''A Boy's Will'' is a poetry collection by

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

, and is the poet's first commercially published book of poems. The book was first published in 1913 by David Nutt in London, with a dedication to Frost's wife, Elinor. Its first American edition came two years later, in 1915, through

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt (publisher), Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. The company publishes in ...

. Like much of Frost's work, the poems in ''A Boy's Will'' thematically associate with rural life, nature, philosophy, and individuality, while also alluding to earlier poets including

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

.Fagan, Deirdre. 2007. ''Critical Companion to Robert Frost: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work''. New York:

Facts on File Infobase is an American publishing company, publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent ...

. Despite the first section of poems having a theme of retreating from society, then, Frost does not retreat from his literary precursors and, instead, tries to find his place among them.

Background

Frost admitted that much of the book is

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. As the proof sheets were printed in January 1913, he wrote that the poems were "pretty near being the story of five years" of his life. Specifically, Frost noted that the first poem of the book, "Into My Own", expresses how he turned away from people, and "Tuft of Flowers" shows how he "came back to them." In fact, some of the poems were written as early as two decades before.Kendall, Tim. 2012. ''The Art of Robert Frost''. Yale University Press.. . Frost was apparently pleased with the book and wrote to a friend shortly after its publication, "I expect to do something to the present state of literature in America." The title of the book comes from the repeated lines in the poem "My Lost Youth" by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

:Parini, Jay. 1999. ''Robert Frost: A Life''. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. . The line is, in turn, a quote from Olaus Sirma in '' Lapponia'' (1675). Frost likely chose the title as a reflection of his own wayward early life.

Publication history and response

Most of the poems in ''A Boy's Will'' had never been published previously. While in England, Frost determined to have them collected, and his manuscript was accepted by the first publisher he approached. The book was published by David Nutt of London in 1913, with a dedication to Frost's wife Elinor, who had assisted in choosing the poems and arranging the order for publication. As it was being published, Frost met with fellow writer

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

, who insisted they immediately go to Nutt to see a copy of the book in print. Pound offered to write a review that day and soon introduced Frost to poet

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

. Yeats said he considered ''A Boy's Will'' "the best poetry written in America in a long time."Shuman, R. Baird ''Great American Writers: Twentieth Century.'' Marshall Cavendish, In his September 1913 review in the ''New Freeman'', Pound noted: "The man has the good sense to speak naturally and to paint the thing, the thing as he sees it. And to do this is a very different matter from gunning about for the circumplectious polysyllable."Hoffman, Tyler. 2001. ''Robert Frost and the Politics of Poetry''. Hanover, NH: Middlebury College Press. . F. S. Flint was particularly pleased with the individual poems using one specific theme each, allowing "direct observation of the object and immediate correlation with the emotion—spontaneity, subtlety in the evocation of moods, humor" and praised Frost's "ear for silences." Poet

Richard Aldington Richard Aldington (born Edward Godfree Aldington; 8 July 1892 – 27 July 1962) was an English writer and poet. He was an early associate of the Imagist movement. His 50-year writing career covered poetry, novels, criticism and biography. He ed ...

would similarly praise Frost's "directness of treatment" and "simplicity of speech" in ''North of Boston''. Lascelles Abercrombie, however, warned that the simplicity of Frost's language did not imply simplicity in his poetry and in ''A Boy's Will'', he believed "the selection and arrangement of the substance do practically everything." William Morton Payne also noted there was further complexity within the seeming simplicity of the book, writing for ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review an ...

'' in 1913, "A dream world of elusive shapes and tremulous imaginings is half revealed to our vision by the subdued lyrics which Mr. Robert Frost entitles 'A Boy's Will'."Diepeveen, Leonard. 2003. ''The Difficulties of Modernism''. New York: Routledge. p. 186. The youth of the author, however, was apparent to at least one anonymous critic who wrote in a September 20, 1913, review, "We do not need to be told that the poet is a young man: the dew and the ecstasy — the audacity, too — of pristine vision are here." Overall, the book (or collection as some may call it) was widely well-received and positively reviewed. Following the success of ''

North of Boston ''North of Boston'' is a poetry collection by Robert Frost, first published in 1914 by David Nutt, in London. Most of the poems resemble short dramas or dialogues. It is also called a book of people because most of the poems deal with New Engla ...

'' in 1914,

republished ''A Boy's Will'' in 1915, becoming the first edition of the book published in the United States. ''

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'' said in a review, "In republishing his first book after his second, Mr. Robert Frost has undertaken the difficult task of competing with himself.""'A Boy's Will'. By Robert Frost" (review). ''

''. November 21, 1915

*Expanded Contents *Into My Own *Ghost House *My November Guest *Love and a Question *A Late Walk *Stars *Storm Fear *Wind and Window Flower *To the Thawing Wind *A Prayer in Spring *Flower-gathering *Rose Pogonias *Asking for Roses *Waiting Afield at Dusk *In a Vale *A Dream Pang *In Neglect *The Vantage Point *Mowing *Going for Water *Revelation *The Trial by Existence *In Equal Sacrifice *The Tuft of Flowers *Spoils of the Dead *Pan with Us *The Demiurge's Laugh *Now Close the Windows *A Line-storm Song *October *My Butterfly *Reluctance

References

External links

*
A Boy's Will
' via

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

*
1915 edition of ''A Boy's Will'' from the HathiTrust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy's Will 1913 poetry books American poetry collections Books by Robert Frost David Nutt books Debut books English-language books Henry Holt and Company books