Jay Parini’s “Robert Frost: Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart” plunges readers deep into the mind of the poet and the heart of his poetry, revealing a mirror that reflects our own struggles and questions
Poetry is one of language’s great methods of illustrating the beauties and hardships of life. Indeed, it’s a vehicle to better understand our existence, especially when we may not fully comprehend. And poetry, as in life, requires, at times, a guide. For many Americans over the past century, Robert Frost has been that guide. His poems are etched into the American psyche, and we identify ourselves through his works.
Poems Analyzed
As the title indicates, Mr. Parini presents 16 poems that cover topics like death, fear, uncertainty, decision-making, old age, and mental and spiritual clarity. Interestingly, these poems are chronologically ordered according to their publication dates, which coincide with Frost’s evolving view of life and the world. Mr. Parini informs the reader how these poems correlated with moments in Frost’s life, such as the death of his children, his return to America from Britain during World War I, and simply old age.Mr. Parini’s analyses are full of depth and insight, but not to the point where he attempts to overshadow the poems. He never seems to compete with Frost or that his words should take precedence. Mr. Parini, a literary master in his own right, humbly points the reader to the ultimate literary master. Although he plays the role of guide to Frost, he is simply the go-between, noting that it is “Frost [who] invites us to walk beside him, to become our guide.”
Frost as Guide
What does Mr. Parini mean? What type of guide is Frost supposed to be? A poetic guide? A guide to understanding ourselves and the world? Mr. Parini indicates that, although we can learn and appreciate the beauty and form of poetry from Frost, he can also be used as a guide to understanding ourselves and the world.Poetry itself “invites us” to peer into the glories and fears of life, even those we have never experienced. For all his perceived “simple farmer-poet” persona, Frost was like so many of us, “a bundle of contradictions.” Perhaps these are the elements of the great, arguably the greatest, American poet that makes him so relatable. His poems, like himself, seem so simple, but they are anything but. As Mr. Parini pinpoints, “The philosophical and spiritual explored in these poems are astonishing, often plumbing the darker sides of human existence.”
Since high school, when I first read “The Road Not Taken,” I have been enamored with Frost. He has long been my favorite poet, leading me to set 10 of his poems to memory (two were in this book). I have always felt a warmth in his poetry despite much of his work being set during the cold months of the northeast.
Parini’s Promises
Mr. Parini suggests that with this attention paid to Frost (that is, the “guide” and “master craftsman”) there comes a promise. “Frost is a poet who takes us out of ourselves, then back in, where we rest in wholeness.” Upon reading the 16 poems and Mr. Parini’s analysis of each, the work appears to be a meditation. Indeed, it is a “philosophical and spiritual” exploration of the self through Frost’s life. The exploration examines our own “bundle of contradictions” and leads us to the “Directive”—that brilliant “culminating work in which Frost revisits his life.” For Mr. Parini’s final analysis of this final poem, he is equally brilliant. The author could hardly have selected a better poem with which to conclude the 16, or a better analysis with which to finalize his own thoughts—analysis which is both enlightening and encouraging.“Robert Frost: Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart” is more than a simple collection of poems. Mr. Parini prods us to walk alongside Frost so that we might better understand ourselves; but the author does not leave us to our own devices, which can lead to “endlessly quot[ing] and endlessly misunderst[anding]” Frost and his work. No, Mr. Parini is there to fill in gaps about the poet that we don’t understand or gaps we may not be honest enough to identify within ourselves.
Atop “rest[ing] in wholeness,” Mr. Parini adds another promise when we choose to memorize powerful poetry. “A good poem is a prayer, and—like prayer itself—it brings us into conversation with eternity.” If there is one thing Americans need more of, it is prayer; and if Frost’s poetry can guide us to those “conversations with eternity,” then we will be immensely better off.
