Robert Frost Poetry

Ghost House

A man who once lived in the now-decayed home; symbolizes loneliness, nostalgia, and alienation. Nature overtakes the house, connecting memory and loss.

Mowing

A farmer mowing hay or grass reflects the Puritan work ethic and the value of honest labor. The scythe is personified — whispering represents the reward of hard work.

Mending Wall

Neighbors rebuild a wall between their farms; explores boundaries and human separation. 'Good fences make good neighbors.' Written in blank verse.

Death of the Hired Man

Mary, Warren, and Silas debate what 'home' really means — where you're born or where you're cared for. Silas returns to die; explores forgiveness and moral duty.

Home Burial

A husband and wife grieve differently over their child's death. The husband buries the child; the wife resents his emotional distance. Themes of silence and isolation.

After Apple-Picking

An apple farmer exhausted by labor longs for rest but can't due to Puritan work ethic. Dreamlike reflection on life's labor and approaching death.

An Old Man's Winter Night

An old man alone in his home during winter accepts his solitude. Uses light and dark imagery and repetition to show isolation and aging.

Birches

A man reflects on youth and the desire to escape responsibility. Swinging on birches symbolizes yearning for innocence and temporary escape from life's burdens.

The Cow in Apple Time

A cow eats too many apples, dries up, and can't produce milk. Symbol of natural consequences and imbalance between desire and restraint.

House Fear

Represents hesitation between loneliness and connection — fear of what lies beyond safety. Suggests human anxiety toward the unknown.

The Smile

The observer understands solitude; the wife wishes for a better home. Contrast between light and darkness symbolizes emotional distance.

The Oft-Repeated Dream

A dream created by a man about his wife giving him bread; explores guilt, memory, and loneliness.

The Impulse

Observer witnesses a wife leave; the husband seeks her but she's already gone. Explores regret, failed communication, and emotional loss.

Out, Out—

A boy's hand is cut off in an accident; he dies, and others return to work. Commentary on Puritan work ethic and human indifference. Written in blank verse.

Two Tramps in Mud Time

A man chopping wood meets two homeless tramps. Explores honest labor and purpose — work done for love, not money. Anger redirected into effort.

Desert Places

The speaker confronts emptiness and loneliness in a snowy field. Nature mirrors inner isolation; he accepts it but remains haunted by it.

An Unstamped Letter in Our Rural Letter Box

A tramp leaves a letter; though the man works and the tramp doesn't, the tramp is more educated. Jobs don't define intelligence.

The Hill Wife

A lonely woman feels trapped and fearful in marriage and nature. Explores isolation, repression, and feminine vulnerability.

Acquainted with the Night

Speaker walks alone through a silent city; symbolizes loneliness and depression. Uses terza rima to mirror the speaker's endless cycles of solitude.

To Earthward

Explores desire, aging, and spiritual longing. The speaker contrasts youthful sweetness with a later craving for pain — longing to feel alive again.

The Tuft of Flowers

A man discovers a flower left by a mower and realizes he's not alone. Celebrates connection and companionship through shared work in nature.

Ghost House SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: the ghost of the former inhabitant of the house. Meter/Form: Iambic pentameter, rhymed couplets. Theme: Loneliness, nostalgia, and nature reclaiming human life.

Mowing SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: an unnamed farmer working alone in the field. Meter/Form: Iambic pentameter, mostly blank verse. Theme: The dignity of labor and the quiet satisfaction of work.

Mending Wall SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: a reflective farmer conversing with his neighbor. Neighbor: an unnamed traditionalist repeating 'Good fences make good neighbors.' Meter/Form: Blank verse (iambic pentameter). Theme: Human boundaries, routine, and separation.

Death of the Hired Man SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speakers: Mary, Warren, and Silas (named characters). Meter/Form: Blank verse (iambic pentameter). Theme: Home, forgiveness, and the question of belonging.

Home Burial SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speakers: Amy (the wife) and her husband (unnamed). Meter/Form: Blank verse (iambic pentameter). Theme: Grief, silence, and marital distance.

After Apple-Picking SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: an apple picker reflecting on exhaustion. Meter/Form: Mixed meter, loosely iambic with irregular rhyme. Theme: Labor, sleep, and mortality.

An Old Man's Winter Night SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: omniscient narrator describing an old man. Meter/Form: Blank verse. Theme: Aging, loneliness, endurance.

Birches SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: adult man recalling boyhood. Meter/Form: Blank verse. Theme: Escapism and yearning for innocence.

The Cow in Apple Time SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: detached observer. Meter/Form: Loose iambic pentameter with rhyme. Theme: Consequences of indulgence.

House Fear SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: collective 'we' of rural folk. Meter/Form: Iambic with AABB rhyme. Theme: Fear of intrusion and resistance to change.

The Smile SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: unnamed observer describing a wife. Meter/Form: Rhymed quatrains, variable meter. Theme: Emotional distance and domestic discontent.

The Oft-Repeated Dream SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: a man haunted by recurring dreams of his wife. Meter/Form: Iambic tetrameter, simple rhyme. Theme: Guilt, loneliness, and memory.

The Impulse SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: third-person narrator observing a husband and wife. Meter/Form: Loose iambic pentameter, irregular rhyme. Theme: Regret and failed connection.

Out, Out— SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: omniscient narrator; boy unnamed. Meter/Form: Blank verse (iambic pentameter). Theme: Death, indifference, and the cruelty of work.

Two Tramps in Mud Time SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: a woodchopper (the poet's persona). Meter/Form: Iambic tetrameter, ABAB rhyme. Theme: Work done for love vs. necessity.

Desert Places SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: first-person narrator confronting isolation. Meter/Form: Iambic pentameter, AABA rhyme. Theme: Emptiness, fear, and inner desolation.

An Unstamped Letter in Our Rural Letter Box SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: rural man reading a tramp's letter. Meter/Form: Iambic pentameter, varied rhyme. Theme: Class, intelligence, and humility.

The Hill Wife SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speakers: implied husband and wife in third-person narration. Meter/Form: Mixed meters, rhymed stanzas. Theme: Isolation, fear, and repression.

Acquainted with the Night SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: solitary city wanderer. Meter/Form: Terza rima (ABA BCB CDC DAD AA), iambic pentameter. Theme: Urban loneliness and depression.

To Earthward SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: older lover reflecting on youth. Meter/Form: Iambic tetrameter, ABAB rhyme. Theme: Desire, aging, and the need to feel again.

The Tuft of Flowers SPEAKER/METER/THEME

Speaker: mower working after another man. Meter/Form: Iambic pentameter couplets (heroic couplets). Theme: Connection through shared labor and nature.