"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1923) On a dark winter evening, the narrator stops his sleigh to watch the snow falling in the woods. At first he worries that the owner of the property will be upset by his presence, but then he remembers that the owner lives in town, and he is free to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow. The sleigh horse is confused by his master’s behavior — stopping far away from any farmhouse — and shakes his harness bells in impatience. After a few more moments, the narrator reluctantly continues on his way. Analysis In terms of text, this poem is remarkably simple: in sixteen lines, there is not a single three-syllable word and only sixteen two-syllable words. In terms of rhythmic scheme and form, however, the poem is surprisingly complex. The poem is made up of four stanzas, each with four stressed syllables in iambic meter. Within an individual stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme (for example, “know,” “though,” and “snow” of the first stanza), while the third line rhymes with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza (for example, “here” of the first stanza rhymes with “queer,” “near,” and “year” of the second stanza). One of Frost’s most famous works, this poem is often touted as an example of his life work. As such, the poem is often analyzed to the minutest detail, far beyond what Frost himself intended for the short and simple piece. In reference to analyses of the work, Frost once said that he was annoyed by those “pressing it for more than it should be pressed for. It means enough without its being pressed…I don’t say that somebody shouldn’t press it, but I don’t want to be there.” The poem was inspired by a particularly difficult winter in New Hampshire when Frost was returning home after an unsuccessful trip at the market. Realizing that he did not have enough to buy Christmas presents for his children, Frost was overwhelmed with depression and stopped his horse at a bend in the road in order to cry. After a few minutes, the horse shook the bells on its harness, and Frost was cheered enough to continue home. The narrator in the poem does not seem to suffer from the same financial and emotional burdens as Frost did, but there is still an overwhelming sense of the narrator’s unavoidable responsibilities. He would prefer to watch the snow falling in the woods, even with his horse’s impatience, but he has “promises to keep,” obligations that he cannot ignore even if he wants to. It is unclear what these specific obligations are, but Frost does suggest that the narrator is particularly attracted to the woods because there is “not a farmhouse near.” He is able to enjoy complete isolation. Frost’s decision to repeat the final line could be read in several ways. On one hand, it reiterates the idea that the narrator has responsibilities that he is reluctant to fulfill. The repetition serves as a reminder, even a mantra, to the narrator, as if he would ultimately decide to stay in the woods unless he forces himself to remember his responsibilities. On the other hand, the repeated line could be a signal that the narrator is slowly falling asleep. Within this interpretation, the poem could end with the narrator’s death, perhaps as a result of hypothermia from staying in the frozen woods for too long. The narrator’s “promises to keep” can also be seen as a reference to traditional American duties for a farmer in New England. In a time and a place where hard work is valued above all things, the act of watching snow fall in the woods may be viewed as a particularly trivial indulgence. Even the narrator is aware that his behavior is not appropriate: he projects his insecurities onto his horse by admitting that even a work animal would “think it queer.”
This entry represents criticism of Robert Frost's “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
INTRODUCTION “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is generally regarded as Frost's masterpiece. The poem was included in Frost's collection New Hampshire (1923) for which he won the first of his four Pulitzer Prizes. It is Frost's most famous poem, and one which he himself viewed as his “best bid for remembrance.” It is also perhaps Frost's most frequently taught and anthologized poem. The speaker in the poem, a traveler by horse on the darkest night of the year, stops to gaze at a woods filling up with snow. While he is drawn to the beauty of the woods, he has obligations which pull him away from the allure of nature. The lyric quality of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” can be heard in the enchanting final stanza: “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.” Plot and Major Characters
The speaker (presumably a man, although no gender is specified), while traveling on horseback (or in a horse-drawn sleigh) on the darkest evening of the year, stops to watch the woods fill up with snow. He thinks the owner of these woods is someone who lives in the village and will not see the speaker stopping on his property. While the speaker continues to gaze into the snowy woods, his little horse impatiently shakes the bells of its harness. The speaker describes the beauty and allure of the woods as “lovely, dark, and deep,” but reminds himself that he must not remain there, for he has “promises to keep,” and a long journey ahead of him. Major Themes
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” like many of Frost's poems, explores the theme of the individual caught between nature and civilization. The speaker's location on the border between civilization and wilderness echoes a common theme throughout American literature. The speaker is drawn to the beauty and allure of the woods, which represent nature, but has obligations—“promises to keep”—which draw him away from nature and back to society and the world of men. The speaker is thus faced with a choice of whether to give in to the allure of nature, or remain in the realm of society. Some critics have interpreted the poem as a meditation on death—the woods represent the allure of death, perhaps suicide, which the speaker resists in order to return to the mundane tasks which order daily life.
Critical Reception
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” was included in Frost's volume New Hampshire, for which he won the first of four Pulitzer prizes. Critics generally agree that its central theme is the speaker's dilemma in choosing between the allure of nature and the responsibilities of everyday life in human society. However, the ambiguity of the poem has lead to extensive critical debate. Some conclude that the speaker chooses, by the end of the poem, to resist the temptations of nature and return to the world of men. Others, however, argue that the speaker's repetition of the last line “And miles to go before I sleep,” suggests an indecisiveness as to whether or not he will, in fact, “keep” the “promises” by which he is obligated to return to society. Many have pointed out that this “ambiguity” is in part what makes the poem great. Another standard interpretation is that the speaker is contemplating suicide—the woods, “lovely, dark, and deep,” represent the allure of death as a means of escape from the mundane duties of daily life. Still others, however, such as Philip L. Gerber, argue that “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is most importantly a “lyric” poem, which should be appreciated in terms of its formal, metrical qualities, such as the complex, interlocking rhyme scheme, rather than its content or “meaning.” Gerber notes that “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is “widely regarded, metrically, as Frost's most perfect poem.” Critics also point to the mood or tone of the poem, as created by its formal properties, as one of a person caught up in a reverie; the hypnotic quality of the repeated closing lines, in particular, suggests a chant or spell. James Hepburn noted that the inability of critics to secure a particular meaning of the poem is due to the quality by which “It is a poem of undertones and overtones rather than of meaning.” Critical debate over the meaning and significance of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” rages on, but few question the status of the poem as one of the greatest in American literature. Donald J. Greiner has observed of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” that “Its deceptive simplicity, its ambiguity, and its interlocking rhyme scheme have been so lauded that it is now one of the most explicated American poems.” The extent to which this poem has been discussed— perhaps overanalyzed—by critics was indicated by the parodic interpretation of Herbert R. Coursen, Jr., who, tongue-in-cheek, surmised that the speaker is in fact none other than Santa Claus, the “little horse” who rings its harness bells representing a reindeer, and the “darkest night of the year,” during which the poem takes place, a reference to the winter solstice, which is only a few days before Christmas. According to this interpretation, the “promises” that the speaker must keep refer to Santa Claus's responsibility to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.
Type of Work and Publication Information "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening " is a lyric poem. It was first published in theNew Republic on March 7, 1923, and republished later that year in a collection of Robert Frost's poems entitled New Hampshire. This collection won Frost a Pulitzer Prize and widespread recognition as an important American writer.
Setting Frost wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" while residing in the village of Franconia in the northwestern corner of New Hampshire. It seems likely that woods near Franconia inspired him to write the poem and that Franconia is the village mentioned in line 2. The time is "the darkest evening of the year." If by this phrase the speaker/narrator means the longest night of the year--that is, the night with the most hours of darkness--then the day is either December 21 or 22. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs each year on one of those days. The solstice is the moment when the sun is farthest south.
Characters The Observer (Speaker/Persona/Narrator): A person traveling by a horse-drawn wagon (or cart or carriage) on a rural road. The traveler stops to observe snow piling up in woods. The Horse: A small horse with a bell attached to its harness. It shakes its head, ringing the bell, to signal that it does not understand why its master has stopped. Owner of the Woods: A man who lives in a nearby village. He is mentioned in the first stanza of the poem. .
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening By Robert Frost .
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. Comment: The traveler appears worried that he is committing an offense by looking upon woods owned by another man. Nevertheless, he steals a look, for the other man "will not see me stopping here." 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. Comment: This stanza says that the location is remote (without nearby farmhouses), that the weather has been cold enough to freeze a lake, and that the evening is the darkest of the year. Darkest here could have more than one meaning--that is, the traveler could be depressed, downcast. However, the horse probably thinks it odd that his master has stopped between the woods and lake on a dark evening, the speaker says. This observation suggests that the darkness is external only, for the speaker is using the word darkest to explain the horse's reaction.
Use of little (line 5): Here, the poet bids for the sympathy of the reader. The word littlesuggests that the speaker/narrator is a humble, ordinary citizen who cannot afford a more imposing horse. 3 He gives his harness bells a shake, To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep, Of easy wind and downy flake. Comment: Sounds are important in this stanza--namely, the sounds of the bells, the wind, and the snowflakes. All of the sounds are gentle, contrasting with the cacophony of everyday life in a town. 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. Comment: The traveler would like to stay awhile and perhaps even enter the woods to absorb their ambience and ponder the mystery of life and nature. However, he has obligations and responsibilities. Therefore, he decides to move on. But the poem does not say whether he in fact moves on. One presumes that he does.
Figures of Speech Following are examples of figures of speech in the poem. For definitions of figures of speech, see Literary Terms. Alliteration His house is in the village though (line 2)
He will not see me stopping here (line 3)
To watch his woods fill up w ith snow (line 4)
He gives his harness bells a shake (line 9) Hyperbole To watch his woods fill up with snow Metaphor He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake. (lines 9-10)
Comparison of the sound of the bells to a questioning voice that asks whether there is a mistake
Personification/Metaphor My little horse must think it queer
Comparison of the horse to a human. Only a human can determine whether something is "queer."
End Rhyme The end rhyme in the poem is as follows: First stanza, aaba
Second stanza, bbcb
Third stanza, ccdc
Fourth stanza, dddd
Internal Rhyme Here are examples of internal rhyme in the poem He will not see me stopping here (line 3)
My little horse must think it queer (line 5)
To stop without a farmhouse near (line 6
Between the woods and frozen lake (line 7)
The darkest evening of the year (line 8)
Meaning of the Poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" presents one person's momentary encounter with nature. We do not know whether the speaker (narrator) is a man or a woman. In fact, we know nothing at all about the person except that he or she has been traveling on a country road in a horse-drawn wagon (or cart or carriage) on "the darkest evening of the year." If by this phrase the speaker/narrator means the longest
night of the year--that is, the night with the most hours of darkness-then the day is either December 21 or 22. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs each year on one of those days. The solstice is the moment when the sun is farthest south. However, if by "darkest evening" he means most depressing, bleakest, or gloomiest, he may be referring to his state of mind. Let us assume that the speaker is a man, the poet Frost himself, who represents all people on their journey through life. When he sees an appealing scene, woods filling with snow, he stops to observe. Why does this scene appeal to him? Because, he says, the woods are "lovely, dark, and deep."
Perhaps he wishes to lose himself in their silent mystery, away from the routine and regimen of everyday life--at least for a while. Maybe the woods remind him of his childhood, when he watched snow pile up in hopes that it would reach Alpine heights and cancel school and civilization for a day. Or perhaps the woods represent risk, opportunity--something dangerous and uncharted to be explored. It could be, too, that they signify the mysteries of life and the afterlife or that they represent sexual temptation: They are, after all, lovely, dark, and deep. The traveler might also regard the woods as the nameless, ordinary people who have great beauty within them but are ignored by others. This interpretation recalls a theme in Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," in which Gray writes: Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear: Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Here the gem in the bottom of the ocean and the flower in the desert symbolize neglected people with much to offer the world if only someone would take time notice them. The woods in Frost's poem are just as lovely as the flower and just as dark and deep as the cave holding the gem, but civilization pays little heed to the gem, the flower, and the woods.
Perhaps Frost sees the woods as a symbol of the vanishing wilderness consumed by railroads, highways, cities, shopping centers, parking lots. A man in the village owns the woods now. What will he do with them?
In 1958, poet John Ciardi (1916-1986) suggested in Saturday Review magazine that the woods in Frost's poem symbolize death. He further wrote that the speaker/narrator wants to enter the woods--that is, he wants to die, commit suicide. Frost himself scoffed at this interpretation in public appearances and in private conversations. But is it possible that Frost's subconscious mind was speaking in the poem, revealing thoughts and desires unknown to his conscious mind?
Maybe, in the end, the woods and the snow are what they are: quiet, peaceful, beautiful. Although the traveler wants to stay to look at them, he has promises to keep, and miles to go before he sleeps.
Structure and Meter The poem consists of four stanzas, each with four lines. (A four-line stanza is called a quatrain.) Each line in the poem has eight syllables (or four feet). In each line, the first syllable is unstressed, the second is stressed, the third is unstressed, the fourth is stressed, and so on. Thus, the poem is in iambic tetrameter. An iamb is a foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A tetrameter is a line of poetry or verse containing four feet. (If you need detailed information on meter,click here.) The following example--the first two lines of the poem-demonstrates the metric scheme. The unstressed syllables are in blue; the stressed are in red capitals. Over each pair of syllables is a number representing the foot. Also, a black vertical line separates the feet. .......1....... ........2..... .. .......3..............4 Whose WOODS..|..these ARE..|..I THINK..|..I KNOW .......1.............2.... .......3...................4 His HOUSE..|..is IN..|..the VILL..|..age THOUGH
Author Information Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco, California, where he spent his childhood. In 1885, after his father died of tuberculosis, the Frosts moved to Massachusetts. There, Robert graduated from high school, sharing top honors with a student he would later marry, Elinor White. Frost attended Dartmouth and Harvard, married Miss White in 1895, worked farms, and taught school. In his spare time, he wrote poetry. Disappointed with the scant attention his poems received, he moved with his wife to Great Britain to present his work to readers there. Publishers liked his work and printed his first book of poems, A Boy's Will, in 1913, and a second poetry collection, North of Boston, in 1914. The latter book was published in the United States in 1915. Having established his reputation, Frost returned to the United States in 1915 and bought a small farm in Franconia, N.H. To supplement his income from the farm and his poetry, he taught at universities. Between 1916 and 1923, he published two more books of poetry--the second one, New Hampshire, winning the 1923 Pulitzer Prize. He went on to win three more Pulitzer Prizes and was invited to recite his poem "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in January 1961. Frost died in Boston two years later. One may regard him as among the greatest poets of his generation. .
Study Questions and Essay Topics
It is extremely important to select the right word, with the most appropriate connotation, to present a thought or an image. Why do you suppose Frost chose to use woods instead of the forest? Why did he choose easy instead ofgentle in the fourth stanza? Write a short profile of the speaker/narrator/traveler. True, the poem provides little information about him (or her). However, we do know that (1).he apparently does not want to be seen observing the woods by the man in the village; (2) he owns a little horse; (3) he is a keen
observer and reporter, who tells us what the horse may be thinking and describes the sounds of the wind and snowflakes; (4) he appreciates nature; (5) he keeps his promises--or at least tries to do so. Why did Frost end the poem repeating the same line? Recall and write about the thoughts going through your mind during a snowstorm (or another weather event).
