Stopping by woods on a snowy evening
“ Stopping by woods on a snowy evening is one of the most celebrated poem of Robert Frost. The first prime minister of free ( Independent ) India pandit Javaharlal Nehru was so much impressed with the message of this poem that he always kept this poem on the table beneath the glass. The poem is simple but the message which it conveys is significant. The poem is about poet’s going to the forest, getting tempted to stay there and finally realized that he has many works to be done by him and so he can not stop in the forest. It is a poem about the internal love for beauty and sense of beauty. This kind of dilemma witnessed by every person at some stage in life. We all are some times tempted by beauty of nature to stop there for a long time but the work which is to be done by us reminds us of our duty and we do not stop for a long time, where that beautiful place is. This truth of life is conveyed by the poet through present poem.
The subject mettar of the poem is simple, poet goes to a dark, deep, lovely forest on his horesh back. It is such a beautiful place that the poet is tempted to stop there and passed that night in the forest but the horse of the poet shakes it’s head to ring the bells which are tide to it’s harness. The horse want’s to ask the poet wheter he is mistaken in making a stay in that forest. The reson is it is the darkest evening, the lack is frozen and the snowfall is there. Such a gesture of his horse reminds the poet that the woods are lovely, dark and deep but he has so many promises to keep. He has to performed many duties before he sleeps in the forest and before he dies. The final message of the poem is that sense of beauty in life is more important than tempting beauty. No tempting beauty should ever prove to be a hindrance on the path of duty. Indian ideology of Karma also can be applied here.
Themes
1) Isolation
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a lonely poem, for our speaker finds himself far away from any other human being. He kind of digs this aloneness, however, and is glad that no one is there to watch him. We get the feeling that he'd rather be all by his lonesome in the freezing cold than back in the village. Nature helps make things even lonelier, too, for it happens to be freezing cold, snowing, and dark out there.
His house is in the village though (2)
Why does the owner of the woods live in town and not near his woods? And have you ever heard of someone owning woods? We've heard of people owning land, but owning woods seems like an entirely different matter. When we hear the word "woods," we think of an untamable, wild expanse. With this second line, our speaker draws a clean line between the village and the woods. They are like oil and water.
He will not see me stopping here (3)
Our speaker is one paranoid man. The way he uses the word "see" instead of "catch" or "find" or "discover" makes us think that he is worried that someone might be hiding in the trees, watching him. There's also something very forceful about the words "will not," as though the speaker is commanding the landowner or reassuring himself that no one is watching. In any case, our speaker seems to want pretty badly to be alone.
The little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near (5-6)
We might think it was a bit strange, too, if you stopped in the middle of nowhere. At least there's a horse around. And this is not just any horse – this horse is very humanlike in our book. This horse has thoughts and opinions. Our speaker is not entirely alone.
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep. (15-16)
We've reached the end of the poem, and we still don't know if our speaker has a family or if anyone is waiting up for him at home. The word "I" appears five times throughout the poem, and we get the feeling that our speaker is one individualistic kind of guy.
2) Choices
The speaker in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" makes several choices, many of which his dearly beloved horse does not agree with. The biggest choice that he wrestles with is whether to return to the warmth and safety of the village or to stay and watch the woods fill up with snow. Our speaker does seem to have a hard time making his decision. He ultimately decides to return home, but it seems to take all of his willpower.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow. (3-4)
Choice #1: our speaker decides to stop and watch the snow fall on trees. Why is this a significant choice? Well, it's getting late, it's cold, it's snowing, and he's still a long way from home. It may seem like a docile, serene scene, but we're worried he's going to get frostbite if he stays too long. Get it? Frost-bite? Hehe.
The little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near. (5-6)
Now we get a little more information about our speaker's choice to stop and watch the woods. Allegedly, he's chosen to stop at a place that is far, far away from any other humans. What does that say about him? We also would like to point out that our speaker is trying to figure out what his horse is thinking, which means that he must be kind of aware of how random it is to be stopping in the middle of nowhere.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake. (9-10)
You ring those bells, horse. We would too. Why do you think Frost uses the word "mistake" here? What mistake could the horse possibly be referring to?
3) Man and natural world
We're not going to lie, nature seems pretty darn scary in this poem. Not scary like it's going to throw thunderbolts at our speaker or let hungry tigers lose on him, but scary in that it is mysterious and even rather seductive. Our speaker is almost enticed into staying and watching the woods fill up with snow, but if he stays too long, we've got to believe that he might freeze to death, catch a really bad cold, or forget his way home. Nature is a beautiful siren in this poem, compelling our speaker to hang out in spite of the dangerous consequences.
Whose woods these are I think I know. (1)
Though this line seems like it was broken in half and then glued back together in the wrong order, we like how the woods are the first thing we hear about when we begin reading the poem. It's almost as if our speaker wants to showcase the "woods" over his own self.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow. (3-4)
The action at hand, the one that occupies our speaker throughout this poem, is that of watching snow fall on the woods. Quite a simple action. What does it say about the speaker that he take pleasure in watching snow fall on trees?
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year. (7-8)
We don't know about you, but to us the word "frozen" is not such a pleasant word. It makes us feel, well, cold, and it makes us think of things like frostbite and popsicles. This seems to be the first semi-violent word in the poem, the first word that reminds us of the dangers that lie behind such a beautiful scene.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake. (11-12)
What does a sweeping noise sound like? Well, when we say the word "sweep" aloud, we can kind of hear a little wind come out of our mouths. Try it. That ssss noise along with the wwww noise creates a little storm. It's quiet out here in the wilderness, and this quiet almost becomes another character, another presence.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. (13)
What do you make of these three words (lovely, dark, and deep) together? Do they mix well? From what you know of the woods so far, do they seem lovely, dark, and deep. What do these word choices say about our speaker?
4) Society and class
We don't get much information about where our speaker comes from or about the nearby village in this poem, but we do know that he's far away from civilization. We also know that the man who owns the woods lives in town in a house. From this little information, we can deduce that if you own things (like the owner of the woods does), then you live in the midst of society. Our speaker is not so concerned with society. In fact, society to him is about as appetizing as cod liver oil. He'd rather be alone with nature. To us, the village sounds quaint, cute, and warm. To our speaker, the village represents his obligations, responsibilities, and promises.
Whose woods these are I think I know. (1)
Can someone can own woods?
His house is in the village though; (2)
Besides messing up the iambic tetrameter (check out "Form and Meter"), what would be lost if Frost omitted the word "though" from this line? What does that "though" imply? The owner of the woods owns lots of things. Things like woods and a house. He must be living the life. He must also be kind of disconnected from the natural world if he doesn't even want to hang out with his trees.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow. (3-4)
Mr. Speaker, you've already told us that the owner of the woods lives in the village. Why are you so paranoid? Also, why are you watching woods fill up with snow? To each his own – we endorse snow watching, if that's what you like. But, we're just curious about why you like this pastime so much.
The little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near (5-6)
How does the little horse know there isn't a farmhouse near, and, more importantly, why does the speaker choose to stop so far away from any other humans. The farmhouse represents something different than the village does – it's a bit more nature-loving than the village. But the one thing that both farmhouse and village have in common is people, and that's the one thing that our speaker doesn't seem to like too much.
But I have promises to keep, (14)
The word "promises" is an interesting one. Promises usually involve other people, and they usually involve the future (whether immediate or distant). In this way our speaker seems to be choosing people and his future over nature and the present.
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