Lec-12 R.Frost专用课件.pptVIP

American Literature 美国文学史及选读 Lecture Nine: Robert Frost Life and Major Works Major Themes and Techniques Selected Reading Comment I Biography of Robert Frost(1874-1963) San Francisco—father died young—Massachusetts—a farm as gift—1912 England—Ezra Pound—A Boy’s Will(1913)—an unofficial poet Laureate—presidential inauguration . Life and Major Works Robert Frost, a regional poet, was born in San Francisco. He was named after the defeated general, Robert E. Lee. He developed a particular love for the Latin classics in the high school. High education? A Boy’s Will(1913), published in England, brought him to the attention of the influential critics. He became extremely popular after he published North of Boston(1914). Frost was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943. In 1961 he was invited to read a poem at John F. Kennedy’s inaugural ceremonies. Frost was the heir of the 19th-century romantic individualism. Major Works A Boy’s Will (1913) North of Boston (1914) Mountain Interval (1916) (including The Road Not Taken) New Hampshire (1923) (including Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening) West Running Brook (1928) Completed Poems (1949) In the Clearing (1962) II. Major Themes and Technique familiar subjects, such as building fences, picking apples, mending the wall the complexity of human life the ambiguity of nature the relationship between men and the natural world 1. Nature and Man’s Relations to Nature The major English-language poets from Pope and Wordsworth to Tennyson and Whitman have found in Nature’s beauty and apparent harmony proof of cosmic design and benevolent purpose Frost’s idea is more in accordance with the 20th century spirit. He relishes nature, but ascribes to nature no overall, conscious scheme. In “Design”, he describes a fascinating observation: a white spider perched on a white flower to devour a white moth. But instead of viewing it as nature’s perfect design, he reckons it just as a co-inc