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.
About The Author :
Robert Lee Frost was born in 1874 in San Francisco, California. His works were published in England before becoming popular in the United States. His writing often featured his life in rural New England and Vermont. In 1961, Front was appointed Poet Laureate of Vermont. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by written by Frost in 1922 at his home in Vermont. Frost had said this poem came through a hallucination, and he completed the poem in just a few minutes.
In 1923 collection “New Hampshire” contains the poems “Fire and Ice,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and “The Lockless Door.” The piece “Fire and Ice” is a brilliant example of Frost’s skill.The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” another of his most famous works, combines an autobiographical experience with discussion of the conflict between desire and responsibility in a classic New England setting.
Robert Frost wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” in 1922, two years before winning the first of his four Pulitzer Prizes. The poem tells the story of a man traveling through some snowy woods on the darkest evening of the year, and he’s pretty much in love with what he sees around him. He’s on his way back to town, but he can’t quite tear himself away from the lovely and dark woods.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Summary :
The speaker thinks about who owns the woods that he or she is passing through, and is fairly sure of knowing the landowner. However, the owner’s home is far away in the village, and thus he is physically incapable of seeing the speaker pause to watch the snow fall in the forest.
The speaker thinks his or her horse must find it strange to stop so far from any signs of civilization. Indeed, they are surrounded only by the forest and a frozen lake, on the longest night of the year.
The horse shakes the bells on its harness, as if asking if the speaker has made a mistake by stopping. The only other sound besides the ringing of these bells is that of the wind and falling snowflakes, which the speaker likens to the feathers of goose down.
The speaker finds the woods very alluring, drawn both to their darkness and how vast and all-encompassing they seem. However, the speaker has obligations to fulfill elsewhere. Thus, though he or she would like to stay and rest, the speaker knows there are many more miles to go before that will be possible.