Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

518 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of stopping by woods on a snowy evening by robert frost

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is about a man who is riding through the woods on horseback. Snow starts falling and the man is caught up in the beauty of the scene. He then ponders staying put and enjoying the view for a while. Just as it seems he is convinced to stay the horse puts up a fight, awakening him from his dreamlike trance. He then decides to keep riding, and the story concludes.

The overall theme in this poem is temptation. There are enormous forces present tempting the rider to abandon all responsibility to everyone and everything at his final destination. However, with a little help he holds strong and cannot be strayed from his path.

There are two main characters in this poem, the rider and the horse. There is also an outside force of great desire that is represented by the woods. Which may not be considered a character, but greatly deals with the choice that the man is forced to make

The setting of the poem is on the edge of the woods nearby a frozen lake. There is a peaceful and enchanting snowfall and the sky is very dark

Imagery is used many times in this poem .The strongest example of imagery in this poem is when Frost explains the setting of the story he uses the words “Between the woods and the frozen lake, the darkest night of the year” leaving the reader feeling that he or she is sitting on a horse watching the snow fall and debating on whether or not to leave.

This poem is overflowing with symbolism and after careful consideration this is how I interpreted such symbolism. Frost starts off by using the woods to represent an object of strong desire, a woman. The owner of the plot of land is symbolic of the husband of the woman the rider desires. The act of cheating on one’s spouse is represented by the rider remaining in the woods to “watch the snow”. The horse is used to represent the mans conscience. It is after all the horse that convinces the rider to give up his foolish passion and get back to his journey. The horse also reminded him of the obligations that he has to those who await his return. The horse is representative of the part of man that thinks with logic and probability.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Out, Out by Robert Frost

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost uses different stylistic devices throughout this poem. He is very descriptive using things such as imagery and personification to express his intentions in the poem. Frost uses imagery when he describes the setting of the place. He tells his readers the boy is standing outside by describing the visible mountain ranges and sets the time of day by saying that the sun is setting. Frost gives his readers an image of the boy feeling pain by using contradicting words such as "rueful" and "laugh" and by using powerful words such as "outcry". He also describes the blood coming from the boy's hand as life that is spilling. To show how the boy is dying, Frost gives his readers an image of the boy breathing shallowly by saying that he is puffing his lips out with his breath.

    Read More

  • Analogies in The Mountain by Robert Frost

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Personification is an important theme throughout this poem. In lines 1-2 it says, “The mountain held the town as in a shadow I saw so much before I slept there once:.” Also in lines 3-4 it says, “I noticed that I missed stars in the west, where its black body cut into the sky.” This is an example of personification. In lines 5-6 it says, Near me it seemed: I felt it like a wall behind which i was sheltered from a wind.” Most of the examples showing personification in this poem, are displayed in the first couple of lines of the poem.

    Read More

  • American Romanticism

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...a silence deep and white” (Line,4) they are talking about how the white snow is beautiful and, how it looks like to me this is a love of nature to some maybe not.Last one is Intuition over fact in this quote “Father,who makes the snow?” (Line,22) says his daughter, “And told of the good All father” (Line,23) and lastly “Who cares for us here below” (Line,24) he is talking about and all father which i believe he is talking about god,and this is a great characteristic for this poem.

    Read More

  • Acquainted With The Night Figurative Language Essay

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most used form of figurative language in “Acquainted with the Night” is a metaphor. After reading through “Acquainted with the Night,” it becomes apparent to the reader that the entire poem is an extended metaphor for depression. When people think of the word “depression,” the first word that might come to mind is darkness. Individuals who suffer with depression know that it can be a very dark time in their life. Throughout “Acquainted with the Night,” Frost uses darkness as a metaphor for depression since many people that suffer from depression believe that it can be one of the darkest moments of their life. Another form of figurative language that Frost uses in “Acquainted with the Night” is personification. One instance of personification in the poem is when the moon is talking to the speaker. When the speaker looked up at the moon, the moon “Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.” (line 13). The speaker was trying to see what time it was, but it is extremely hard to guess a time by just looking at the moon. The moon is then telling the speaker that his guess is not wrong, but it is also not

    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 Intricate Meanings of Robert Frost 's Poetry

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost’s sentence structure is long and complicated. Many meanings of his poems are not revealed to the reader through first glance, but only after close introspection of the poem. The true meanings contained in Frost’s poems, are usually lessons on life. Frost uses symbolism of nature and incorporates that symbolism into everyday life situations. The speaker in the poems vary, in the poem “The Pasture”, Frost seems to be directly involved in the poem, where as in the poem “While in the Rose Pogonias”, he is a detached observer, viewing and talking about the world’s beauty. Subsequently, the author transfers that beauty over to the beauty of experiences that are achieved through everyday life.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost Uses Imagery and Analogy in His Poem, Birches

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nature is an important theme in every frost poem. Nature usually symbolizes age or other things throughout Frost’s poems. In lines 5-10 it says, “Often you must have seen them loaded with ice a sunny winter morning after a rain. They click upon themselves as the breeze rises, and turn many-colored as the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells.” This demonstrates how nature can sometimes symbolize something. Also in lines 29-33 it says, “ By riding them down over and over again until he took the stiffness out of them, and not one but hung limp, not one was left for him to conquer. He learned all there was to learn about not launching too soon.” In lines 44-48 it says, And life is too much like a pathless wood where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs broken across it, and one eye is weeping from a twig’s having lashed across it open. I’d like to get away from earth for a while.”

    Read More

  • The Two Worlds in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    "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. We are not told, however, that the call of social responsibility proves stronger than the attraction of the woods, which are "lovely" as well as "dark and deep"; the poet and his horse have not moved on at the poem's end. The dichotomy of the poet's obligations both to the woods and to a world of "promises"--the latter filtering like a barely heard echo through the almost hypnotic state induced by the woods and falling snow-is what gives this poem its singular interest.... The artfulness of "Stopping by Woods" consists in the way the two worlds are established and balanced. The poet is aware that the woods by which he is stopping belong to someone in the village; they are owned by the world of men. But at the same time they are his, the poet's woods, too, by virtue of what they mean to him in terms of emotion and private signification.

    Read More

  • Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening - Symbolic Setting

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    The speaker knows he can not stay in this "paradise".(14) The speaker does not want to leave this spot, but he has made other promises that he has to keep. (14) I believe Frost uses repetition of the last two lines of this poem (and miles to go before I sleep) to emphasize the importance of this promise he has made, and to support the speakers reasons for having to leave. (15-16)I am not a big fan of poetry, but this poem caught my eye because I am a fan of nature. Frost and I would have had a lot in common, his poetry reflects many of my own personal views of nature.

    Read More

  • The Imagery Of Nature In Robert Frost's Poetry

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frost uses nature as a reflection of human experiences; just like humanity it can have seasons and life cycles. He uses different scenes to depict a certain mood for readers to step into the psychological happening of a man. The idea of how seasons change, Frost compares it through the life cycles that humans encounter. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that nature is not Frost’s central theme in his poetry; it is about the relationship that man has with nature in which can be seen from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “An Old Man’s Winter Night.”

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Road Not Taken

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagery is one of the most notable elements in the poem due to the fact that Frost is describing the setting and scenery for the majority of the poem. His word choice is quite specific, clearly painting a picture for readers to visualize the scene he is describing. Frost describes the paths the narrator is considering as “two roads diverged in a yellow wood…” (1). Frost later goes on to describe the path the narrator is considering by stating, “…it was grassy and wanted wear” (8). The imagery is perhaps used as a means to demonstrate the fact that the way a path may look is not entirely representative of what lies ahead. Choices in life should be made with a great deal of thought, going beyond the superficial appearances. The narrator considers both paths before making an informed decision. The outward appearance of a path is not nearly as important as knowing what is best for an individual overall. The imagery in Frost’s poem sheds light the importance of making a choice by the narrator considering both paths in great detail because he or she recognizes the lasting influence a decision can have throughout his or her

    Read More

  • Summary Of Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening By Robert Frost

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    rhyme and meter similar to that of normal speech; he is also known to explore fundamental aspects of the human experience with his works. Frost combines these two characteristics in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” giving the outwardly simple poem a breadth and depth that allows readers to interpret it in different ways on different levels. This complexity creates some difficultly in coming to a conclusion regarding the piece, but the reader may also use it to form a holistic opinion about the meaning behind the work. This can be done by analyzing each layer of the work symbolically and stylistically, both as a separate entity and as a lens to a deeper interpretation. Two layers seem to stand out, ultimately working together to reveal a sad commentary on blind busyness.

    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” provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control and living life. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” entails the desire for rest, perhaps due to the speaker’s feelings of weariness from facing life’s struggles. The poet also explains the tough choices people stand before when traveling the road of life. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road they have chosen.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hochman, Jhan. "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening." Poetry for Students. Vol.1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Nature in Robert Frost's Poetry

    392 Words  | 1 Pages

    In this poem he now talks about water. The reader can see how powerful the water is when it eats away at the cliff. The shore was lucky by being backed by the cliff. Once again Frost is discussing water which goes back to stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by stating the water because there is water in this poem with snow Frost keeps bringing up water and snow.

    Read More

More about Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Open Document