Customer Reviews

The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged (Owl Book)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While other poets must abide our endless questioning regarding contemporary poetry, Robert Frost stands head and shoulders above the rest--free and serene and magnificent, truly the George Washington of modern American verse. Frost was honored with the Pulitzer Prize on four occasions: in 1924 for "New Hampshire;" in 1931, for "Collected Poems;" in 1937 for "A Further Range;" and in 1943 for "A Witness Tree."

Critics love Frost. The American people love Frost. The world at large loves Frost. You will love Frost, too, if you read this book. Begin with one of his most famous--and his most beautiful, "Mending Wall,"

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,/ That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,/ And makes gaps even two can pass abreast...

Never to be forgotten, of course, is that talk with the taciturn neighbor, owner of the pines beyond Frost's apple orchard, who stubbornly says, in typical New England fashion, "Good fences make good neighbors," until one day, Frost suddenly sees him,

Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top/ In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed./ He moves in darkness as it seems to me,/ Not of woods only and the shade of trees./ He will not go behind his father's saying,/ And he lives having thought of it so well/ He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," ends with words anyone of any age can relate to,

But I have promises to keep,/ And miles to go before I sleep./ And miles to go before I sleep.

"The Death of the Hired Man," with its poignancies as deep, no doubt, as the death of any salesman could ever be, inspired these beautiful lines,

Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/ They have to take you in./ I should have called it/ Something you somehow haven't to deserve.

The poems of Robert Frost possess a beauty so serene that we feel no need, no urge, to denigrate the work of other poets in order to expand Frost's praise. Despite the amazing diversity of talent that comes to mind when the names of MacLeish, Leonie Adams, Auden, Peter Viereck, Wallace Stephens, Robert Lowell, E.B. White, Karl Shapiro, Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, Arna Bontemps, Marianne Moore, e e cummings, Allen Tate and T.S. Eliot are mentioned, Frost does, indeed, tower above them all.

Frost has been eloquently compared to every rock and rill, every tree and shrub in his New England hills, and to almost every major figure in the New England past, including George Washingtion. He has won homage so completely and deservedly that it is as easy to think of him as a member of the Concord Group as it is to imagine Thoreau writing the opening paragraphs in the New Yorker's Talk of the Town.

Frost, though, could be cheerfully topical, as when writing "U.S. 1946 King's X,"

Having invented a new Holocaust/ And been the first with it to win a war,/ How they make haste to cry with fingers crossed/ King X's--no fair to use it anymore!

Frost saw much of the world after his birth in San Francisco in 1875, and he looks over the prospects of the entire universe in, "It Bids Pretty Fair,"

The play seems out for an almost infinite run./ Don't mind a little thing like the actors fighting./ The only thing I worry about is the sun./ We'll be all right if nothing goes wrong with the lighting.

Robert Frost is truly an American original and a world genius. There will never be another.

I just recently purchased this collection of poems by Robert Frost and I must say it's incredible. This is the complete collection of his poems and for the price it can't be beat. How can you put a price on the joy and the wonderful feeling of reading Frost anyway? It's impossible.

Contained are the poems in a chronological order from Frost's first book of poetry "A Boy's Will" to his last, "In the Clearing". A total of eleven books and more than three hundred and fifty poems.

Also at the end of the book are sixty pages of bibliographical and textual notes as well as an index of first lines and titles. A quick way to find exactly the poem you're looking for.

Pick this collection up and be moved, it's that simple really. Enjoy

Robert Frost was and is America's greatest poet. Excepting, perhaps, W. B. Yeats, he may be the greatest poet to write English in the twentieth century. (To me, it's a toss-up.) To read this volume systematically or desultorily is to become convinced of that. But Frost is, above all, accessible, so the casual reader may not appreciate the difficulty of what he does. Like much of the greatest art his looks easy, even inevitable.

All of Frost's poems are here, plus his two dramatic Masques. When this book first appeared (in 1969) it caused a furor: the editor, it was angrily asserted, presumed too much. He dared to clarify - inserting a hyphen here, excising a comma there. That furor has since died down, as people realize that he did not do away with the sacred texts (any emendation was noted), but simply performed his job as editor. He regularized spelling and the use of single and double quotes (though not Capitalization, which can legitimately be thought of as integral to the poet's expression (think of e.e. cummings!)), and corrected other obvious errors. The notes give the published variants for each poem, so if you wish you may make your own call on some of these finicky issues.

The paperback and hardcover editions are identical, except for the covers, of course. I would, however, buy the hardcover. After all, you will be reading this book for the rest of your life. It is a beautifully-built volume, of an easy size and heft for use, with understated appealing typefaces and an exemplary design. Put out by Frost's long-time publisher, this is one of the few essential books of American literature.

There are more Robert Frost collections out than there are Robert Frost poems, but this is the only one you need to have. It's complete, unabridged and with numbered lines all the way through for reference work. THE Frost collection, bar none.

Okay, there's no possible excuse now people; for a relatively cheap price, you get the collected poems of quite possibly the best twentieth century American poet. As you peruse through the pages in this book, you will discover yourself looking at the world around you in a totally different way. Frost doesn't just write poetry; he paints word portraits and sculpts language into a fantastic variety of scenery. Pick a poem, any poem, from this collection, and you will not leave disappointed. It will continually brighten your day.

It is a true delight to have the full body of Frost's poetry in one volume! Those who have read and liked poems by Frost should seriously consider investing in this little treasurehouse. For those with a deeper interest in Frost's work and techniques, I highly recommend Mark Richardson's "The Ordeal of Robert Frost."

This book has been my companion for many years. It's wonderful to open randomly and re-find a poem read awhile ago, but also wonderful to read a section at a time or find a bit of Frost that has come to mind or view.

I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys poetry or who would like to spend time getting to know a great American poet. Frost's words are often terse but harken images of the world that we can all share.

After reading the first few poems, I am very glad that I took the time to order this book. It is a collection of many beautiful and intriguing poems that were written by one of the most famous poets of all time. Frost paints a picture of a certain nature scene in each poem that he writes. He displays nature and the earth as beautiful places that are filled with purity and gifts of creation. If you have a great respect and an obsession with nature's great beauty, this anthology of the writings of Robert Frost will give you a deeper meaning and understanding of the world around us. This book will explain what nature really is and how nature should be percieved by all. I highly suggest this book!!

To be honest, I've never been much into poetry, but I've carried this book with me wherever I go. Whatever may be happening in life, this book is a place to rest and restore yourself. What I like most about Frost is that he writes about everything. From haunted houses to animals, to God and the earth beneath our feet. He makes you think differently and look at people, places and things differently. Also, this is a book for every age group. I'm 24 years old, and I wish so badly I would have known about Robert Frost 15 years ago.
Blessings,
Tay

i had never read much of robert frost's poetry and was i ever missing out. i got the book as a gift.