New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-02
SFASONABLE WOOING
OF THE LYRIC MUSE
AZ, Frosts Mountain lnterval"-A Sequence OF
Sonnets-Metrical Messages for Life-An
Aztec Analogue to Christmas

course. have the native Robert Frost.
In "The Bonfire" Mr.. Frost takes on
the rush Of his subject with all It's
riotous pride in color and born scorn
Of fences. and ends up so native 70 his
New Hampshire environment and so in
digenous TO the breath of war breath
ing around the whole world as to 50
far forget the essences of art as 10
want TO preach, and preach revolt
against the smoke Of war he breathes'
That he is very subtle, inofensively
skillful. natural. cannot entirely erase
an Grant desire. Snow" and "ln the
Home Stretch" which with THE Bon
fire" are the longest poems in the ne"
volume, awaken couple OF just the
barest suggestions OF questions: Arc
they inclined to be Just little long
dratn out? And is Mr.. Frost, like the
majority of poets. once IN very great
while possibly inclined to forget TO I'VE
in his characters and to hear his more
poetic-tco poetic for the occasional
individual context-self talk? II is not
a catalogued fault to be poetic. not at
ali MIR. Frost's being much more
poetic than Will Carleton and poets
of his type is the only thing that
makes such unpretty and undignihed,
"A Girls Garden" and Browns De
scent; Or the Will-Nilly Slide worthy
Of inclusion in such an excellent vol
ure as Mountain Interval'-but the
cardinal principle in Characterization,
Of course, either in prose or poetry. ls
10 be unswervingly true 70 the type be-
ing portrayed. Which Mr.. FROST cnar-
acteristicslly is.
Little needs to be added concerning
the human and poetic, indigenous ana
fresh qualities Of Robert Frost's verse
These qualities are known. II not known
70 certain readers and lovers of poetry Is
the best comment on Mr.. Frosts art
THE Road Not Taken" "Birches,' pea
Brush" "The Telephone the sonnet
Range Finding" and the whole song
sequence "The Hill Wife" clamor for
quoting. publicity, they are so impreg-
mated with human attributes! The last
section of "The Hill Wife" is more
than human. is magical. elfn. And too
long to quote. Since the poetic gift is
perhaps most surely betrayed in a
poets newness and appropriateness OF
figures of speech, it will perhaps be
fitting here to give two examples, bear
ing on Mr.. F-ost's gift. The first, the
enClnC OF lldl aNUOo pHeiiS HaifSl ~
the Home Stretch" where two city peo-
pie have that very day moved into the
scene of the poem. country farm
house, and naturally still restless and
unsettled" retire
When there was no more lantern in
the kitchen,
The fire got out through crannies In
the stove
And danced in yellow wrigglers on the
ceiling, -,
As much at home as if they'd always
danced there.
The beautiful descriptions Of ice
decked tres in "Birches" and the
dramatic intensity in the runaway
Bonfire" and in what may be called
the telephone scene in Snow would
aptly show something of the beauty
and bigness of Frost. but they are long
For our second example let US see
Frost through the still mightier big
ness and sweep in the elements that
beat about him:
The three stood listening TO fresh
access
OF wind that caught against the house
moment,
Gulped snow, and then blew free
again
There is evidence OF the essentially
Of the exact word in "Oulped snow"