Stopping Woods a Snowy Evening Frost Frost: Essay

Stopping Woods a Snowy Evening

Frost

Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

This is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems. Its apparent simplicity is deceptive and there is a great deal of depth and complexity that can be gleaned from an interpretation of the poem. Ostensibly, the poem deals with a traveler on horseback who rides out on the darkest night of the year. He stops to gaze in wonder and amazement at the woods and the thick snow that is falling. However, while he is intensely attracted by the beauty of the scene that he observes, he also has responsibilities and duties that he has to take care of and he has to leave this tranquil scene and continue on his journey.

One of the central elements of the poem is the sense of stillness and peace that the poet evokes through his use of language. This can be clearly seen in the third stanza of the poem.

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 intense stillness of the woods and the almost inaudible falling snow is contrasted with one single sound -- the harness bell of the horse.This crisp sound acts as a sort of counterpoint to the silence and serves to highlight the intensity of the quietness and stillness of the falling snow on the woods. The only other sounds are the "… sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake."

Note that the words "sweep" and "easy" suggest a very soft movement of air and snow, which emphasizes the gentle stillness of the scene that is being observed. This sense of delicate quiet is stressed even further by the word "downy." The atmosphere of intense stillness and the wonder and mystery of nature is further enhanced by the first line of the last stanza, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep."

There is a simplicity and directness in this line which creates a sense of wonder and enjoyment at nature. However, there is also a tinge of mystery and possibly danger in the words "dark" and "deep." There is the suggestion that the protagonist is mesmerized by the scene that….....