Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Frost imagines his epitaph as a short statement about a lover’s quarrel with the world, indicating conflict and passion.
In plain terms
His tombstone would say he had a love‑filled conflict with the world.
What can you take from it?
Embrace passionate engagement with life, even when it feels confrontational.

Where it applies

  • legacy contemplation
  • personal identity
  • artistic expression

Putting it to work

  • write a personal credo
  • accept conflict as creative fuel
  • express love for the world

Questions to consider

  • What would your epitaph say?
  • How does conflict shape your creativity?

Another view

A brief epitaph may oversimplify a complex life.

More from Robert Frost

  1. If this uncertain age in which we dwell Were really as dark as I hear sages tell, And I convinced that they were really sages, I should not curse myself with i…

    Permalink to quote #48
  2. We dance round in a ring and suppose, But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

    Permalink to quote #50
  3. Far in the pillared dark Thrush music went - Almost like a call to come in To the dark and lament. But no, I was out for stars; I would not come in. I meant no…

    Permalink to quote #47

Related quotes

  1. Your war memories will be with you forever, you'll be asked about them thousands of times after the war is over. People will get their respect for you from tha…

    John KnowlesJohn Knowles quote #8
  2. The life and ventures of Mickey Mouse have been closely bound up with my own personal and professional life. It is understandable that I should have sentimenta…

    Walt DisneyWalt Disney quote #149
  3. At present, I am a poet trying to be a soldier. To tell the truth, I am not interested in writing nowadays, except in so far as writing is the expression of so…

    Joyce KilmerJoyce Kilmer quote #1