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Robert Frost was born in San Fransisco in 1874. During his life, as well as writing poetry, he also lived as a farmer. In his free time, he studied the major poets and scripture in order to improve and perfect his writing.
In 1912, he moved to England with his family. When the First World War broke out, he returned to America and wrote his next book of poetry, “Mountain Interval”, which includes some of his poems which you will study.
In 1917, he became Professor of English at Amherst, Massachusetts. Three years later, in 1920, he moved to Vermont to apple farm and to write. During his life, he won the Pulitzer Prize four times.
 
His personal life was very difficult. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis and his mother of cancer when he was 26. His sister was placed in a mental asylum, his three daughters suffered from varying degrees of mental illness, another died three days after her birth and one of his sons committed suicide in 1940. So, you won’t be surprised to hear that a lot of his poetry has themes of isolation, lonliness and death in it!

The Tuft Of Flowers

The speaker goes to talk to the man who has cut the grass in his garden. But the man is gone!
The speaker now feels very lonely. But then he notices that the man didn’t cut down some flowers. He realises that the man thinks just like he does. He left them becuase they were beautiful. So he doesn’t feel lonely any more.
Men work together,…. whether they work together or apart.

The Road Not Taken
This poem is about two things at the same time. First, on one level it is about a speaker who is walking in the woods. He comes to a fork in the road and decides which way he will go.
At the same time, this poem is also about the choices people make in their lives and the impact those choices have.
I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

Mending Wall
This is all about two farmers who have their farms right beside each other. The farmer who is speaking grows apple trees while the other grows pine trees. They meet up to mend the wall between their two farms. The speaker wonders why they bother having a wall at all. He thinks that they don’t need it but his neighbour insists that they do.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.
Good fences make good neighbours.

After Apple Picking
The speaker is exhausted from harvesting apples. He is telling us how tired he is from the work as he is about to fall asleep.
I am done with apple picking now.
Birches
The speaker talks about how the branches on Birch treees are bent by the weather. The speaker would prefer to think they bend because of a boy who, swinging from them and climbing them, makes the branches bend as they do. He goes on to say that he used to climb Birch trees and he’d like to do it again. He even says that he’d like to die climbing one!
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.

“Out, Out -”
A neighbour of the poet died in 1910 as a result of an accident with a buzz saw. He was just a child! Raymond Fitzgerald was helping his family to cut wood when his hand was accidentally cut off. He died very quickly from heart failure brought on by the shock. The poem was inspired by this tragedy.
 
Spring Pools
Set at the beginning of spring, this poem is about the small pools of water that form in the forest when snow melts. The pools won’t be there for long though! The plats around them will use the water to grow!
 
Acquainted With The Night
This is a poem all about lonliness, about the speaker’s experiences of going out walking at night time on his own.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
Design:
The speaker sees a spider about to eat a moth it has trapped. He wonders why these things happen.
 
Provide, Provide
This poem says that you must make plans for your old age. You must gather as much money as you can so that when you are old and weak, you can be safe and comfortable.
Too many fall from great and good,
For you to doubt the likelihood.