Frost: One of the Greats

Another spring poem that is seldom anthologized is called "Putting in the Seed." What do you notice about this poem's structure? Right! It's a sonnet. Is it an English or Italian sonnet? Or is it an innovative sonnet? A useful paper could incorporate a discussion about the sonnet form of this poem. Of course, the subject of the poem is intriguing, because with thoughts of spring come thoughts of birth and rebirth. The last two lines, "The sturdy seedling with arched body comes / Shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs," might be compared to the birth of a human "seedling." This poem is rich; see what else you can find there.

Other spring poems include "Spring Pools," and "Nothing Gold Can Stay" gives a nod to spring: "Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf's a flower; / But only so an hour." And of course, the purpose for beginning with spring in "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is to make the statement that spring won't be around long.

Then comes summer with "The Oven Bird," which is an innovative sonnet, resembling the English and Italian forms but also varying its structure somewhat. A useful essay can result from focusing a discussion on the sonnet form and how it enhances the meaning of the bird's sounds.

Then there's "A Tuft of Flowers" with its meditative scene in which the speaker refers to another worker. Is that other worker really another person or could the speaker be referring to God?

Other summer poems include "Rose Pogonias," "Mowing," and "Blueberries," which features a conversation as many Frost poems do. When poems feature more than one character, the opportunity for character analysis results.

Frost's "Reluctance" is a rich poem that refers to seasons in a telling way as he compares human feelings about seasons and feelings about love.

Of course, Robert Frost wrote about much more than seasons, and even the poems whose setting we can identify with a season does much more than celebrate the season. His poems always examine the human heart; they try to identify what's happening to us as we live. Frost poems are accessible but challenging at times. But we can always trust him; we never feel that he is hiding behind a mass of unrelated words as is often the case with poets of the modern era. There are a few poets including Shakespeare, Longfellow,

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