Robert Frost(1874-1963)•Robert Frost(1874-1963)1892 Dartmouth College, soon left Odd work poetry 1897, college again Harvard, but left, dislike for academic conventionRobert Frost’s Life Story§ Born in San Francisco, childhood, the Far West § death of father, to Salem, New HampshireNext 12 yearsRobert Frost’s Life StoryTeaching, farming Continuing poetry writing1912, decide literature as a careerFor living:taught in collegesgave poetry readingsReturned home for recognition in native landSail for Englandsuccess in London§ A national bard; § Honorary degrees From 44 colleges and universities § Four Pulitzer PrizesRobert Frost’s achievementsstylel Plain speech of rural New Englanders;l Short, traditional forms of lyric and narrativel His choice of rural subjects and traditonal verse forms has contributed to the view of his work as homely and comfortable l but the underlying darkness and ambiguous vision is unconventional.Famous poemsThe Road Not TakenStopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningThe Road not TakenThe Road Not Taken Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth 黄色的树林里分出两条路 可惜我不能同时去涉足 我在那路口久久伫立 我向着一条路极目望去直到它消失在丛林深处 Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,但我却选择了另外一条 路 它荒草萋萋，十分幽寂 显得更诱人，更美丽 虽然在这两条小路上 都很少留下旅人的足迹 And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back 虽然那天清晨落叶满地 两条路都未经脚印污染 呵，留下一条路等改日 再见 但我知道路径延绵无尽 头 恐怕我难以再回返 I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood,and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.也许多少年后在某一个地方 我将轻声叹息把往事回顾 一片森林里分出两条路 而我却选择了人迹更少的一 条 从此决定了我一生的道路. Rhyme scheme: abaabSymbolism: the two roads hard decisions we have to make in lifeu These paths symbolize the existential nature of human existence. u human destiny is totally based on human choice and action. uEach choice and action made by the individual will result in a separate, different, and necessarily limiting outcome Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningStopping by Woods on a Snowy EveninglRhyme schem: AABA BBCB CCDC DDDDAppreciation: lThe setting: a winter evening in a rural environmentlscenary contrast: white snow and dard woodslSensuous appeals to the sound of the bells and windlthe silent and understanding horse: a close companion to the poetthemesBeauty lThis poem presents nature as a standard of beauty that is so strong that it captures the speaker’s attention and makes him or her halt whatever they are doing: lovely/dark and deep(beauty and mystery)Return to Nature(nature vs civilization) lThe speaker is enchanted with the things of nature, but is constantly reminded of human things, and, after a few minutes of giving in to the enchantment, decides with regret that this return to nature cannot last. Duty and Responsibility lThe speaker of this poem has “promises to keep,” and regardless of what these promises are or who they were made to they have to be fulfilled lThe repetition of the final two lines gives us an indication of how this person feels about the responsibilities that lie ahead A meditation on death 。