The poem describes a man making his way home on a snowy evening to stop and watch a neighbor's woods fill up with snow, despite the cold and the late hours. We can't just stand around and watch the snow falling. He has stopped briefly to fully take in the wondrous view in front of him. Why stop tonight of all nights? All the respective verses conform to the a-a-b-a rhyming scheme. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. In fact, the woods are not, as the Lathem edition would have it with its obtuse emendation of a comma after the second adjective in line 13 , merely 'lovely, dark, and deep.
Well, then this is a poem for you. Personal Commentary The poem is ever-inviting, yet possesses a dark underlying connotation as well. One possibility is that conforming to society is moving into a lockstep—marching in a sense. Yet the intensity of the winter cold has rendered the lake frozen. The rhyme scheme is aaba bbcb ccdc dddd and all are full. Frost claimed that he wrote it in a single nighttime sitting; it just came to him.
As he says that he has to travel a lot, it means he has to perform a lot of duties. The speaker is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. But this initial thought isn't crystal clear, the speaker only thinks he knows who owns the wood - the first uncertainty is introduced - and he is making this statement to reassure himself as he comes to a stop, breaking his journey. Imagine you are driving on a road at night that goes through some wooded country area on a wintry night. He seems unwilling to be a part of this mechanized society, wishing a secluded, peaceful life. As a popular interpretation contests, the narrator contemplates a burning desire to die within the woods, unnoticed and unsung. The season of winter in literature is typically associated with death and darkness; animals hibernate, plants die, and it will be a long time before the earth wakes up again.
The poem, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, explores the motivations of the poet, the inherent moods of the narrator and his fixation with woods for an inner reason. 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. Therefore, he puts his wishes and starts his journey again. The simple words and rhyme scheme of the poem gives it an easy flow, which adds to the calmness of the poem. You suddenly get an urge to pull your car off to the side of the road, get out, and to go stare at the woods while you watch the snow fall. Imagine a calm evening with snowflakes falling while you stand by the woods.
Frost's advice, we shouldn't be so concerned with what this poem means as concerned with how it means. We admit ours is merely one more, and we could easily be wrong. Each line is iambic, with four stressed syllables: Within the four lines of each stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme. But he stubborn narrator seems to adore the immediate present as opposed to imminent danger. A horse, a rider, an evening and snow — the picture looks like a suspenseful movie. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And , And miles to go before I sleep. Ultimately, however, the speaker decides to press on because he has responsibilities, perhaps a family who depends on him, so he finds the strength to continue home and continue on his life journey.
In actuality, the poet is hinting at death which will come eventually as he reaches the end of his years. The repetition of the last line emphasizes the profundity contained in the last stanza, a popular reading for funerals. He is contemplating to stay put in the woods, maybe, heralding his death, and freeing his soul from the materialistic world. It creates an obstacle, it temporarily stops the smooth flow. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. He also loved to inject everyday, colloquial speech into his poems.
Some have even suggested there is a wish for suicide in these words. No matter what, we're willing to bet big money that you and this poem are already friends. Nevertheless, time would have it that I experienced time after time a snowy wooded area in daily walks. The narrator with his horse is sort of standing at the edge of civilization, and gazing out in nature. This is the difference between something productive according to society as opposed to letting go and doing absolutely nothing.
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. It is alternately interpreted as a quiet, contemplative piece about pausing to observe nature and a poem about longing for death, which the darkness and snow are said to represent. This poem had many parts that could be well analyzed, which was surprising for how short the poem truly was. The poet is torn between two choices yet again, to head home or sink in the scenic view. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.