Fire and Ice

Robert Frost sometimes recited his best-known poems in public, such as “The Road Not Taken,” “Birches,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” He would also include brief comments about the poem’s meaning, background or form between poems. One anecdote that has made the rounds, however, notes that after one recital, he was asked by a guest to explain the poem and replied: “What do you want me to do? Say it over again in worser English?”