The Cambridge Companion to Robert Frost (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

298 Pages·2001·1.01 MB·English

by  Robert Faggen

Thiscollectionofspeciallycommissionedessaysbyexpertsinthefieldexplores
keydimensionsofRobertFrost’spoetryandlife.Frostremainsoneofthemost
memorable and beguiling of modern poets. Writing in the tradition of Virgil,
Milton,andWordsworth,hetransformedpastoralandgeorgicpoetrybothin
subjectmatterandform.Masteringtherhythmsofordinaryspeech,Frostmade
country life the point from which to view the world and the complexities of
humanpsychology.TheessaysinthisvolumeenablereaderstoexploreFrost’s
artandthought,fromthecontroversiesofhisbiographytohissubtlereinven-
tionofpoeticandmetrictraditions,andtheconflictsinhisthoughtaboutpoli-
tics, gender, science, and religion. This volume will bring fresh perspectives to
thelyric,narrative,anddramaticpoetryofanAmericanmaster,anditschronol-
ogy and guide to further reading will prove valuable to scholars and students
alike.
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THE CAMBRIDGE
COMPANION TO
ROBERT FROST
EDITED BY
ROBERT FAGGEN
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Firstpublished2001
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LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
TheCambridgeCompaniontoRobertFrost/editedbyRobertFaggen.
p. cm.–(Cambridgecompanionstoliterature)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn052163248x(hardback)–isbn0521634946(paperback)
1. Frost,Robert,1874–1963–Criticismandinterpretation. 2. Frost,Robert,
1874–1963–Handbooks,manuals,etc. i. Faggen,Robert. ii. Series.
ps3511.r94 z559 2001 811′.52–dc21 00-052917
isbn052163248xhardback
isbn0521634946paperback
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CONTENTS
Listofcontributors pageix
Acknowledgments x
Chronology xi
Noteonthetexts xvii
Listofthepoemscited xviii
Introduction 1
robert faggen
1 “StayUnassuming”:theLivesofRobertFrost 7
donald g. sheehy
2 FrostBiographyandAWitnessTree 35
william pritchard
3 FrostandtheQuestionsofPastoral 49
robert faggen
4 FrostandtheAncientMuses 75
helen bacon
5 FrostasaNewEnglandPoet 101
lawrence buell
6 “AcrossSpacesoftheFootedLine”:theMeterandVersificationof
RobertFrost 123
timothy steele
7 Frost’sPoetryofMetaphor 155
judith oster
vii
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contents
8 FrostandtheMeditativeLyric 179
blanford parker
9 Frost’sPoeticsofControl 197
mark richardson
10 Frost’sPoliticsandtheColdWar 221
george monteiro
11. “SynonymouswithKept”:FrostandEconomics 241
guy rotella
12. HumanPresenceinFrost’sUniverse 261
john cunningham
Selectbibliography 273
Index 276
viii
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CONTRIBUTORS
HelenBacon,BarnardCollege,emerita
LawrenceBuell,HarvardUniversity
JohnCunningham,HollinsUniversity
RobertFaggen,ClaremontMcKennaCollege
GeorgeMonteiro,BrownUniversity
JudithOster,CaseWesternReserveUniversity
BlanfordParker,CityUniversityofNewYork
WilliamPritchard,AmherstCollege
MarkRichardson,EasternMichiganStateUniversity
GuyRotella,NortheasternUniversity
DonaldG.Sheehy,EdinboroStateUniversityofPennsylvania
TimothySteele,CaliforniaStateUniversity,LosAngeles
ix
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