Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

I have always found diverging into a Robert Frost poem intriguing. One cannot artlessly draw to a single conclusion that could summarize or give a poem a specific meaning. We can commonly find multiple meanings expressed throughout a piece of his work. In, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, you can feel the emotion of his words throughout the poem. To me, in this poem, I could feel the expression of his sense of appreciation and compassion towards nature.

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.

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... ... middle of paper ... ...r to give a literal interpretation of the poem. A deeper analysis can be obtained when the poem is thoroughly deconstructed.

The Two Worlds in Stopping by Woods "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.

The poems, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “The Road Not Taken” by the American poet, Robert Frost illustrate the importance of decision making. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” illustrates the impact of the wrong choice being made on the personas life to an extent that he/she does not feel like living anymore. This is depicted through his mental state when he wanders into a dark forest that is miles away from his village. On the other hand, “The Road Not Taken” depicts the difficulty in breaking the norm and making a choice that is different from others. The choice that this persona has to make is symbolically portrayed through a fork in the roads while he/she is in the woods.

The third line does, however, rhyme with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza. This gives the poem an overarching sense of consistency and helps it flow nicely from stanza to stanza, as opposed to some of his other, more staccato works, like “Departmental.” To conclude, Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” has given readers an incredible look into the journey and flow of life and death through the use of heavy metaphors, emphatic repetition, and a flowing rhyme scheme. Frost teaches us that stagnancy means not growing, that being stuck in one place, however enjoyable, isn’t conducive to self-improvement or productivity. This is the ultimate lesson in moving

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.

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.

In other words, symbolic words make us to interpret a work in so different ways as far as the work permits and supports the interpretation. In regard to this point, different interpretations on the poem ”Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” are inevitable. Because this is a symbolic poem, full of symbolic words such as woods, horse, dark, snow…etc. As far as I researched, it seems that all the interpretations are through three common perspectives, those I explain about one by one, from more dominant to less. Perspective 1: Life/Beauty In brief, in this perspective we see the speake... ... middle of paper ... ... fellows who go ahead and say all sorts of things.

On the poems surface it is about an actual journey of a man traveling in the woods who finds peace in the quietness but he cannot stop as he has promises to attend to. This explanation is not analytical in anyway, rather is it quite simple. However, it is very rare that poetry is meant to be taken so literally, as is the case with “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”. This journey through the woods can easily be translated through the journey of life that ultimately ends with death. Another, more likely interpretation, is that of choices.