Two such as you with such a master speed, cannot be parted nor be swept away, from one another once you are agreed, that life is only life forevermore, together wing to wing and oar to oar.
Robert FrostRead
Americans are like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made him rich.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of imparting hard-earned wisdom to the next generation without making it too easy.
Robert Frost uses the analogy of a rich father to illustrate the challenges of transferring the values and experiences gained through hardship to a privileged child. The quote suggests that while wealth can provide comfort, it often comes at the cost of the struggle and growth that shape character and resilience. Thus, the rich father yearns for a way to teach his son the importance of hardship, emphasizing that true wealth lies not just in material success but also in the experiences that forge strength and wisdom.
Themes
WisdomHardshipWealthExperienceCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech, one could say this quote to emphasize the importance of challenges in personal growth.
More from Robert Frost
All quotes βYou have freedom when you're easy in your harness.
Robert FrostRead
God made a beauteous garden With lovely flowers strown, But one straight, narrow pathway That was not overgrown. And to this beauteous garden He brought mankind to live, And said "To you, my children, These lovely flowers I give. Prune ye my vines and fig trees, With care my flowers tend, But keep the pathway open Your home is at the end." God's Garden
Robert FrostRead
'Warm in December, cold in June, you say?' _x000D_ _x000D_ I don't suppose the water's changed at all. _x000D_ _x000D_ You and I know enough to know it's warm _x000D_ _x000D_ Compared with cold, and cold compared with warm. _x000D_ _x000D_ But all the fun's in how you say a thing.
Robert FrostRead
For, dear me, why abandon a belief, Merely because it ceases to be true, Cling to it long enough, and not a doubt, It will turn true again, for so it goes.
Robert FrostRead
The question that he frames in all but words is what to make of a diminished thing.
Robert FrostRead
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