Robert Frost : the poet as philosopher
"Robert Frost is by far the most celebrated major American poet of the twentieth century. In part, this is because his poetry seems, on the surface, to be so accessible, even homey. But, argues Peter J. Stanlis in this major contribution to American literary study and philosophy, Frost was not just a powerful writer of popular lyric and narrative verse. His work was also deeply rooted in a complex philosophical dualism that opposes both idealistic monism. centered in spirit, and scientific positivism, which posits that the universe can be understood as nothing but matter." "In Robert Frost: The Poet as Philosopher, Stanlis shows how Frost's philosophical dualism of spirit and matter is perceived through metaphors and applied to science, religion, art, education, and society. He further argues that Frost's dualism provides a critique of the monistic forces that were instrumental in the triumph of twentieth-century totalitarianism. Informed by his twenty-three-year friendship and correspondence with Frost, Stanlis's volume is the first attempt to deal with the poet's philosophy in a systematic manner."--Jacket
Criticism, interpretation, etc
xxvi, 452 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
9781933859200, 1933859202
174146387
Prelude : the conversationalist as poet
Dualism : the basis of Frost's philosophy
The nature and role of metaphor in Frost's dualism
Frost and Darwin's theory : "the metaphor of evolution"
Frost and the three generations of Huxleys
Frost and creative evolution
Frost and Lovejoy's The Great Chain of Being
Frost and the modern revolt against dualism
Frost, Einstein's relativity, and the open-ended universe
Frost and religion : the two masques
Frost's philosophy of education : the poet as teacher
The individual and society
Politics in theory and practice
In the clearing : continuity and unity in Frost's dualism
Afterword : poetry as revelation