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The role of nature in English poetry
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening literary devices
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening literary devices
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Symbolism in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Many people consider Robert Frost to be one of America's greatest poets, and one of his best known poems is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". In the poem, Frost describes a person stopping just outside of town in a wooded area with his horse. He stops for a moment to appreciate the wonder of the world that he has spent so much time in, something that he may not have done much in his younger years. The horse could be a symbol of the pressures of the rest of the "civilized" world. The horse nudges the speaker on as if "to ask if there is some mistake," just as society might nudge someone into movement and not understand the necessity of "stopping to smell the roses." The last three lines of the poem could be the realization that, although the speaker might like to stay in the woods much longer, there are responsibilities that must be attended to and many things that must be completed before the final rest, death, takes him. The poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is, therefore, an allegory of life showing the need to enjoy life, the pressures that often keep us from enjoying life, and the unfortunate fact, that most people do not realize what is gone before it is too late.
In the hustle and bustle of today's society, it is often difficult to appreciate the world around us. Many times, due to the pace of our lives, the purity and beauty of nature is often lost in the shuffle. Frost, through his poem may be pointing out that there is more than just the "nine to five." The wonder of life, the falling of the leaves, the smell of a flower, the touch of a friend; all of these things are what makes life worth living. These are the "lit...
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...ortant is gone, we are allowed to relax. What irony that when most people reach retirement, that euphoric era when responsibilities are a thing of the past, they are unable to enjoy themselves. Again, the realization of all the things that could be is too late in coming.
In this one short literary work, Frost seems to point out that so many of us lose out on so much that has been placed on this earth for us to enjoy. Whether that loss is due to the pace at which we live our lives, the pressures from the outside world, or the requirements of our responsibilities is irrelevant. Whatever the reason, a loss it is, and a loss that we might not feel until it is too late for us to do anything about it. It seems that Frost is trying to show the reader not to take things for granted as we walk our daily paths, and to stop, just occasionally, and smell the roses.
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...
He merely commits to writing a deliberation of what he understands to be a reality, however tragic. The affliction of dissatisfaction that Frost suffers from cannot be treated in any tangible way. Frost's response is to refuse to silently buckle to the seemingly sadistic ways of the world. He attacks the culprit of aging, the only way one can attack the enigmatic forces of the universe, by naming it as the tragedy that it is.
On the other side, Coleridge is raised in rural London and expresses his idea that, as a child, he felt connected to nature when looking above the sky and seeing the stars. Unlike Wordsworth, who felt freedom of mind, Coleridge felt locked up in the city. Since he did not have any experience with nature, he did not get the opportunity to appreciate nature until he became an adult. In Coleridge’s poem “Frost at Midnight,” readers see how the pain of alienation from nature has toughened Coleridge’s hope that his children will enjoy a peaceful nature.
...fall of snow and the unremitting “sweep” of “easy wind” appear tragically indifferent to life, in turn stressing the value of Poirier’s assessment of the poem. Frost uses metaphor in a way that gives meaning to simple actions, perhaps exploring his own insecurities before nature by setting the poem amongst a tempest of “dark” sentiments. Like a metaphor for the workings of the human mind, the pull between the “promises” the traveller should keep and the lure of death remains palpably relevant to modern life. The multitudes of readings opened up through the ambiguity of metaphor allows for a setting of pronounced liminality; between life and death, “night and day, storm and heath, nature and culture, individual and group, freedom and responsibility,” Frost challenges his readers to delve deep into the subtlety of tone and come to a very personal conclusion.
Robert Frost wrote poetry about nature and it is that nature that he used as symbols for life lessons. Many critics have been fascinated by the way that Frost could get so many meanings of life out of nature itself. Frost‘s poetry appeals to almost everyone because of his uncanny ability to tie in with many things that one is too familiar with and for many, that is life in itself. “Perhaps that is what keeps Robert Frost so alive today, even people who have never set foot in Vermont, in writing about New England, Frost is writing about everywhere” (294).
par. 1). With clever poetic purpose, Frost‘s poems meld the ebb and flow of nature to convey
Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is about a person the speaker, who stops near the woods when it is snowing out to take a break and look around. He notices how beautiful it is to look at the snow falling in such a peaceful way out of the dark sky.
The poem is showing how many people are questioning the way Frost conducts himself and his happiness. Everything in Frost’s poem up until the last stanza is dark and depressing. An example of this is, “Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.” (Frost, Lines 7 and 8). Frost is so consumed in the sadness, that its very dark around him. The last stanza is where Frost’s hopefulness is presented. The happiness is hinted towards, “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.” (Frost, Lines 13 to 16). He has promised himself to always keep moving forward and focusing on the goodness that life has to offer. Frost knows that he isn’t quite there yet, but he will not give up. He emphasizes his perseverance by reaping himself twice when he says “And miles to go before I sleep,” (Frost, Line 15). He had a break through and knows that he cannot give up. He is taking the little bit of happiness he knows to transform his life completely too where he is happy with every aspect of it. He is taking the hope that he does have and running with it, not looking back at the despair he feels that surrounds
Robert Frost’s love of nature is expressed in the setting of his poem "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." His elaborate description of the woody setting brings vivid images to the reader’s mind. Frost explains the setting so descriptively that the reader feels he is in the woods alsoThe setting is a very important tool Frost uses in writing this poem. The setting is obviously in the woods, but these are not just any old woods. Something caught the speaker’s eyes in these woods making them a special place for the speaker. It seems as if the speaker has associated these woods with an aspect of his "personal paradise". The peacefulness, tranquillity, darkness, and silence are all important parts of this "paradise".
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.”
The vivid imagery, symbolism, metaphors make his poetry elusive, through these elements Frost is able to give nature its dark side. It is these elements that must be analyzed to discover the hidden dark meaning within Roberts Frost’s poems. Lines that seemed simple at first become more complex after the reader analyzes the poem using elements of poetry. For example, in the poem Mending Wall it appears that Robert frost is talking about two man arguing about a wall but at a closer look the reader realizes that the poem is about the things that separate man from man, which can be viewed as destructive. In After Apple Picking, the darkness of nature is present through the man wanting sleep, which is symbolic of death. It might seem that the poem is about apple picking and hard work but it is actually about the nature of death.
Lynen also states that “the struggle between the human imagination and the meaningless void man confronts is the subject of poem after poem” (6). On speaking of Frost’s nature poetry, Gerber says, “with equanimity Frost investigates the basic themes of man’s life: the individual’s relationships to himself, to his fellow man, to his world, and to his God” (117). All of these...
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” show the readers similar struggles of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control of one’s life and living it aside from how others live theirs. While “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” shows the desire for rest. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road that they
Life and death are two things that we as humans must all face. The road from one to the other, from life to death, is a long and at times, both joyous and painful one. Robert Frost’s poems are a prime example of these times and trials. The poems I chose for this paper highlight them, and with Frost’s allegory, they present a sort of silver lining to the string of dark and dreary words he’s pieced together for these poems. The depressing tone to the poems “Acquainted with the Night”, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, and “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” could be attributed to the death of many of Frost’s family members, and how despite this he overcame it all, and at the end of his life, was a successful writer. These poems to not go into great explanation of the details of Frost’s life, however, I believe that they are representations of the things path that he’s walked, and how he viewed his actions and death in general.
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.