Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, named after Robert E. Lee, family from New England. At the age of 12, he moved to Salem, NH when his father died. He graduated as class poet, co-valedictorian with a girl who became his wife. Took a job at Dartmouth, Harvard, farming background and continue it throughout his life, owned several farms in NH and VT. One of his farms is a museum called Stone House. Moved to England and published poetry and then was able to come back to the US and become recognized in the US. He had 4 Pulitzer prizes. He first book is A Boys Will which is a collection of poems and he wrote several collections of poetry. He carefully chose words, patterns, and rhyming to communicate deeper meaning. Yet, his poems are easy to read and he was appreciated by the common american.
A Prayer in Spring (one chapter from A Boys Will)
This poem is written in iambic pentameter. We see appreciation in flowers, spring, bees, trees, and birds. In the last stanza, he turns the focus to love and God. We considered what “sanctify” means, which is to set apart or declare as holy. It seems that Frost’s prayer is that we would see the creation as holy without focusing on what it can do for us, as in a harvest.
Mending Wall
The poem is more about relationships than walls. Why do we build a wall when we are only growing trees and not animals to pen? Frosts questions why we need a wall and the neighbor is content to rely on his fathers saying “Good fences make good neighbors.”
Nothing Gold Can Stay (part of New Hampshire which was his first Pulitzer prize)
This was written around the time of WWII and the thought of a socialist utopia. The beginning eludes to the garden of eden which is later referenced specifically. The element gold is permanent, doesn’t oxidize. Yet, the irony in the poem highlights the fleeting nature of gold. The gold in sunrise disappears quickly ushering in the day.
The Dedication
Frost wrote this for Kennedy’s inauguration, which was a cold, bright, snowy day. He couldn’t see well in the brightness, so switched to reciting “The Gift Outright” by memory.
The Gift Outright
Frost considers this his Star Spangled Banner.
Carl Sandburg: 1878-1967 Born in Illinois. He left school at age 13, delivered milk, porter at barber shop, bricklayer, farmer, coal heaver, and a writer for the Chicago Daily News. He won three Pulitzer prizes, one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln, which became a play and he won a Grammy for his performance in this.
Chicago
This poem became an iconic poem for Chicago and the country and put Sandburg on the map. The second section seems like most cities, yet he declares Chicago is “a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities.” It stands apart in strength and determination, and the men are proud of their work. Compare and contrast with
Skyscraper
We don’t see just a building, but the people who worked to build it and the people who then work there. The building takes on the life of the people. It represents the dreams and hopes of the people. He is the poet of the American people.
Sandburg’s perspectives on Christianity is spoken in “To A Contemporary Bunk Shooter”.
William Carlos Williams: 1883-1867 Family interested in theater and literature.
Science and math, then at the end of HS he became interested in language. Went to University of Penn, grew up in Rutherford,NJ and lived there after college. He became friend with a group of artists. He was a doctor for as long as his health allowed. He delivered 2000 babies and most patients didn’t know of his poems. He wrote at the same time as T.S. Elliot and Ezra Pound. The publication of “The Wasteland”, which was more in the style of European poetry filled with literary illusions. Williams was hoping to move poetry in different direction, so he considered this a set back. His friendship with Ezra Pound helped him to keep a broader perspective, but wrote about things he experienced, He wanted to use American idioms and used a varying foot. He mentored young poets in the beat generation, especially Ginsberg. He finally won a Pulitzer after he died. He was part of starting imagism which sought clarity of expression through the use of precise images. He also uses enjambment, breaking the words in a different place to make you think of the word differently. He paints a clear picture, but leaves you to wonder about the rest.
This is Just to Say
This sounds like a note left to his wife, rather than a poem. Yet, each word was chosen to paint a picture.
The Red Wheelbarrow
A clear picture is painted through words. The imagism is powerful, yet the meaning is very open to interpretation. It is well known. He wanted his poems to be understood and accessible to the people.
Spring and All
We see signs of spring on the way to the contagious hospital. New life and rebirth are see in a barren land. Is this hope for those in a hospital?
To Waken An Old Lady
too tired to come up with much…