"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
Whose woods these are I think I know.
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.
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.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of the easy wind and downy flake.
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.
Robert Frost once again writes about the outdoors and nature in this poem. The speaker is riding on his horse along the woods on a snowy evening. The peaceful and enjoyable scenery of the trees all covered in snow tempt the speaker to want to stay longer (lines 4 & 13). The horse gives his bells a shake to see why they have stopped and the speaker knows hey must keep going (lines 14-16), because there are things that need to be done and they still have a long way to go before getting home. Frost uses personification in line 10, when the horse shakes his bells, “To ask if there is some mistake”. Obviously, a horse cannot speak and therefore it cannot ask questions. The tone of the poem is peaceful and calm. How the author describes the tranquil setting and how the speaker felt within the woods illustrates a soothing image for the reader. This poem is simply about enjoying what surrounds you. Sometimes, it is best to take a moment from routine or long journeys, and enjoy what nature has to offer, and take pleasure in some of the things we tend to take for granted. The traveler does this by enjoying the moment, “Of the easy wind and downy flake” (line 12), on the darkest night of the year (line 8).
For additional analysis on this poem, you may visit the following links:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/155.html
http://www.eliteskills.com/c/20545
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/frost/section10.rhtml.
