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Analysis of Robert Frost the stopping by woods on snowy evening
Literary devices in stopping by the woods on a snowy evening
Literary analyses in stopping by the woods on a snowy evening
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2.0 INTERPRETATION
“Stopping by woods on a snowy evening” is a poem that were written by Robert Frost in 1923. By looking at the title, one could imagine about a scenery where there was a wood or forest in a dark snowy evening. A title can tell a whole story. sometimes it gives us the information to understand the whole poem. But sometimes, it gives us tons of questions that will be answered in the poem. Readers could be curious about who is stopping, and why did he choose such place and time.
When reading this poem, it can be summarized to a story where it tells a story about a man driving horse-drawn cart pauses besides a forest to watch the snow falling on it, the horse seems wondering and want to keep moving, and the man decides he ought to move on, although the scene is inviting.
The title itself sounds intriguing and we can easily imagine by just looking at the title the whole story. Instead of using in the woods, he used by the woods which makes it very interesting and curious.
The next question that would be swimming in readers’ mind is about the speaker. Who is him? why is he stopping by the woods? on snowy evening? The speaker might be the one who loves nature as Frost himself is a person who loves nature. He just can’t get enough of it and looking and staring the woods. He is appreciating the scenery and he just comes to his sense that he has to go home because he has his own life.
But, when we look at the first stanza, everything changes.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
Like the woods it describes the poem, dark depth of interpretation. We have to dig it in to interpret the possible meanings. The woo...
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... speaker is actually in dilemma and has decided to go home and leave the beautiful inviting scenery. He has to go back to the civilization and society because he has responsibilities to be filled. Horse that was mentioned earlier could be the representation of the civilization as it is the newest thing to society’s agent at this place and time. The woods give the feeling of wildness, madness, the pre-rational but they have their own attractions such as restful seductive, lovely, dark and deep. The attraction to the danger, unknown dark and mystery overwhelms the speaker. There are some other interpretations that I have read. One of them says that the poem implies that the speaker desires the peace or oblivion; some says death or suicide and the sleep will satisfy the desire. The speaker in this poem expresses a taste for darkness that resembles the wish to die.
The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ...
The time period this work takes place in is a very gloomy and frightening time. He wakes up in a dark place by himself and in fear, which makes things worse. A common theme we can relate this dark place to is when we fall off of the path of God. Since God represents all things good, the dark is the exact opposite. Since everything is not so clear in the wood he his describing, the path back to God is even more difficult to attain.
The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, also considered Frost’s masterpiece, not only has the theme of isolation and nature but it was also his first Pulitzer Prize winning poem. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” is about a man traveling through the woods on a snowy night. He pauses to look at the beauty of nature on private property, but is not able to look at nature for long because he has an extensive distance to travel. As Karen Hardison explains, “"A Soldier" is composed around an extended metaphor that is introduced in the first line: "He is that fallen lance.."
We now know that we are in the real world in a natural setting a place where deer’s run. Also we know that the dark is nothing more than the cover of darkness in the night. Now that the dark is painted into our heads it will help us to visualize the poems significance. As we go through the poem he states that he sees a dead deer, “Traveling through the dark I found a deer dead on the edge of the Wilson River road” (1-2). Towards the end of the stanza he says “It is usually best to roll them into the canyon: that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead” (3-4). What he is saying is that one needs to move away from any situation which might not be ideal before harm comes aboard. He is calm and controlled and does not get overly excited thus keeping his emotions intact.
This poem is a clear representation of it's theme, maybe the most clear out of all of the poems. The speaker enters the woods, deeper and deeper they go, away from the people on the outside of the woods. He walks the opposite from others, if taken in a literal sense. “Against the trees I go” (Frost, Line 2) implies that he would rather walk away from others, as walking against the trees, instead of walking with them. Just looking at the poem, you see that the speaker is happy walking into the woods alone, and that this is where they come to be alone, away from others. As the poem goes on, it gets later but the speaker does not feel the pressure to leave. They slowly make their tracks in the snow. Snow is a symbol of isolation as well, for example, when snow is fresh. The snow looks so delicate, not to be touched. But, in this poem, no one had touched the snow. The speaker made his tracks in the snow because he was the only one there to make them. No one has come to this spot, and therefore it is isolated, only for him. As the poem
Robert Frost uses metaphor and symbolism extensively in ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, developing deeper and more complex meanings from a superficially simple poem. Frost’s own analysis contributes greatly to our appreciation of the importance of metaphor, claiming that “metaphor [is] the whole of thinking,” inviting the reader to interpret the beautiful scene in a more profound way. However, the multitude of possible interpretations sees it being read as either carefully crafted lyric, a “suicide poem, [or] as recording a single autobiographical incident” . Judith Oster argues, therefore, that the social conditions individual to each reader tangibly alter our understanding of metaphor. Despite the simplicity of language, Frost uses conventional metaphors to explore complex ideas about life, death and nature. The uncertainty, even in the concluding stanza, that encompasses the poem only adds to the depth of possible readings.
In the opening stanza, Frost describes coming to a point during a walk along a rural road that diverges into two separate, yet similar paths. The narrator finds that he ...
What appears to be "simple" is shown to be not really simple, what appears to be innocent not really innocent.... The poet is fascinated and lulled by the empty wastes of white and black. The repetition of "sleep" in the final two lines suggests that he may succumb to the influences that are at work. There is no reason to suppose that these influences are benignant. It is, after all, "the darkest evening of the year," and the poet is alone "between the woods and frozen lake.
The poem is showing how many people are questioning the way Frost conducts himself and his happiness. Everything in Frost’s poem up until the last stanza is dark and depressing. An example of this is, “Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.” (Frost, Lines 7 and 8). Frost is so consumed in the sadness, that its very dark around him. The last stanza is where Frost’s hopefulness is presented. The happiness is hinted towards, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” (Frost, Lines 13 to 16). He has promised himself to always keep moving forward and focusing on the goodness that life has to offer. Frost knows that he isn’t quite there yet, but he will not give up. He emphasizes his perseverance by reaping himself twice when he says “And miles to go before I sleep,” (Frost, Line 15). He had a break through and knows that he cannot give up. He is taking the little bit of happiness he knows to transform his life completely too where he is happy with every aspect of it. He is taking the hope that he does have and running with it, not looking back at the despair he feels that surrounds
The setting takes place in the daylight of the woods. I felt that Frost set the poem in the woods because it helps reader imagine trees, leaves, and bushes. Therefore readers know that the speaker is alone without any road signs or knowledge of any direction on which road to take. The “yellow wood”(1) means that its somewhere in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. The “yellow” brings out a beautiful image of the autumn to readers. The “yellow wood” means there is a continuous decision one makes in li...
"It [the poem] finds its own name as it goes and discovers the best waiting for it in some final phrase at once wise and sad." (Frost 985). The title, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", identifies the general image the reader would envision while reading the poem. It clearly depicts the general perception of the character. It takes on that the story line of the poem is the character standing in the woods on a snowy night reflecting on life and his surroundings. As the poem comes to an end with: "And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."(l. 15-16) it takes on the feeling of a wise choice with the right intentions in mind. At the same time, it gives the gloomy feeling of a tired person who must go on through the dark woods alone with his horse at night, who must carry on no matter what. Frost describes this by explaining ."..the happy-sad blend of the drinking song." (Frost 985). It can be viewed that even though the character is alone and glum now, that there may be some form of salvation awaiting him.
Hochman, Jhan. "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening." Poetry for Students. Vol.1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.
rhyme and meter similar to that of normal speech; he is also known to explore fundamental aspects of the human experience with his works. Frost combines these two characteristics in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” giving the outwardly simple poem a breadth and depth that allows readers to interpret it in different ways on different levels. This complexity creates some difficultly in coming to a conclusion regarding the piece, but the reader may also use it to form a holistic opinion about the meaning behind the work. This can be done by analyzing each layer of the work symbolically and stylistically, both as a separate entity and as a lens to a deeper interpretation. Two layers seem to stand out, ultimately working together to reveal a sad commentary on blind busyness.
Darkness may also symbolize the mystery of the yet to be discovered secrets deep within the woods. (8) The silence makes the speaker feel secluded from all other aspects of reality. (11-12) Stopping by the woods provides the speaker with a temporary escape from reality. Frost does not ever tell what business the speaker is on, but you can assume it may be very stressful. This escape from reality is very important even in today’s world. This poem was written in 1923 and still has aspects of 20th century society.
Frost uses nature as a reflection of human experiences; just like humanity it can have seasons and life cycles. He uses different scenes to depict a certain mood for readers to step into the psychological happening of a man. The idea of how seasons change, Frost compares it through the life cycles that humans encounter. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that nature is not Frost’s central theme in his poetry; it is about the relationship that man has with nature in which can be seen from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “An Old Man’s Winter Night.”