Robert Frost 

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems, filled with vivid imagery and the theme of nature that readers of his have come to love. This poem reflects on many of the qualities of the characteristic of Frost, including the relationship between humans and nature, the strong theme which is given in the lines of this poem.

 

Meaning

Like majority of his poems, on the surface, this poem is a simplicity but underneath the surface the poem there are deep meanings and thoughts that can relate to everyones life. The plot on the surface of this poem is that the speaker stops by the woods on this "darkest evening of the year" to watch them "fill up with snow", and he also mentions that his horse must think it strange to linger for such a long time, when there is no farmhouse nearby. Then his "little horse" shakes his harness bells "to ask if there is some mistake," and so he is reminded that he has "promises" to keep and miles to go before he reaches his destination or goal. This is the direct meaning behind the poem when one reads it for his or her first time.

 

When going more deeply into the meaning of the poem, it can mean several things all based upon theories. Personally i think that the woods and this journey he is referring to could represent his whole life, and that now he has stopped in the woods (his life) to wonder what has become of his journey so far reflects upon it. Soon, he falls out of this pause and reminds himself that there are responsibilities for him further that he has to fulfill and in order to do that he must continue his journey or in other words move on with his life however hard it is. This poem can be interpreted in several more ways because it is deep and complex poem as itself. Only, Frost the genius himself can say what his thoughts behind the poem really were.

 

Meter

• Iambic: is a poetic verse that is made up of iambs, which are metrical "feet" where each metrical "feet" consists of 2 syllables.

• Iambic Tetrameter: is a line or verse with 4 iambs, where one iamb is equal to two syllables, so a line following the iambic tetrameter, would consist of 8 syllables

This poem follows is perfect iambic tetrameter. It is one of Frost's genius miracles that he could write a poem without a single 'out of place' foot to break the metrical pattern and yet write one of the most memorable poems in the history of literature. Here below is the poem, in which i have marked the "feet" each of which have 2 syllables.

 

Whose woods | these are | I think | I know.

His house | is in | the vil | lage though;

He will | not see | me stop | ping here

To watch | his woods | fill up | with snow.

 

My lit | tle horse | must think | it queer

To stop | without | a farm | house near

Between | the woods | and fro | zen lake

The dark | est eve | ing of | the year.

 

He gives | his har | ness bells | a shake

To ask | if there | is some | mistake.

The on | ly o| ther sound's | the sweep

Of ea | sy wind | and dow | ny flake.

 

The woods | are love | ly, dark | and deep,

But I | have pro | mises | to keep,

And miles | to go | before | I sleep,

And miles | to go | before | I sleep.

 

This poem is different from Frost's other poems which usually follow the pattern of pentameter (5 pairs of syllables) but because this poem follows the pattern of tetrameter and each line has only 8 syllables, the poems moves along at a quick pace. As a reader while reading this poem the word of the poem, give the poem a neat and tidy feel. Also, when taking a look at the first line (stressed syllables are in bold) "Whose woods these are I think I know." The iambic (stressed / unstressed) nature of the the lines of this poem allows us to hear this poem in "sing-songy" way. Altogether, this meter scheme reflects that Frost is a genius who produced an unforgettable piece which perfectly follows the iambic tetrameter throughout the whole poem.

 

Rhyme Scheme

Factual information: This poem consists of 4 stanzas, each of which has 4 lines so altogether there is 16 lines. The rhyme scheme of this poems follows the pattern of: (1st stanza) A - A - B - A, (2nd stanza) B - B - C - B, (3rd stanza) C - C - D - C and (4th stanza) D - D - D - D.

 

Personally, I think that this rhyme scheme is intended to suggest the falling of snow. For example, in the rhyme scheme of the first stanza the "A-rhyme" is dominant then in the following stanza the "B-rhyme" has caught up and become more dominant in the second stanza. Then in a similar way "C-rhyme" from the previous stanza becomes more dominant in the third stanza and then in the final stanza when we expect the rhyme scheme to be D - D - E - D it happens to be all "D-rhyme"; D - D - D - D.

 

Why doesn't Frost rhyme A - A - A - B, B - B - B - C etc. if he wants to suggest the falling of snowflakes? It appears to me that he intended to "catch" the B and then "catch" the C and so forth, before "it" falls completely. Lets visualize A as a snowflake, then B would be a snowflake falling behind and so on. Then, Frost finally gets to D in the third stanza and uses it again in the final stanza and even repeats the final line "miles to go before I sleep," to give the effect of finality. Now the snow has fallen, in effect, and piled up on the ground, and has left again a burning image, of accumulated snow, in the minds of readers. In other words the rhyme scheme of the last stanza: D - D - D - D represents not the falling of snow but fallen snow. This effect created by Frost adds to the imagery, giving readers the feeling and images of cold and soft, white snow.

 

Setting

The setting of the poem is a dark evening, most likely late december. The speaker does not tell us why he is outside or what he is going to do. Also, we are also given the fact that there is a lot of snow on the grounds of the wood. Also it is clear that the woods are dark and deep and the only sound that he can hear is the wind. The scene is beautiful but lonely and the village that he is travelling to, is still miles and miles away from the woods.

 

Point of view

The point of view stays in first person throughout the poem. This perspective gives the poem a personal level, enabling readers to read the poem as if they are experiencing the situation, leaving readers connecting actual life events with the story of the poem. The speaker of the poem is also dramatized because the voice repeatedly uses the term "I" and that makes it clear that the person is referring to him or herself, "But I have promises to keep / and miles to go before I sleep." The speaker can also be considered as intellectual as 'he' is reflecting on 'his' own problems and seems content, not interacting with any other people, "whose woods these are I think I know." Frost's use of the term "I" clearly supports that the poem is in first person point of view, and also that he has done this to create an effect in reader's minds, like the above words show.

 

Tone and Mood

Tone is defined an author's attitude towards the subject of the piece and here Frost is serious and reflective about his actions and his life.

Mood in a poem is the climate of feeling in the piece- this is what the reader feels. The mood could be described as peaceful, mysterious, why is he stopping in the middle of the woods, obviously it is something he doesn't usually do as his horse thinks it "queer". The mood could also be described as dark and foreboding, since it is the darkest evening of the year and he also mentions repeatedly that the woods are "dark and deep".

 

Personification

The line, "My little horse must think it queer" shows that Frost is bringing the horse in comparison with a human. Only a human can determine if someone, something or an action is "queer."

 

Alliteration

Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, for example: "Sweet birds sang"

Alliteration appears a quite a few times in this poem, in the following lines:

His house is in the village though (line 2)

He will not see me stopping here (line 3)

To watch his woods fill up with snow (line 4)

He gives his harness bells a shake (line 9)

The alliteration in this poem adds to the sing-songy way of this poem. Reading words with similar starting letters gives readers a good feel in there mouth while reading it to themselves or out loud. Frost has used this alliteration to  his advantage to make the poem unforgettable in a reader's mind.

 

Imagery

In the poem "Stopping by Woods in a Snowy Evening" there are four different types of imagery: natural, sound, light/dark and man-made imagery.

• Natural imagery, is imagery where nature and environment related aspects of a poem give insight on the setting of the poem. Examples of natural imagery in this poem: "woods," "snow," "frozen lake", "downy flake"

• Sound imagery, is when words in the poem give a feeling of sound to its readers. Examples of sound imagery in this poem: "sweep of easy wind"; "bells"

• Light/dark imagery, is when two images a dark image and a light image are put together to give readers a contrasting imagery. Examples of light/dark imagery in this poem: "snow" vs. "The darkest evening of the year."

• As last there is man-made imagery, and here readers are given images of human constructions and structures. Examples of natural imagery in this poem: "farmhouse," "harness," "village"

There four types of imagery contribute to make this poem unforgettable for readers that read it.

 

Symbolism

First looking at the title of this poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy evening" here the evening has symbolism. The word evening could symbolize the remembering of past memories when a person is in the older years of his life. In the first stanza, Frost writes that he passes through woods of a man living in a village, watching the woods "fill up with snow" (line 4). Woods could be symbolic for life, while snow indicates winter this suggests that the narrator is "elderly". If all this is added together the first stanza and in the lines afterwards the speaker hints that he is an aged man and remembering and reflecting all that has happened in the speaker's life. Also, the horse could be symbolic for someone or something guiding him through life, maybe a person who he loves or means a lot to him. Hereafter, in the last few lines suggest that, the speaker's life is mysterious and wonderful, but he has responsibilities and many things to do before his last breath and before he dies.

 

Repetition

In this poem Frost has used the device; repetition once, but this repetition is very significant and a memorable which adds quite an effect to the poem as a whole.  He used repetition in the last two lines, where he used this line twice: "And miles to go before I sleep." Frost's decision to do so could be read in many ways. In one way, the repetition serves as a reminder for if he might stay in the woods and forget that he has responsibilities that he must fulfill. On the other hand, the repeated line could be a signal that the speaker is slowly falling asleep. Maybe it could go as far as that as the poem ends with the speaker's death.

 

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or statements that are not meant to be taken literally. Frost has shown hyperbole in the following line, "To watch his woods fill up with snow." In a literal way, "woods" cannot "fill up with snow" this is an exaggerating for the falling of snow and possibly a high accumulation of it on the grounds of the  "woods".