"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a regarded as one of Robert Frost’s best pieces of work. However at a first glance, one typically overlooks the poetic finery of Robert Frost’s work. He embeds ambiguous meanings that allow the reader to take a dual interpretation of the text. The iambic tetrameter along with the simplicity of the poem conceals the actual meaningfulness. While creating a deeper meaning Frost also provides a perspective that gives off a remote and solitude feeling. The poem highlights the evening of a man who pauses to take a look at the beautiful scenery lying ahead of his long journey. “The simple words and rhyme scheme of the poem gives it an easy flow, which adds to the calmness of the poem” (Analysis 1). Deconstructing Robert Frost’s, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, creates a meaning that one may overlook at a first glance due to the simplicity of the poem. From the imagery and the simplistic structure, the reader is tempted to literally interpret the poem; however, one must analyze the rooted significance that is in Robert Frost’s poem.
The four quatrains of this poem are the definition of simplicity. It tells of an experience on a late night where Robert Frost comes across some snowy woods late in the evening. The lovely scene before his eyes intrigues the author and tempts him to remain in the woods. However, the author is still aware of the large ground that is to be covered before he can relax for the remainder of the evening. When it comes to Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the surface analysis gives a basic story. But a deeper, poetic interpretation offers into the author’s perspective. For instance, this is evident in the first quatrain where the author is...
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...r to give a literal interpretation of the poem. A deeper analysis can be obtained when the poem is thoroughly deconstructed.
Works Cited
"Analysis of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"" Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
"On "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"" On "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
""Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Studymode." StudyMode. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
"Ruth McMullen Writing." Ruth McMullen Writing. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
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.."
Frost’s sentence structure is long and complicated. Many meanings of his poems are not revealed to the reader through first glance, but only after close introspection of the poem. The true meanings contained in Frost’s poems, are usually lessons on life. Frost uses symbolism of nature and incorporates that symbolism into everyday life situations. The speaker in the poems vary, in the poem “The Pasture”, Frost seems to be directly involved in the poem, where as in the poem “While in the Rose Pogonias”, he is a detached observer, viewing and talking about the world’s beauty. Subsequently, the author transfers that beauty over to the beauty of experiences that are achieved through everyday life.
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.
Three inches of fresh snow fell last night, creating a blanket of freshness that reflects the last rays of moonlight. As we drive into our property we see fresh deer tracks and my heart starts pumping, I have been away from Wisconsin for a few months and this morning is the first time I entered these woods since September. A few hundred yards into the woods we jump three deer walking the road. They bound off into the darkness in flashes of brown silhouetted by snow. We park...
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 ...
"Stopping by Woods" The visible sign of the poet's preoccupation is the recurrent image of dark woods and trees. The world of the woods, a world offering perfect quiet and solitude, exists side by side with the realization that there is also another world, a world of people and social obligations. Both worlds have claims on the poet. He stops by woods on this "darkest evening of the year" to watch them "fill up with snow," and lingers so long that his "little horse" shakes his harness bells "to ask if there is some mistake." The poet is put in mind of the "promises" he has to keep, of the miles he still must travel. We are not told, however, that the call of social responsibility proves stronger than the attraction of the woods, which are "lovely" as well as "dark and deep"; the poet and his horse have not moved on at the poem's end. The dichotomy of the poet's obligations both to the woods and to a world of "promises"--the latter filtering like a barely heard echo through the almost hypnotic state induced by the woods and falling snow-is what gives this poem its singular interest.... The artfulness of "Stopping by Woods" consists in the way the two worlds are established and balanced. The poet is aware that the woods by which he is stopping belong to someone in the village; they are owned by the world of men. But at the same time they are his, the poet's woods, too, by virtue of what they mean to him in terms of emotion and private signification.
Analyzing a poem involves examining various elements. After understanding the story, one can explore the speaker's perspective, as well as other aspects such as setting, language, figures of speech, symbols, atmosphere, mood, characterization, theme, and conflicts. Ultimately, the analyst should determine the poem's underlying message. Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem about the speaker who halts his horse near the woods on a snowy evening to admire the serene beauty of the falling snow. The speaker takes a moment to appreciate the peacefulness of the scene as the snowflakes descend from the dark sky.
The snow that was predicted to be several inches by the end of the weekend quickly piled up to around eight inches by that evening. At times, the snow was falling so heavily you could hardly see the streetlights that glistened like beacons in a sea of snow. With the landscape draped in white, the trees hangi...
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.
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.
...uses his poetry to celebrate, compare, and contrast the beauty of nature and rural living. Throughout Frost’s poetry he draws upon the beauty of nature to build up vast amounts of scenery. To contrast from nature, Frost also uses the integration of industrialized rural life. Frost uses nature to build the beauty in his poetry, but also uses it to say things that cannot be said with words alone. Heller once wisely spoke: “Maybe freedom really is nothing left to lose. You had it once in childhood, when it was okay to climb a tree, to paint a crazy picture and wipe out on your bike, to get hurt. The spirit of risk gradually takes its leave. It follows the wild cries of joy and pain down the wind, through the hedgerow, growing ever fainter. What was that sound? A dog barking far off? That was our life calling to us, the one that was vigorous and undefended and curious.”
Then in the last stanza Frost mentions woods again. Even though the narrator has a long way to go he always has enough time to stop and watch the small thing in nature in detail. This goes to show that Frost’s interest in nature is very large, and he portrays this through his characters.
“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
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” show the readers similar struggles of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control of one’s life and living it aside from how others live theirs. While “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” shows the desire for rest. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road that they
Frost was a rural Yankee whose writings reflect everyday experiences-his own experiences, but was one who saw metaphorical dimensions in the everyday things he encountered. These everyday encounters held ground in his subject matter, combined with the rural setting of New England nature, seasons, weather and times of day. Frost’s goal was to write his poetry in such a way that it would cover familiar ground, but in an unfamiliar way or uncommon in expression. Works Cited and Consulted Frost and Nature, www.frostfriends.org.