Robert Frost Outline

I. Introduction
A. Thesis-Robert Frost’s poem “The Lockless Door” is a great example for the reader to experience what being lonely is like. It also gives the reader mood and emotional thoughts and feelings. Robert Frost’s writing style lets you feel as if you’re in his head and you feel exactly how he feels.
B. Scope and Sequence-Robert Frost often wrote about his own life experiences those were many of his inspirations for poetry. He wrote about experiences in Massachusetts and New England. After moving to Massachusetts that’s were his poetry career started to build up and expand. Later on in his adulthood he worked as a teacher and continued to write more poems. He didn’t have much luck with his poetry in America so he moved
to England. He published many famous poems there. After Frost’s success in England he came back to the United States. Frost’s career was great and he was happy until the tragic years of 1938-40. Frost lost four of his kids and his wife died. Robert Frost was now in a state of depression and self doubt. Eventually he continued to write poems about his emotions and from that emerged new writing styles. Frost won over ten awards for his poetry and four of them being Pulitzer Prize awards.
He includes Literal meanings in his poetry and also hidden meanings. He likes to give the reader messages after they read his poems. From his poetry we see allusion, imagery, and symbolism in his poetry to give the reader feelings while reading. Robert Frost is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, II. Robert Frost-The Beginning A. Born as Robert Lee Frost B. Frost was born in San Francisco, California C. Frost was born March 26, 1874 and he died January 29, 1963 in Boston, Mass. D. Frost’s dad, William Prescott Frost died on May 5,1885 when Robert was just 11 E. Frost and his family move to
Massachusetts 1. After his father’s death his family moves to Lawrence, Mass 2. He published his first poem, “My Butterfly: An Elegy” in Lawrence high school magazine 3. Frost graduated from Lawrence in 1892 and went to Dartmouth College for a few months only 4. Frost still continued to write his poems F. Adulthood and the starts of his poetry career 1. Frost worked a number of jobs including Latin teacher 2. Still working as a teacher Frost continued his poetry 3. In 1895 Frost married Elinor Miriam White 4. 1897-1899 Frost studied at Harvard but never got a degree due to family issues and health G. Move to England 1.Frost published his first collection of poems in England and most of his poems in England 2. Poems included “A Boy’s Will” and the North Boston poetry collection A. North Boston gained international reputation 3. Other poems published in England included “Mending Wall” “The Death of Hired Man” and “Home Burial”
H. The Return to the US 1. When Frost returned to American the editor of The Atlantic Monthly wanted to publish his poems and Frost accepted 2. A little after, Frost started to teach at Amherst College and universities in Michigan 3 In 1916, Frosts third poetry collection was published. Poems included “The Road Not Taken” “The Oven Bird” “Birches” and “The Hill Wife”
I. Tragedies of 1938-40 1. Robert Frost’s wife died in 1938 2. His 2 daughters died of mental breakdowns 3. In 1940 his son Carol committed suicide because he was frustrated at life 4. These deaths affected Robert Frost emotionally A. Frost suffered from Depression and Self doubt 5. All of this impacted Frosts poetry and new styles emerge J. Robert Frost’s Poetry Career 1. Frost’s poems show human aspiration and deep appreciation of natural world 2. He often wrote about his own life experience 3. Frost uses Rhythms, Rhymes and Vocabulary A. Used Rhyming Couplets, and ordinary vocabulary or looser free dialog B. Also used End Rhymes and five line stress 4.Recieved over 10 awards for his poetry, 4 of them Pulitzer Prize awards 5. Considered to be one of the best poets of the 20th century IV. Literary Meanings of the Poem 1. After years of loneliness, there comes a knock on the door 2. Frost is now scared and because he didn’t expect this unknown guest. 3. He blows out the candles and tip toes to the door. 4. Frost prays at the door for safety 5. Once again there is a knock so he opens his window and goes out from it 6. He puts his head again and yells come in. 7. Frost escapes out of the window, while the guest opens the door and finds nothing but loneliness and darkness V. Hidden Meaning of Poem 1. Robert Frost’s “The Lockless Door” is based on his loneliness and depression in life 2. Several hidden meanings in this poem 3. “And I thought of a door with no lock to lock” A. Frost is saying that after many years a knock comes, and these knocks represent bad memories haunting him. His mind is the door and he has no lock to keep them out so they are lockless. 4. “So at the knock I emptied my cage” A. He is saying that at the knock he sees his chance to get rid of all these memories that keep haunting him. So he lets them and leaves them behind 5. “To hide in the world and alter with age” A. Frost means that now he has no memories to fear from. He can now live life in piece with with nothing to haunt him or let him hold back on life. VI. Allusion, Imagery, and Symbolism 1. “The Lockless Door” has hidden symbolism A. The Door symbolizes Frost’s mind B. The knocks symbolize the memories C. Blowing out the candles symbolizes darkness, invisibility, loneliness, and depression VII. Conclusion 1. “The Lockless Door” shows mix of emotion and life experience 2. Combined to make and create mood, feelings, and thoughts 3. Gives emotion so the reader understands Frost’s hidden message