Robert Frost was one of the most popular and honored American poets of the twentieth century, a writer whose deceptively simple verse, rooted in the landscape and speech of rural New England, explored deep and often dark themes of nature, isolation, and human choice. Born in San Francisco, he moved east as a boy after his father's death and spent much of his life in New England, the region that became the imaginative center of his work.
After years of struggle and obscurity — working as a farmer and teacher while his poems went largely unrecognized in America — Frost moved to England, where his first collections were published to acclaim. He returned home around the outbreak of the First World War to find himself, at last, a celebrated poet.
Frost's mastery lay in his use of plain language, conversational rhythms, and traditional forms to convey complex and ambiguous meanings. Poems such as "The Road Not Taken," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and "Mending Wall" became among the best-known in the English language, beloved for their accessibility yet rich with subtlety and shadow beneath their homespun surfaces.
Honored with four Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards, Frost became a kind of unofficial national poet. In a famous moment near the end of his life, he recited a poem at the 1961 inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. He died in 1963, his work secure among the classics of American literature.