Robert Frost, a renowned poet in the United States, died in the year 1963 due to health-related issues. Frost was born to Isabelle Moodie and William Prescott FrostJr in 1874 in San Francisco, California. He had three younger sisters. He attended his first school in Lawrence, Massachusetts and wrote his first narrative poem at the age of 16. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1892 and attended Dartmouth College, but he couldn’t handle the course and dropped out after attending it for merely a few months. After dropping out, he started doing odd jobs and enrolled at Harvard College, but couldn’t bear financial expenses and dropped out after a semester.
In 1895, Frost moved to the saloons, farmland and factories of industrial England and was regarded as skeptical, practical and realistic. He wrote, “I’d find relief any place Where I could let my trouble cease a space.” Frost had tried to settle for a life of itinerant manual labor when a wealthy high school teacher, Tom Hurd, gave Frost $500 to buy a Chicken farm in Derry, New Hampshire.
Frost made Derry his home for the rest of his life. He had a successful career for the remaining of his life, publishing several poems and winning numerous awards including 4 Pulitzer prizes. In spite of his success, he suffered from depression, from which he could only relieve himself through drinking. He grew tired and could no longer handle the depression and excessive drinking. At the age of 88, Frost died due to uncontrolled health issues, possibly caused due to depression and excessive drinking.
Career Achievements
Frost quickly emerged as an autonomous figure in American literature. Frost’s poems are remarkable for their philosophical depth and formal range. Frost wrote predominantly in traditional forms like sonnets, ballads, lyrics and blank verse. His best-known works include ‘Mending Wall’, ‘The Road Not Taken’, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and ‘The Gift Outright’.
Frost was quite successful in his career, publishing a total of 11 poetry volumes and winning several awards throughout his lifetime. He won four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his poetry. Frost was also bestowed with an honorary degree of doctor of letters by several universities, notably Harvard and Oxford.
Apart from his success in literature, Frost also had success in lecturing and teaching. He was an educated and prominent lecturer, wholly committed to the new notion of poetry as a spoken art. He had taught English at the University of Michigan two summers in 1921 and 1923. Frost had also been a professor of English at the University of Amherst from 1926 to 1938.
Family Struggles
Frost’s family life wasn’t successful throughout his life. When Frost was 11, his father passed away due to tuberculosis. His father’s death had a deep and lasting effect on Frost, he became extremely disheartened and depressed. His mother was left with five children and limited finances, barely able enough to take care of the children.
Frost later married his high school sweetheart, Elinor White, in 1895 and the couple had six children. However, the marriage was very troubled due to lots of conflicts. The couple started living separately, although they never divorced. Even after separating, both the partners never stopped loving each other and they very often exchanged letters and visited each other, trying to make the relationship work.
Frost, who was always known to be a sensitive and social person, was left extremely lonely and depressed due to his family struggles. Frost wrote several poems reflecting his sadness such as, “The Secret Sits In The Dark Of The Cold Cold Past”, “Never Again Would Birds’ Song Be the Same” and “Out, Out”, describing his tumultuous family life.
Death
Frost died on January 29, 1963, due to a form of heart disease, hypertension and edema, at the age of 88. He died in his home in Boston, Massachusetts. He was buried 3 days later in Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. A memorial service for Frost was held at the Poetry center at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
The death of Frost was mourned by many, including President John F. Kennedy, who had invited the poet to read at his Presidential inauguration in 1961. Many newspapers carried his obituary and memorials were held in several cities across the country. He was lauded nationwide in editorials and commemorative articles by his peers and by scholars.
Legacy
Frost’s death marked an end to one of the most prolific and celebrated poets in American history. Frost’s poems have inspired and comforted many over the world and remain a spark in the ongoing love for literature. According to famous poet, W. H. Auden, “Frost is beyond question the major poet of our time, both the most individual, the most severe in judgment, and the kindest in feeling”.
Throughout his lifetime, Frost wrote over 1800 poems, which were collected in 11 volumes of poetry. His posthumous works include ‘In the Clearing’ and ‘An Education by Poetry’. The Poet Laureate of Vermont, Chard deNiord, and former Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote to Frost, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. State universities, such as University of Vermont, held special lectures and readings in Frost’s honor.
Popular Acclaim
Frost’s poems are widely read and enjoyed by people all around the world. He was used as an example of a great American poet in many literature classes. He is quite popular among the readers, especially the youth, and his collection of works have been republished by several publications and his poems have been used by many authors as slogans and titles for their books and poems.
Frost’s popularity is highly visible even today. His works continue to inspire readers across the world, mostly in a nostalgic and romantic way. People enjoy his works for his strong individualism, educated curiousness and down-to-Earth wit. Frost was also mentioned several times in television series such as ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Seinfeld’, ‘The Office’ and ‘Spiderman’.
Tributes and Memorials
Frost has been memorialized in several ways since his death. The Robert Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968, and the road to his farm is named the Robert Frost Trail. Several countries have also issued stamps to pay their tribute to Frost, including Canada, Hungary, India, U.S., Argentina, Venezuela and several others. Several prominent cities such as Tokyo, St. Petersburg, California, Alaska, Boston and London have also honored Frost by naming a place after him.
In addition to these, several awards, institutes, collections and conferences have been established in memory of Robert Frost, in his honor. He has been remembered and cherished in several ways, as a token of respect and appreciation of his service to the poetry world and to literature.
