Analysis of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

528 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Analysis of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening is a poem that works on so many levels. This poem uses all sorts of literary tools to convey deeper meanings. Such tools as allegory and imagery are used in such simple manner as to not confuse the reader but also get the deeper meaning across. For these reasons, and more, I think that Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening is a timeless classic and my favorite poem.

One thing that Robert Frost does in all of his poems is he writes them in such a way as to not be very hard on the reader. In Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening, there are not any big words to cope with, there are not any confusing words that might make the reader stop and think. It has a very pleasing sound. By this I mean that it rolls of the tongue and that it rhymes. It has a very “Dr. Suess” feel to it. This feel allows the reader to flow through the poem without any real deep thought. The form of this poem is characterized as closed form. That means that is has regular meter, rhyme and length. For example, the first stanza reads:

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.

This stanza is the perfect example of what I am talking about. Each line is 8 syllables long and they flow with a regular beat that can be followed by anyone. Even though the structure is very simple, it offers a sense of great imagery.

This poem, more than any other I have read, paints a vivid picture in my mind. It is as if I am actually the man in this poem. There is one stanza that leaps out at me. It reads as follows:

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

The last two lines are what paint the picture here for me. I can just see the path that they are stopping on and the horse and the man. It is just so real for me.

Show More
Related

  • Comparsion of Robert Frost´s Stopping by Woods in a Snowy Evening and Thylias Mass´ Interpretation of a Poem by Frost

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The voice of the speaker in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” is that of an individual that is stressed out or overwhelmed. He or she just needs to take a mental break from everything and, “stop by the words/to watch [them] fill with snow.” The reader knows that this person needs to take this mental break based upon how long they stay there. He or she stays in the woods so long that their horse “give his harness bells a shake/to ask if there is some mistake.” In other words, the horse is confused; here he stands in these woods “without a farmhouse near [and] the only other sound [he hears, aside from his own bells, are,] the sweep of easy wind and [a] downy flake.” This sense of being overwhelmed, and needing to take a mental break in order to remain sane, is something any reader can relate to, whether they have had a stressful day at work, a parent is using the poem as an example to show a child who has had a temper tantrum that they are being puni...

    Read More

  • Robert Frost: Annotated Bibliography

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.."

    Read More

  • The Deeper Meaning of The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice, and Birches, by Robert Frost

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. His poems are not what they seem to be at first glance. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Out, Out by Robert Frost

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost begins the poem by describing a young boy cutting some wood using a "buzz-saw." The setting is Vermont and the time is late afternoon. The sun is setting and the boy's sister calls he and the other workers to come for "Supper." As the boy hears its dinnertime, he gets excited and cuts his hand on accident. Immediately realizing that the doctor might amputate his hand, he asks his sister to make sure that it does not happen. By the time the doctor arrives, it is too late and the boy's hand is already lost. When the doctor gives him anaesthetic, he falls asleep and never wakes up again. The last sentence of the poem, "since they (the boys family and the doctor) were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" shows how although the boys death is tragic, people move on with their life in a way conveying the idea that people only care for themselves.

    Read More

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Robert Frost Acquainted With The Night

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gilbert, Roger. "Robert Frost: The Walk as Parable." Poetry Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 173, Gale, 2016. Literature Resource Center, proxy.campbell.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=nclivecu&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1420120652&it=r&asid=ce43321a2e99d7cd8ccbc328976c3726.

    Read More

  • Struggle to Cope with Death in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Poetry requires more than just a verse.  It must appeal to your mind and generate emotion.  It should be constructed in a way that appears so simple, yet is intricate in every detail.  Dylan Thomas's poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is a brilliant poem that appears so simple, yet upon looking closer it's complexity can be seen.

    Read More

  • The Other Road in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken

    1660 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of George Herbert's Man

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    Man is a poem that has fully formed stanzas - each stanza can be viewed as a separate point, and has it’s own central metaphor. When all of the stanzas are added up, they act as points in an essay, each a fully developed argument on the importance of man, and humanity’s closeness with

    Read More

  • The Two Worlds in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

    421 Words  | 1 Pages

    Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is about a person the speaker, who stops near the woods when it is snowing out to take a break and look around. He notices how beautiful it is to look at the snow falling in such a peaceful way out of the dark sky.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening By Robert Frost

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Life Choices in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control and living life. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” entails the desire for rest, perhaps due to the speaker’s feelings of weariness from facing life’s struggles. The poet also explains the tough choices people stand before when traveling the road of life. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road they have chosen.

    Read More

  • Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening - Symbolic Setting

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    These aspects help the speaker escape from reality. The snow symbolizes the purity and peacefulness the speaker feels while stopping in the woods. (4) The darkness can symbolize many different things. Some times darkness would be considered evil or dangerous, but I do not think this is the case in this poem. I believe the darkness symbolizes the undisturbed atmosphere of the woods.

    Read More

  • The Imagery Of Nature In Robert Frost's Poetry

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” examines the relationship between the narrator and his surroundings. It appears as if the narrator admits a close personal connection with nature that can be viewed as irrational to the rest of the people. The narrator meets a horse for who he is sorry for being in the dark along. This horse being abandoned is without food and water. He is exhibiting his humanism and for his love for animals as well. A meaning behind the horse can be is that horse are domesticated animals. Being an animal, it is a part

    Read More

More about Analysis of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Open Document