Review of “You Come Too” by Robert Frost

I do not consider any one poet my favorite, but I have to say that Robert Frost is definitely one of my favorites. I have read many of his poems (a few specific ones multiple times) and I really enjoy them. Reading “You Come Too” was a fun experience for me; it put some of my favorite Frost poems in context, combining some of Frost’s best known poems with poems of his that I had never read. The common themes, patterns and poetic style within much of Frost’s poetry became very evident, allowing me to become more familiar with Frost’s style and to better understand some of his unique techniques as a poet. “You Come Too” is a very accessible and easy to read collection of poems. Anyone who appreciates poetry will enjoy this collection, in my opinion.

Frost himself chose the poems for this book, selecting poems that lend themselves to being read aloud. Though he struggled as a young author, facing rejection from publishers and magazines throughout his life, he finally found success. He chose the poems to include in this volume later in his life, when he had achieved some fame and success in the world of poetry. “You Come Too” is a collection of quite a variety of Frost’s poetry, from his well known poems like “The Road Not Taken” to lesser known poems like “The Birthplace” and “A Passing Glimpse.” It includes fun and lighthearted poetry, as well as deeper, serious and powerful poetry—a little something for everyone.

As for the style of poetry found within “You Come Too,” the majority of the poems within Frost’s collection have a clear rhyme scheme and meter—none are written in blank verse. There is no harsh enjambment or prose poetry included in this volume, as these are not typical characteristics of Frost’s poetry. The poems are all very structured. Reading this volume would likely be quite helpful for anyone who is trying to grasp the concepts of meter and rhyme scheme. Frost provides many clear examples of these important technical poetic concepts and consistently uses both in his poetry; many examples of iambic pentameter and iambic tetrameter can be found, as well as rhyme schemes such as abba, cddc…, aabbccdd…, abcb, defe…, all of which are repeatedly used by Frost). Many of his poems are concise and include much nature imagery (both notable characteristic of Frost’s poetry), while others are longer narrative style poems, relating short stories (such as in “Death of a Hired Man,” for example). “You Come Too” offers a great variety of poems that is enjoyable to read, but also effective in demonstrating important poetic techniques and styles that students may be struggling to grasp.

There were various things about this collection of poems that I really liked: Firstly, the book was broken up into sections containing about 5-10 poems in each section. Each section was titled with a verse from one of the poems within that section. For instance, the first section was entitled “I’m going out…” (part of one line from the poem “The Pasture”), and the last section was entitled “I took the one less traveled by…” (a line from “The Road Not Taken”). However, these titles also had significance in that they alluded to the common theme uniting the poems within that section. The section called “The woods are lovely, dark and deep…” contained poems associated with the woods, including “Birches” (one of my favorite Frost poems) and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Another section, called “Men work together…” includes poems like “Mending Wall” (another of my favorite Frost poems) and “The Tuft of Flowers,” both of which provide commentary on the relationships and interactions between people. This way of dividing the book made a lot of sense and grouped the poems together by common theme.

Secondly, I love the fact that many of the poems within this collection have an apparent meaning, but have a figurative meaning hiding behind it. Noel Perrin, the author of the foreword of this edition of “You Come Too,” comments that many of Frost’s poems “work on two levels at once. They are therefore especially good for reading aloud to children, because there’s a level each for parent and for child.” The fact that there is both a literal and figurative level to the majority of Frost’s poems is one aspect of his writing style that makes his poetry so appealing. In my opinion, Frost’s nature imagery evokes much more than simply visions of elaborate landscapes and natural beauty. Some of the insight he offers within his poetry is applicable in many ways to our everyday lives. His poem “A Passing Glimpse” is a great example of this:

I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.

I want to get out of the train and go back
To see what they were beside the track.

I name all the flowers I am sure they weren’t:
Not fireweed loving where woods have burnt-

Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth-
Not lupine living on sand and drouth.

Was something brushed across my mind
That no one on earth will ever find?

Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.

The last line of this poem is so powerful and relevant to life, not simply nature. There is certainly a larger metaphor at work here! (Check out “Mending Wall,” “The Road Not Taken,” “Birches” or “Hyla Brook” to for more examples of this aspect of Frost’s poetry.)

Thirdly, I like Frost’s use of language. He uses simple diction, simple rhyme and simple meter, yet creates incredibly elaborate and impressive poetry. After reading this volume of his work, it is hard not to appreciate this aspect of his poetry. He is an outstanding author and has an amazing way of describing things in a way that is understandable and can be appreciated by the reader.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading “You Come Too” and I feel I gained a better understanding and appreciation for Frost’s poetry through reading this collection. Although at times the nature theme addressed repeatedly by Frost got a bit redundant, the collection as a whole offered a great variety of poems and kept me reading. It is a pretty easy read with some familiar poems and some refreshing glimpses of less familiar material. The overall tone of the collection is very relaxing and calm; it was almost soothing to read “You Come Too.” This collection could be used effectively both as a teaching/learning tool, a model for one’s own poetic aspirations, a literary work to share with children, or a volume of poems to simply read and enjoy alone. I highly recommend this collection of Frost’s poetry!