Poetry is what gets lost in translation ("Poetry is what gets lost in translation") This sentence is very famous, generally believed to be the American poet Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963), almost all articles discussing the definition of poetry will quote this sentence, and many scholars and readers have screamed.

I also wrote an article on "Alternative Criteria for Judging Poetry and Non-Poetry" and quoted this sentence, believing that poetic meaning cannot be translated into another language. To extend this sentence, I think that if a piece of text can be accurately translated into another language, it is not poetry. This is what I would call a test for distinguishing poetry from non-poetry.

But all these articles that quote Frost's famous quotes, including my own, do not give the source of Frost's quote, and sometimes even vaguely say A famous quote attributed to Robert Frost ( Said to be a famous quote by Robert Frost). The question asked by the previous reader: "Which book or article by Frost did this sentence come from?" It is also a question shared by many readers in the world.

I have not researched this question, and naturally there is no ready answer. But I found on the Internet that Mr. Thom Satterlee, associate professor of English at Taylor University in Indiana, USA, has researched this issue and wrote an article to examine it in detail. Regarding the origin of "Poetry is what gets lost? in translation", Professor Satterlee's basic conclusion is:?

(1) This sentence does not appear in any of Frost's books or articles. This conclusion is said by Mr. Mark Richardson, who once edited Robert Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, and Plays.

(2) Frost's friend Louis Untermeyer mentioned in the book "Robert Frost: A Backward Look" that Frost once said this: "You've often heard me say – Perhaps too often – that poetry is what is lost in translation. It is also what is lost in interpretation.” is also something that gets lost in interpretation).

Extended information

Robert Frost (1874-1963) is one of the most beloved American poets, leaving behind "The Glade", "The Glade" and "The Glade". "The Road Not Taken", "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night" and many other popular works. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco (San Francisco) on March 26, 1874. His father died when he was 11 years old, and he moved to New England with his mother.

Since then, he has formed an indissoluble bond with that piece of land. Frost began to learn to write poetry at the age of 16, and officially published his first poem at the age of 20. He was diligent in writing and published more than 10 poetry collections in his life. He went through many hardships and pains throughout his life. He lost his father when he was young, his wife in middle age, and his son (daughter) in old age.

After becoming famous, Frost was employed by many universities. He often went out to read poems and give lectures, and "often dragged his sick body home exhausted." Loneliness, despair, death, etc. often appeared in his poems. Related images include winter, snow, ice, frost, dead leaves, etc. Therefore, Frost often uses metaphors such as withered roses and dry flowers to reflect the inner world of loneliness, sadness, and loneliness. ?

Married on December 19, 1895. For the next two years, he and his wife helped his mother manage a private school. During this period, he wrote poems and submitted them to various publications, but they were rarely published.

His first sold poem, "My Butterfly: An Elegy," was published in the literary weekly "Independence" in 1894.

In the fall of 1897, Frost entered Harvard University in order to become a high school Latin and Greek teacher. But within two years, he interrupted his studies due to lung disease and started raising chickens. In 1900, the family moved to New Hampshire to manage the farm his grandfather purchased for him. After failing in running the farm, he returned to teaching (1906-1912).

He roamed many places on foot before and after this, and was considered the "peasant poet of New England." Most of his best-known poems were written in Delhi but did not attract the interest of editors.

In 1912, Frost moved his family to England. While in London, he met Ezra Pound, E. Thomas, T. E. Hume, W. W． Gibson, L. Abercrombie and other poets. With the help of these friends, a London publishing company immediately accepted his collection of lyric poems and published it under the title "A Boy's Will" in 1913.

Next, his collection of narrative poems "North Of Boston" was published in 1914. The enthusiastic praise from British critics attracted the attention of the American publishing industry. Three American publishing companies immediately requested manuscripts from him.

After the start of World War I, Frost returned to the United States in February 1915 and ran a farm in New Hampshire. This coincided with the publication of his first two collections of poetry in New York. It was warmly welcomed by American readers. Since then, his fame has greatly increased, ending the era of obscurity. He later won the Pulitzer Prize four times ("New Hampshire" in 1924, "Selected Poems" in 1931, "Another Pasture" in 1937 and "A Bearing Tree" in 1943).

He has taught or done research at Amherst College, the University of Michigan, and Harvard University. He was extremely interested in botany. Most of the poems in "A Boy's Will" are about plants. Nature had religious significance for him.