Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
BY
ROBERT FROST
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
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.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
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.
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Whose woods these are I think I know. |
I know who is the owner of these woods. (In US woods/forests too are
owned by people.) |
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His house is in the village though;
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Although his house in in the village. (Nearby village) |
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He will not see me stopping here
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He will not be able to see that I am stopping here. (because he will
be at his home in the village.) |
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To watch his woods, fill up with snow. |
And I am watching his woods which are filled up with snow. |
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My little horse must think it queer
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My little horse (that is pulling my sledge) must think that it is a
strange behavior of mine. |
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To stop without a farmhouse near
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(because) I have stopped at a place where there is no farmhouse
nearby. ( As per my routine, I stop only at a place which has a farm house.) |
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Between the woods and frozen lake
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(I have stopped) at a place between the woods and frozen lake. (very
unusual place) |
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The darkest evening of the year.
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(Besides) it is the darkest evening of the year. (not a right time) |
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He gives his harness bells a shake
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He gives a shake to his harness bells. (Harness = a set of straps and fittings by which a horse
or other draught animal is fastened to a sledge, a cart, a plough, etc. and is controlled by its driver. Generally,
bells are fitted with harness. When horse moves, bells ring. A horse can
vibrate its skin thus it can give a shake to the bells) |
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To ask if there is some mistake.
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Perhaps, my little horse wants to ask me if there is any mistake in
stopping here. |
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The only other sound’s the sweep
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There is only one sound that is of the sweep (sweep= slow sound of
slow flowing wind) |
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Of easy wind and downy flake.
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Of easy or slow wind and the sound of falling flakes of snow.
(Flake=small piece) |
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The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
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The woods are lovely (very attractive dark and deep.) |
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But I have promises to keep, |
(But Alas! I cannot watch them for long.) but I have made promises
that I must keep to. (I must not break those promises although I want to keep
on watching the beauty of the woods.) |
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And miles to go before I sleep,
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And I have to travel many miles before I sleep. (before I lie in my
bed in my home for sleep. |
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And miles to go before I sleep. |
And I have to travel many miles before I sleep. (before I lie in my
bed in my home for sleep. |
Summary and appreciation of the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
This poem, written in 1922, by Robert Frost, has a story to tell and the poem successfully engages the audience to listen to it. The language is very plain and the final punch is delivered in the last line which is a refrain. The poem is very popular because it is the story of everybody.
In this busy world. Nature is beautiful; the world is beautiful and everybody wants to enjoy this beauty of the world but everybody is busy and has some promises to keep; some assignments to be completed; some duties to be performed on the top priority and finally he has to move on to the call of his duty leaving behind the beautiful nature to itself.
The poem has four stanzas containing iambic tetrameter following the rhyme scheme AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD. The last line is repeated to enhance the power of the final punch.
The poem is about stopping just one stop to see the beauty of the woods and the frozen lake. The setting of the poem is the woods of North America. The poet is on his journey on his sledge driven by his pony. It is the darkest evening of the year. He stops to watch the woods filled up with snow and the frozen lake at the side of it but his dutiful pony is not able to understand why the poet stops there without a farmhouse nearby. He sends a message by giving a shake to his harness bells. He wants to ask if there is any mistake. The poet’s attention is drawn to his duty and he is reminded of the promises that he must keep and he has to undertake a long journey before he sleeps. The sleep too here is symbolized. It represents death and the journey is symbolized to be life. A person has several assignments to complete before he finally departs from this world. In the end, the poet has no choice but to focus on his duty leaving the beauty of nature to itself.
This poem reminds us of another poem “Leisure” by W.H. Davies. Frost himself called it “my best bid for remembrance,” A copy of this poem was discovered from the drawer of Pt, Nehru at his death.
The literary devices that are used in this poem are alliteration and personification. “The woods are lovely deep and dark”. Repetition of ‘d’ sound. “The only other sound's the sweep of easy wind downy flakes” The repetition of ‘s’ sound. Sleep is personified here as death and the journey is personified here as life..
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