Robert Frost

LitCharts guides for works by Robert Frost

Explore LitCharts poetry guides for works by Robert Frost. Each guide offers line-by-line analysis, exploration of poetic devices, and helpful resources for studying Robert Frost's poetry.

A Roadside Stand

In "A Roadside Stand," American poet Robert Frost presents a gloomy view of rural life in the United States during the Great Depression. Observing a sad little "roadside stand" hawking berries and ... view guide

Acquainted with the Night

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost first published "Acquainted with the Night" in 1927. One of Frost's most celebrated poems, "Acquainted with the Night" is an exploration of isolation, s... view guide

After Apple-Picking

"After Apple-Picking" is a poem by Robert Frost. Rural New England is a common setting for many of Frost's early poems, and this one is no exception. The poem is set after the speaker has finished ... view guide

Birches

Robert Frost wrote "Birches" between 1913 and 1914, eventually publishing it in The Atlantic Monthly's August issue in 1915. The poem was later included in Frost's third collection of poetry, Mount... view guide

Desert Places

"Desert Places" can be read both as a meditation on humanity's isolation in the grand scheme of the cosmos and as a reflection of the speaker's personal loneliness. This speaker, traveling at night... view guide

Design

Robert Frost's "Design," first published in a 1922 anthology of American poetry, reflects on the argument that the complexity of the world proves that a supernatural creator (i.e., God) must have d... view guide

Dust of Snow

"Dust of Snow" is a short poem by Robert Frost, published in the Pulitzer Prize-winning volume New Hampshire (1923). The poem's speaker, possibly the poet himself, is initially unhappy. But a sprin... view guide

Fire and Ice

"Fire and Ice" is a popular poem by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963). It was written and published in 1920, shortly after WWI, and weighs up the probability of two differing apocalyptic scena... view guide

Home Burial

"Home Burial," first published in 1914, is one of Robert Frost's longest poems. Written in blank verse, and mostly in dialogue, the poem centers on the peril and pain of miscommunication. The chara... view guide

Mending Wall

“Mending Wall” is a poem by the American poet Robert Frost. It was published in 1914, as the first entry in Frost’s second book of poems, North of Boston. The poem is set in rural New England, wher... view guide

Mowing

"Mowing" is one of the best-known poems from Robert Frost's first collection, A Boy's Will (1913). Its speaker is a farmer mowing a field with an old-fashioned scythe (in an era before modern, mech... view guide

My November Guest

The speaker of Robert Frost's "My November Guest" personifies "Sorrow," comparing her to a "guest" who walks with the speaker through the countryside and delights in autumn's moody beauty. In liste... view guide

Nothing Gold Can Stay

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" was written in 1923 by the American poet Robert Frost. It was published in a collection called New Hampshire the same year, which would later win the 1924 Pulitzer Prize. Fr... view guide

Nothing New

The major American poet Robert Frost inscribed "Nothing New" on the flyleaf of a book he gave to a friend—but never published it. Composed in 1918, the poem was recently rediscovered; it was publis... view guide

Out, Out—

"Out, Out" is a poem by American poet Robert Frost, published in Frost's 1916 collection Mountain Interval and based on a true incident that happened to Frost's friend's son. The poem is set in rur... view guide

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was written by American poet Robert Frost in 1922 and published in 1923, as part of his collection New Hampshire. The poem is told from the perspective of a t... view guide

The Death of the Hired Man

Robert Frost's "The Death of the Hired Man" details a tense conversation between a farmer and his wife, who are debating whether or not to let their old farmhand, Silas, return to the farm after br... view guide

The Oven Bird

"The Oven Bird" is a well-known sonnet from Robert Frost's collection Mountain Interval (1916). It describes a "mid-summer" songbird whose call the speaker interprets as a lament about the swift pa... view guide

The Road Not Taken

Written in 1915 in England, "The Road Not Taken" is one of Robert Frost's—and the world's—most well-known poems. Although commonly interpreted as a celebration of rugged individualism, the poem act... view guide

The Sound of the Trees

"The Sound of the Trees" is poem by Robert Frost that first appeared in his third collection, Mountain Interval (1916). The poem explores the tension between longing and action, illustrated by the ... view guide

The Tuft of Flowers

"The Tuft of Flowers" appeared in American poet Robert Frost's first collection, A Boy's Will, in 1913. While many of the poems in this highly autobiographical collection describe a desire to remai... view guide

The Wood-Pile

"The Wood-Pile," by the American poet Robert Frost, is at once a playful and somber look at the relationship between human beings and the natural world, as well as at the joys and dangers of explor... view guide