2. stopping by woods

IMAGES(English): Notes, Second Year B.Com

1. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 1


Unit II Poetry

Lesson-2: Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Robert Frost

SUMMARY

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' is one of Robert Frost's most famous
poems, filled with the theme of nature and vivid imagery . The speaker in the poem
is traveling at night through the snow and pauses with his horse near the woods by
a neighbor's house to watch the snow falling around him. His horse shakes his
harness bells, questioning the pause; perhaps this place isn't on their usual route, or
he is curious that there doesn't appear to be a farmhouse nearby.

The speaker continues to stand near the woods, attracted by the deep, dark silence
of his surroundings. He feels compelled to move further into the snowy woods, but
he ultimately decides to continue, concluding with perhaps the most famous lines
of the poem: 'But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles
to go before I sleep.'

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Like many of Frost's poems, 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' deals
with the contemplation of nature. Many readers debate about whether or not the
tone of the poem is calm and serene or dark and depressing.
On the one hand, the speaker wants to take a moment to pause in a quiet spot to
watch the snow falling, perhaps to soothe his mind and contemplate nature. The
pull of the woods could just be the solitude of being alone and the lure of being
free of responsibilities.
It might also suggest a sense of adventure and attraction to danger - the 'darkness'
and 'depth' of the woods. Perhaps the speaker wants to experience new things and
places, but his responsibilities - his work, his family, his community - keep him
from going off on dark and dangerous adventures. A simple interpretation is that
work must come before play, which the little horse reminds us with the shaking of

2. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 2

his bells, as if to say, 'we have places to go. We can't just stand around and watch
the snow falling. There's work to be done.'
A darker interpretation of the poem addresses exhaustion with life and a longing
for death. The speaker tells us that it's 'the darkest evening of the year,' and the
darkness, the isolated spot, and the cold, frozen lake don't sound like a very
inviting place to stop and commune with one's own thoughts. The season
of winter in literature is typically associated with death and darkness; animals
hibernate, plants die, and it will be a long time before the earth wakes up again.

AUTHOR
Born on March 26, 1874, Robert Frost spent his first 40 years as an unknown. He
exploded on the scene after returning from England at the beginning of WW-I.
Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and a special guest at President John F. Kennedy’s
inauguration, Frost became a poetic force and the unofficial "poet laureate" of the
United States. He died of complications from prostate surgery on January 29, 1963.
About Frost, President John F. Kennedy, at whose inauguration the poet delivered
a poem, said, “He has bequeathed his nation a body of imperishable verse from
which Americans will forever gain joy and understanding.”
Robert Lee Frost is among the most fecund(producing many new ideas) writers
when it comes to poetry and playwriting. He was highly appreciated and admired
for his realistic portrayal of rural life and his great expertise on American
colloquial speech. Most of his astonishing works circle around the rural life
settings in New England during early 20th century. He used his own work to
analyze complicated social and philosophical themes. Robert Frost is very famous
and an often quoted poet. During his lifetime, he was honored with several prizes
which include four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.

PARAGRAPHWISE EXPLANATION

1. 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.”

3. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 3

— The narrator (may be the poet himself) of the poem Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening stops by some woods on his way one evening. The narrator knows
the owner of the woods and even where he lives. He is a bit relaxed thinking that
the owner of the woods lives in the village and so he won’t see the narrator
stopping here. Therefore he can continue watching the natural beauty of his snow-
covered woods.
2. “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
— In the second stanza, the narrator of the poem says that his dear horse, whom he
is using as his carriage, must think it strange to stop here between the woods and
the frozen lake in a dark evening, as he normally stops near a farmhouse. The
narrator calls his horse “my little horse”, as it is very dear to him or may be the
horse is a little one in the literal sense, i.e., a pony. It may also suggest that the
speaker is a humble and ordinary citizen and cannot afford to buy an expensive
horse. He also personifies the horse by indicating that it has a thought process and
also referring it as “he” in the next stanza.

In this stanza the narrator suggest that the weather is cold enough to freeze a lake.
The expression ‘darkest evening’ could suggest several things. May be the
narrator-traveller was very depressed due to his long journey or the cold weather.
Otherwise it may also refer to the longest night of the year – the night with the
most hours of darkness. In that case, it is 21st or 22nd December, when the winter
solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere.

3.“He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.”


— The horse is shaking its head ringing the bell attached to its harness, as if ‘he’ is
asking his master whether there is any problem, as it is unusual for him to stop by
the woods in the darkness. And the important thing in this stanza of the poem

4. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 4

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is the sound imageries. There is only
three sounds – the sounds of the harness bell, light wind and the snowflakes.
4.“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.”

— Here in the last stanza the narrator describes the woods using three adjectives –
lovely, dark and deep. This indicates that he is enjoying the scene and wants to do
so for long. But he has other responsibilities in life. He has to go a long way before
he sleeps. So he cannot get the enjoyment for long. He has to move on. And the
important thing here is that the poet repeats the last line to attract the attention of
the readers. In this very last line lies the allegorical interpretation. Here “sleep”
may refer to death. We, in our real life, have many things to look at with awe,
many things to enjoy, but in most cases we cannot simply because we have other
things to do in our short lifespan, so we have to move on.
Again some critics interpret it in a different way. The ‘woods’ here may also
suggest the distractions and temptations in the journey of our life. The poet may
mean that we should not pay heed to those outward temptations. We should stay
focused on our goal and try to reach it in time. We must fulfill our duties before we
die, so we have no time to look at other things on the way.

I. Answer the questions in 3-4 sentences:
i. What attracts the speaker to the woods?
Ans. The beautiful sight of peaceful place with snow falling attracted the
speaker.
ii. How does the poet describe the woods?
Ans. The woods are described by three adjectives: dark, deep and lovely.
iii. Why does the poet decide to move on despite the beauty of woods?

5. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 5

Ans. He decided to move on as he has many responsibilities in life. He has
to go a long way before he sleeps. So he cannot get the enjoyment for long.
iv. What conclusion can you draw about the speaker’s state of mind from the
poem?
Ans. The poet may mean that we should not pay heed to those outward
temptations. We should stay focused on our goal and try to reach it in time.
We must fulfill our duties before we die, so we have no time to look at other
things on the way.

II. Answer the questions in 50-60 words:

i. Comment on the rhyme scheme used in the poem. How does it contribute to
the mood and tone of the poem?
Ans. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is written in a very
deliberate meter and rhyming scheme. First, the meter is iambic
tetrameter, meaning that each line is composed of four iambs, or
"daDUM" syllables. This is clearly seen in the first lines of the poem: the
rhyme scheme is commonly depicted as "AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD."
ii. What do you think the poet means by the line ‘And miles to go before I
sleep’. Why do you think that line is repeated?
Ans. The speaker is away from his home, where he feels that he needs to
repeat this fact to himself that he has miles to reach home. However,
symbolically the word “sleep” suggests death and darkness. Hence, this line
refers to a long journey ahead before the speaker could go to eternal sleep
of death, or it simply proposes that speaker has many responsibilities to
fulfill before sleeping or dying.

6. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 6


iii. Is the speaker conflicted? What do you think he/she is conflicted about?
Ans. Yes, the speaker seems conflicted but The basic conflict in the poem,
resolved in the last stanza, is between an attraction toward the woods and
the pull of responsibility outside of the woods.
I. Answer the questions in 150-200 words:

i. What do you think the woods stand for in the poem? Are they a metaphor for
something? Use the poem to illustrate your answer.
Ans. Woods are sometimes a symbol for wildness, madness, the pre-
rational, the looming irrational. The poem is symbolic or involves an
extended metaphor, it is in the sense that the absent land owner, separated
from nature, symbolizes humans who are separated from nature and don't
realize what they're missing. Connected to this interpretation is the
opposition of the man-made (such as the barn), with the natural (the snow
and woods). The speaker/character, too, though he appreciates the
natural, cannot stay to admire it because of human responsibilities.
ii. Comment on poem as an allegory of life and death using lines from the
poem to illustrate your answer.
Ans. The allegory that might be interpreting in "Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening" is one of obligations that a person has should be done before
the end of the day or the end of their life. The evening is “the darkest evening
of the year,” winter solistice. It is also the shortest, in a period of cold and
darkness. The images of the frozen lake, the dark, the deep, could be used to
argue that Frost is thinking of death. Death here is beckoning, an escape from
care. The repeated lines at the end seem to reinforce the heavy sense of
obligation. They make the “promises” seem more weighty, inescapable.
Therefore, while the poem is liaden with images of death, the poem hearkens
to life and fulfilling responsibilities before it is too late. The poem ends with the
repeated phrase "...miles to go...." There is always something a person can do
before it is too late. So in a sense, life is reaffirming even at the end.

7. Notes Second Year B Com 2017

Dr Priya Adwani
SDJ International College
Surat Page 7


iii. Explain how the poet manages to evoke the beauty of the setting in this short
and simple poem.
Ans. Read summary