On the Sonnets of Robert Frost: A Critical Examination of the 37 Poems

by H.A. Maxson

Overview

"The sonnet is the strictest form I have behaved in, and only then by pretending it wasn't a sonnet," Frost once wrote to Louis Untermeyer. Frost wrote his sonnets in couplets, triplets, and terza rima; frequently, he combined elements of the Italian and English forms. His genuis was in incorporating diverse styles, renewing reader interest in the form while retaining its accessibility. Several of the sonnets discussed are generally recognized as among the finest poems written in the twentieth century.

This is the first work to examine all the 37 poems published that are, based on the poet's own prose writings on the subject, defined as true sonnets. It also provides a discussion of why some Frost works commonly accepted as sonnets do not meet his own criteria. Of course, the book provides content analyses of the sonnets with discussions of the various structures used.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786424207
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/22/2005
Pages:	157
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.32(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

H.A. Maxson’s poetry has appeared widely in journals and anthologies, and he is also the author of five other books: a novel and four collections of poetry. He lives in Milford, Delaware.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction    

1 “An arrest of disorder”: Frost’s Forms and Themes    
2 Into My Own: The Sonnets of A Boy’s Will    
3 Range-Finding: The Sonnets of Mountain Interval    
4 On a Tree…: The Sonnet of New Hampshire    
5 Acquainted with the Night: The Sonnets of West-Running Brook    
6 The Master Speed: The Sonnets of A Further Range    
7 The Silken Tent: The Sonnets of A Witness Tree    
8 Etherealizing: The Sonnets of Steeple Bush    
9 Despair: Other Sonnets    

Bibliography    
Index    

Editorial Reviews

useful...recommended...indispensable for Frost studies”—Choice; “it’s one of those landmarks in Frost criticism that still come along once in awhile”—Tar River Poetry.

From the Publisher

"it's one of those landmarks in Frost criticism that still come along once in awhile"

Tar River Poetry

useful...recommended...indispensable for Frost studies

Choice

Analyzes the content and the various structures of all the 20th- century American poet's published poems that can be defined as true sonnets according to the criteria he set out himself in his prose writing. Also discusses why others commonly accepted as sonnets do not make the cut. Does not present the poems themselves. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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