Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Analysis

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The title of Robert Frost’s lyric poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, conjures mental imagery of a remote country lane with a nearby wood. They are filled with increasing shadows as the last light of day fades away. Snow falls gently and quietly upon the landscape, inviting a traveler to stop for a moment to view the scenery beside him. This carefully worded title paints a clear picture of the setting in which the poem takes place. Although the imagery and its associated feelings will be different for each reader, the title suggests taking time to put aside other endeavors for a brief moment to enjoy a spectacle of nature. The sound effects within the poem itself build upon the title as the situation unfolds, creating a light-hearted atmosphere indicative of a pleasant experience. Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” uses meter, rhyme scheme, alliteration, and repetition to set the mood throughout the poem’s four stanzas. This quatrain uses four line stanzas. Scanning the poem reveals that each line contains four metrical feet of unstressed/stressed syllables which is called iambic tetrameter. Whŏse wóods | thĕse áre | Ĭ thínk | Ĭ knów. a Hĭs hóuse | ĭs ín | thĕ víl | lăge, thóugh; a Hĕ wíll | nŏt sée | mĕ stóp | pĭng here b Tŏ wátch | hĭs wóods | fĭll úp | wĭth snów. (1-4) a When read …show more content…

Frost uses it within this work to create a satisfying harmony of pleasing tonal qualities that enhance the mood. A good example are lines one and two of stanza three in which the poet gives voice to the little horse: “He gives his harness bells a shake / To ask if there is some mistake.” (9, 10) The H sounds make the reader force the wind from the throat in puffs, the S sounds breeze across the teeth and tongue briskly. These subtle, repetitive, rhyming sequences emphasize the light-hearted beat, and help to maintain a light-hearted mood throughout the

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