Analysis of Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

825 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolic meaning of the poem stopping by woods on a snowy evening

Analysis of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a very well know poem by Robert Frost. The poem appears to be very simple, but it has a hidden meaning to it. The simple words and rhyme scheme of the poem gives it an easy flow, which adds to the calmness of the poem. The rhyme scheme (aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dddd) and the rhythm (iambic tetrameter) give the poem a solid structure. The poem is about the speaker’s experience of stopping by the dark woods in the winter evening with his horse and admiring the beauty of the fresh fallen snow in the forest. Then, the speaker projects himself into the mind of his horse, speculating about his horse’s practical concerns and the horse communicates by shaking his harness bells, and his head impatiently wanting to continue the homeward journey forward. The speaker also tells that he would like to stay but he has to continue home to take care of all the responsibilities before he can die peaceful.

In the first stanza, I think that the speaker is familiar with the land; he knows the individual who “owns” the woods; but that owner doesn’t live on this land instead he lives in the village. The speaker implies that he is trespassing someone’s property but he doesn’t need to worry because that person is in the village and not there anywhere around. So, it’s not an ethical problem for him. He is not ashamed of trespassing somebody’s property. Instead, taking advantage of the moment, h...

Show More
Related

  • Comparsion of Robert Frost´s Stopping by Woods in a Snowy Evening and Thylias Mass´ Interpretation of a Poem by Frost

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The voice of the speaker in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” is that of an individual that is stressed out or overwhelmed. He or she just needs to take a mental break from everything and, “stop by the words/to watch [them] fill with snow.” The reader knows that this person needs to take this mental break based upon how long they stay there. He or she stays in the woods so long that their horse “give his harness bells a shake/to ask if there is some mistake.” In other words, the horse is confused; here he stands in these woods “without a farmhouse near [and] the only other sound [he hears, aside from his own bells, are,] the sweep of easy wind and [a] downy flake.” This sense of being overwhelmed, and needing to take a mental break in order to remain sane, is something any reader can relate to, whether they have had a stressful day at work, a parent is using the poem as an example to show a child who has had a temper tantrum that they are being puni...

    Read More

  • Robert Frost: Annotated Bibliography

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.."

    Read More

  • Robert Frost's Isolation In Poetry

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    This poem is a clear representation of it's theme, maybe the most clear out of all of the poems. The speaker enters the woods, deeper and deeper they go, away from the people on the outside of the woods. He walks the opposite from others, if taken in a literal sense. “Against the trees I go” (Frost, Line 2) implies that he would rather walk away from others, as walking against the trees, instead of walking with them. Just looking at the poem, you see that the speaker is happy walking into the woods alone, and that this is where they come to be alone, away from others. As the poem goes on, it gets later but the speaker does not feel the pressure to leave. They slowly make their tracks in the snow. Snow is a symbol of isolation as well, for example, when snow is fresh. The snow looks so delicate, not to be touched. But, in this poem, no one had touched the snow. The speaker made his tracks in the snow because he was the only one there to make them. No one has come to this spot, and therefore it is isolated, only for him. As the poem

    Read More

  • Tellemakhos Speech

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Telémakhos gives this speech to ask for supports to go with him to find his father. When Telémakhos gives his speech, he begins with how great his father was as a king. He says “and now there is this greater evil still:” referring to the

    Read More

  • Dalrymple's Essay 'The Perils Of Disobedience'

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society, obedience to authority is a common factor that is taught at a young age, in which there is a constant lesson to obey the elders and teachers. Disobedience and obedience in lodged deeply within everyone and without recognition, is an automatic response, however there are numerous times where society conforms to a new political standpoint which can turn out to be genocidal effect. Therefore Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, conducted the Milgram Experiment in which he puts volunteered test subjects in an environment where they have the opportunity to obey or disobey authority while causing unnecessary pain to an individual, exemplified in his article, “The Perils of Obedience”. Within his essay, the author reveals that the percentage of people who were willing to

    Read More

  • Analysis of Out, Out by Robert Frost

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost begins the poem by describing a young boy cutting some wood using a "buzz-saw." The setting is Vermont and the time is late afternoon. The sun is setting and the boy's sister calls he and the other workers to come for "Supper." As the boy hears its dinnertime, he gets excited and cuts his hand on accident. Immediately realizing that the doctor might amputate his hand, he asks his sister to make sure that it does not happen. By the time the doctor arrives, it is too late and the boy's hand is already lost. When the doctor gives him anaesthetic, he falls asleep and never wakes up again. The last sentence of the poem, "since they (the boys family and the doctor) were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" shows how although the boys death is tragic, people move on with their life in a way conveying the idea that people only care for themselves.

    Read More

  • Police Brutality Research Paper

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and existent concern in the United States and should be resolved immediately. Law enforcement must function as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. The presence of police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. The problem posed by the illegal exercise of police power. Many officers join the force to make this country better, but you always have some people who may join for power or control etc. Which is why there have been so many instances of police brutality and overall why it needs to stop.

    Read More

  • Police Brutality In America Essay

    437 Words  | 1 Pages

    Police officers are supposed to bring an aura of safety wherever they go, as they are supposed to protect everyone. There is a problem when there are people who see a police officer and immediately fear for their life. Police brutality in America has always been an issue, but it has been getting worse and worse. It also is becoming more well known. In order to put an end to police brutality, America must first recognize the problem and work toward a solution.

    Read More

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Family Values

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1950s, the family unit was glamorized as something that was expected. In this era, the importance of family unity was obvious. 1950s America was quite like your typical modern Hispanic family. The man was the head of the house, the wife maintained the living area, and children had responsibilities of their own. When each member has a role, the family is usually in sync with one another. The family unit had straightforward morals, teachings, responsibilities and gender roles (Buckett). As gender roles have left the equation, new things also

    Read More

  • Line by Line Analysis of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    Decisions, decisions! So, what we do is come up with some justification for the choice we have made, even though we are already questioning our decision, even as we make it. When the choices are so close to being equal, does it real...

    Read More

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

    421 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Robert Frost

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    Robert Frost, well known American poet of 191 poems, has a common message in his writing. Focusing mainly on Birches, The Road Not Taken, Dust of Snow, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Beech, Come In, and In Winter In, his main message is to always focus on the positive when everything else is trying to pull you down. This idea could also be seen as trying to always keep a positive attitude. The thesis above can be proven through a textual analysis.

    Read More

  • Comparing Fire and Ice, and The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some people go through their lives without reflecting about how their decisions have shaped them as a person. The poems “Fire and Ice” and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost both use the importance of decision making and its effects on the way we live to highlight how our path through life is defined by our choices. At the same time, Frost uses the extreme opposites in “Fire and Ice” and the similarities of the choices in “The Road Not Taken” to explore human nature and permanence of decisions.

    Read More

  • Life Choices in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” both portray weighing of choices in life. The former is about youth and experiencing life and the latter is about old age, or more probably, an old spirit wearied by life. In both poems the speaker is in a critical situation where he has to choose between two paths in life. In “The Road Not taken” the speaker chooses the unconventional approach to the decision making process, thus showing his uniqueness and challenging mentality while in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” the speaker seeks a life without any pain and struggle but at the end, he has to comply with social obligation, which reflects his responsibility towards the society.

    Read More

More about Analysis of Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Open Document