Brief Question in Robert Frost's Poems

• How many times was Frost awarded the Pulitzer Prize?

Ans: Four times—1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943.

• Where did Frost serve as Professor of English?

Ans: At Amherst College, 1917–1921 and 1923–1938.

• What kind of poem is “Mowing”?

Ans: A sonnet that reads like a lyric.

• What is the meaning of “The fact is the sweetest dream that labour knows”?

Ans: Honest work gives the deepest joy.

• What kind of poem is “Mending Wall”?

Ans: A dramatic lyric or monologue.

• Who is the speaker of “Mending Wall”?

Ans: A young, liberal man, likely the poet.

• What is the issue of quarrel in “Mending Wall”?

Ans: Repairing their boundary wall each spring.

• What natural reasons make the wall fall?

Ans: Frost heave and heat make stones tumble.

• What does “Spring is the mischief in me” mean?

Ans: Spring makes him playful and teasing.

• What does Frost call an outdoor game?

Ans: Balancing stones on the wall.

• What kind of poem is “The Death of the Hired Man”?

Ans: A dramatic lyric.

• Where is the dramatic action in that poem?

Ans: In the husband’s changing attitude to Silas.

• How did Silas offend Warren?

Ans: He left during busiest days, repeatedly.

• What is the central theme of that poem?

Ans: The wife softens the husband’s prejudice.

• Who is Harold Wilson?

Ans: A schoolboy who helped at haying-time.

• How does Mary define a home?

Ans: A loving refuge needing no justification.

• What kind of poem is “Home Burial”?

Ans: A dramatic dialogue between husband and wife.

• What arrangement does the husband propose?

Ans: He will not meddle in her affairs.

• Why is the husband shocked at his wife?

Ans: She misses how deeply he grieved.

• What is the dying person’s feeling there?

Ans: He feels utterly alone.

• How do husband and wife differ in grief?

Ans: She is consumed; he suppresses through work.

• What is the harvest of the apple-picker?

Ans: A bumper crop that exhausts him.

• What apples were sent for cider?

Ans: Fallen apples discarded for pressing.

• What is the theme of “The Road Not Taken”?

Ans: Choosing between life’s uncertain paths.

• What is the theme of “The Oven Bird”?

Ans: Mortality and gradual decline toward death.

• What message does the oven bird sing?

Ans: Life diminishes, then ends in death.

• What is the theme of “Birches”?

Ans: The pull between reality and imagination.

• To what is life compared in “Birches”?

Ans: A pathless wood.

• What do “pathless wood” and “cobwebs” symbolize?

Ans: Confusion and human bewilderment.

• What kind of poem is “Out, Out—”?

Ans: A dramatic narrative.

• What is its theme?

Ans: Life’s uncertainty shown by sudden death.

• What causes the fatal accident?

Ans: A brief distraction; the saw severs.

• How do co-workers react to his death?

Ans: They seem calm, yet continue in shock.

• What is the theme of “Fire and Ice”?

Ans: Desire and hatred are destructive forces.

• Why is the sash lowered at night?

Ans: To keep out the wind.

• What does “outer weather” signify?

Ans: Storms, winds, rain, and harsh sun.

• What does “inner weather” symbolize?

Ans: Anguish, doubts, and inner conflict.

• What is the theme of “West Running Brook”?

Ans: Life’s contraries and paradoxes.

• What is special about the brook there?

Ans: It runs west, unlike other brooks.

• What is the theme of “Desert Places”?

Ans: Human loneliness mirrored by emptiness.

• What kind of poem is “Come In”?

Ans: A personal lyric.

• What is its theme?

Ans: Love for clear, everyday reality.

• How did the poet read the thrush’s song?

Ans: A call to lament darkness and sunset.

• What do the “woods” symbolize?

Ans: Darkness, the unconscious, evil, temptation, death.

• What kind of poem is “The Gift Outright”?

Ans: A patriotic lyric.

• What is its theme?

Ans: American identity formed by devoted surrender.

• How did it gain popularity?

Ans: Frost recited it at JFK’s inauguration.

• What enabled Americans’ great achievements?

Ans: Patriotism inspired courage and noble deeds.

• What do Americans feel now about duty?

Ans: Fight for freedom, equality, and country.

• What is the wife’s name in “Home Burial”?

Ans: Amy.

• What request does the boy make in “Out, Out—”?

Ans: “Do not let the doctor amputate.”

• What is the central theme of “Mowing”?

Ans: A vision of New England.

• What does the wall stand for in “Mending Wall”?

Ans: Barriers between people.

• How does Warren define a home?

Ans: A place of inescapable obligations.

• Why does the wife hate her husband?

Ans: He dug the baby’s grave and intruded.

• What does the poet assert in “Fire and Ice”?

Ans: Passion and hatred can destroy worlds.

• What is the moral of “Mowing”?

Ans: Hard work gives truer joy than dreams.

• Who is the speaker in “Mending Wall”?

Ans: A young, liberal neighbor; likely Frost.

• What does “inner weather” symbolize?

Ans: Spiritual anguish, doubts, and conflicts.

• Who is Harold Wilson?

Ans: A schoolboy helper Silas remembered.

• To what is life compared in “Birches”?

Ans: A pathless wood.

• What life-view appears in “After Apple-Picking”?

Ans: Rest follows labor, yet work continues.