POETRY CONTEXT Flashcards
What did Frost say this first collection of poems was?
“pretty much near being the story of five years”
When did Frost’s father die and what of?
when Frost was 11 and of tuberculosis
When was INTO MY OWN published and what collection?
1913, A Boy’s Will
When and where was Frost born?
26th of March 1874, San Francisco
What poem is BIRCHES inspired by?
‘Swinging on a Birch Tree’ by Lucy Larcom
What did Frost learn to do as a child in relation to BIRCHES?
His friend (Charlie Peabody) in 1886 taught him how to swing on birch trees, and Frost then went onto teach his own children how to do it
What was OUT,OUT- inspired by?
a real life incident that happened in 1910, which was the death of a boy in New Hampshire, who died when he was cutting wood as the saw fell onto his hand, soon going into shock and dying of heart failure.
What did Frost refuse to do with his poem OUT, OUT-?
read it aloud
What collection got Frost his first prize?
New Hampshire, 1923
What was Frost criticised for?
Writing simplistic poetry about mundane life
What did Frost write in his notebook in relation to art?
“Art is the last of your childhood and may be followed somewhat irresponsibly.”
What may have inspired Frost to write GOING FOR WATER?
His 4 children, and watching them grow up on the farm
What did the critic John Robert Doyle Jr. call Frost’s poem GOING FOR WATER?
“A poem of almost inaudible young love.”
What is the title of his first collection, “A Boy’s Will” inspired by?
A poem called “lost youth” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What can the poem MENDING WALL be seen as a reflection of?
Humanity’s impulse to build barriers- remembering WW1 1914
What age was Frost when he wrote AFTER APPLE PICKING?
39 years old, 1913.
What was happening with the elements of meter and rhyme during the period AFTER APPLE PICKING was written in?
It was becoming a lot more experimental
What does Frost say about his writing of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN?
“The poem came less from me than from him.”
What is Frost’s meaning of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN?
It was a way to poke fun at his friend Edward Thomas who was always indecisive when they went on walks
Why did Frost write his poem FOR ONCE, THEN, SOMETHING?
He allegedly wrote this poem in response to the criticism that his poetry was “all shine and no depth.”
What is the allusion of the Greek philosopher Democritus that is stated in FOR ONCE, THEN, SOMETHING?
“Of truth we know nothing for truth lies at the bottom of a well.”
