"Modern poets talk against business, poor things, but all of us write for money. Beginners are subjected to trial by market"
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Frost lands the jab with a salesman’s grin: poets love to posture as anti-commercial, yet the rent still comes due. The “poor things” is doing double duty - a little pity, a little condescension - aimed at the fashionable pose of scorning “business” while quietly needing it. He’s not defending greed; he’s puncturing the myth that art floats above economics.
The line works because Frost frames the market as a rite of passage, not a betrayal. “Trial by market” borrows the language of ordeal and initiation, implying that beginners don’t just face critics or their own taste; they face the blunt instrument of whether anyone will pay attention long enough to pay. It’s also a subtle assertion of hierarchy: established poets can afford to romanticize purity, while newcomers must submit to judgment in its most practical form. Frost, who spent years scraping by and only later became an institution, knew that “making it” often means translating talent into something legible to an audience beyond the coterie.
The subtext is both democratic and slightly ruthless. Democratic, because the market represents ordinary readers, not gatekeepers in ivy. Ruthless, because it suggests artistic legitimacy is partly earned through demand. Frost isn’t claiming sales equal greatness; he’s warning that pretending money is irrelevant is a privilege - and a convenient self-deception for a scene that likes its rebellion cost-free.
The line works because Frost frames the market as a rite of passage, not a betrayal. “Trial by market” borrows the language of ordeal and initiation, implying that beginners don’t just face critics or their own taste; they face the blunt instrument of whether anyone will pay attention long enough to pay. It’s also a subtle assertion of hierarchy: established poets can afford to romanticize purity, while newcomers must submit to judgment in its most practical form. Frost, who spent years scraping by and only later became an institution, knew that “making it” often means translating talent into something legible to an audience beyond the coterie.
The subtext is both democratic and slightly ruthless. Democratic, because the market represents ordinary readers, not gatekeepers in ivy. Ruthless, because it suggests artistic legitimacy is partly earned through demand. Frost isn’t claiming sales equal greatness; he’s warning that pretending money is irrelevant is a privilege - and a convenient self-deception for a scene that likes its rebellion cost-free.
Quote Details
| Topic | Poetry |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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