himthatheinsistedon“saying”apoem,never“reading”it.Eachperformance couldbecomeaslightlynewinterpretation.Hewasalsoamasterfultalker,and hecultivatedabrilliantwayofsoundingoff-handedwhilebeingincisiveand profound. For many, Frost the figure of the genial farmer-poet and prophet ofAmericanindividualismbecameoneofthegreatactsofAmericanliterary culture;therealFrostwasafarmoreelusiveshapeshifterandtrickster,alearned and trenchant intellect with a sometimes terrifyingly bleak vision of human existence. ThisIntroductionwillfocusonFrost’smajorpoetry,fromhisearliestlyricsto thecomplexdramaticnarrativesrarelydiscussedbutwhicharepartofhismost importantwork.Frost’sideasaboutprosodyandmetaphorwillbeconsidered intermsofboththepoemsthemselvesandhowtheydevelopedinrelationto some of the thinking of his contemporaries. His major thematic concerns – labor,democracy,home,nature,andbelief–willbeconsideredinthecontext ofancientpoetictraditionssuchasthepastoral,andmodernintellectualand politicalquestionssuchasscience,immigration,andtheNewDeal. TheFrostthatisstilltobediscoveredisaconsummatecraftsmanandmaker ofsomeofthemostpsychologicallyengagingandartisticallybeguilingpoetry ofhisoranytime. vii P1:FYX/FGC P2:FYX 9780521854115agg.xml 9780521854115 CUUK235-Faggen July21,2008 14:8 Acknowledgments Foryearsofongoingfruitfuldiscussionandcollaboration,IamgratefultoMark Richardson, Don Sheehy, Lisa Seale, Jonathan Barron, Tim Steele, and Paul Muldoon.ThefellowshipandkindnessofJohnLancaster,JackHagstrom,John Ridland,PhilipCronenwett,LesleyFrancis,PeterGilbert,andEdwardLathem havebeeninvaluable.ConnieBartlingandTimGeaghanwereofgreathelpin completing this project. I am particularly indebted to Barton Evans, Andrea Neves,PerryLerner,andClaremontMcKennaCollegefortheirappreciation andsupport. TheauthorgratefullyacknowledgestheEstateofRobertLeeFrostforpermis- siontoquotefromFrost’spoetryandprose. viii
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