A Scientific Companion to Robert Frost

Mention Robert Frost andpeople instantly think of snowy woods and less-traveled paths and ruralneighbors meeting to fix their stone fence. But what does Robert Frost have to do with science?  You might be surprised. Born in 1874, Frost livedthrough a remarkable period of scientific progress, including the developmentof quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, the Big Bang theory, thediscovery of the structure of DNA and the beginnings of space travel.  Possessing a powerful intellect driven bykeen curiosity, Frost was highly knowledgeable about the science of his timeand infuses his poetry with imagery and language borrowed from science.    Frost not only uses the language of scienceto enrich his poetry in the same way he uses classical, historical, biblicaland literary allusions, but he also uses ordinary language to createsophisticated metaphors based on scientific concepts such as evolution andentropy.  A Scientific Companion to Robert Frost represents the firstsystematic attempt to catalogue and explain all of the references to scienceand natural history in Frost’s poetry.  Thebook, which is organized chronologically, uses language that is accessible tolaymen and is supplemented by numerous illustrations, and appendices thatshould make it a valuable resource for teachers and scholars.