3 American Poets - Robert Frost, Mary Oliver and Maya AngelouPoetry as a literal work in which the expression of ideas and feelings takes on The force has had great authors over time who have adopted different perspectives in this genre of literature. These poets used distinctive rhythm and style to express their styles, poetic themes, outlook on life and had their share of influence on American society. This article uses the basis of these styles, themes, outlook on life, and subsequent influence on American society to compare three prolific poets who ventured into this literary genre: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Maya Angelou. Robert Frost (1874-1963) occupies a unique and almost unique position in the career that primarily encompasses the modern period. Mary Oliver (born September 10, 1935) is a Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning poet. Maya Angelou (born April 4, 1928), on the other hand, is both an author and poet, who has published several books of poetry, three books of essays and seven bibliographies (Angelou, Edwin Graves Wilson & Jerome, 2007). Comparison by poetic styles Frost strove to approximate his poetic style to take the form of a conversation, in which the lines of his poems aimed to restore the sounds underlying the words and to enhance the meaning through a vocal gesture. The style Frost used emphasized that his ear had to be sensitive to his voice in order to capture with the written word the meaning of the sound in the spoken word (Frost, 1986). “Death of the Hired Man,” for example, consists of an almost all-encompassing dialogue between Warren, the farmer husband, and Mary, his wife. An example is: “When have I ever been anything but nice to him?” "But I don't want that guy back," he said. M...... middle of paper......and more importantly the language. Works CitedAngelou, Maya, Edwin Graves Wilson and Jerome Lagarrigue. New York: Sterling, 2007. Print. Collected Poems of Robert Frost. /www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/robert-frost April 15, 2014. Poetry Foundation Homepage: Mary Oliver Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mary-oliver April 15. 2014. Poetry Foundation Home Page: Maya Angelou. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/maya-angelou on April 15, 2014Oliver, Mary. : Beacon Press, 2004. Print.Robert Frost: Approach to Life and Appearances retrieved from http://famous-relationships.topsynergy.com/Robert_Frost/Attitude.asp on April 15 15, 2014