Jay Parini: Robert Frost (Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart)

Of course I loved this quote from Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

And of course, I misunderstood the quote as well until I read Jay Parini’s explanation in Robert Frost: Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart. The more I read Parini’s commentaries, the more I need to learn about poetry. I don’t have a clue about the beat and the meter. Most of Frost’s poems are over my head. Though I could “Fire And Ice”:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Parini’s provides more fascinating insights of the poem. The poems, the commentaries, and the typesetting—Adobe Jenson, design by Robert Slimbach–are enjoyable to read.