Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Hello friend!

I have brought you a new blog post today. It’s about one of Robert Frost’s poems. Happy reading!!!

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is one of Robert Frost’s critically acclaimed poems. It was penned by him in 1922, and published in 1923 in his “New Hampshire” volume. Imagery, personification, and repetition can be seen throughout this poem. This poem is especially famous for: “But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” Cryptic, right? This poem is dark, and has several underlying meanings; Frost wrote this when he was sailing through rough [to say the least] waters, so the poem reflects his feelings. Frost commonly used snow to depict both darkness and beauty; this poem is no exception. The titular “snowy woods” symbolise death, cold [and unforgiving] beauty, temptations, and distractions; I’m sure all of us have times in our lives when we just want to indulge in petty pleasures, and are distracted from our duties [naturally, this applies to me as well. We are humans, after all—and I am a teenager☺.] This poem is my absolute, undisputed favourite!! I love snow, and I’m a great fan of Frost’s writing style. I love how he can portray different emotions in his poems; one is reminded of how complex –yet, at times, simple—human nature is.  

As the poem begins, the poet, who is presumably travelling, halts in a beautiful, snow-filled wood.  He vaguely states that he “thinks he knows” who owns the wood, but he lives in the village and will not be aware of the poet’s trespassing. [My, my. The owner should be grateful he has such beautiful woods; the poet can only drink in the woods’ beauty. Honestly, some people never count their blessings!] The poet’s little horse is personified—the poet states that the poor animal probably thinks it’s really strange for them to stop in an uninhabited wood [they usually stop at a farmhouse. Of course, that’s the most sensible thing to do—for heaven’s sake, it’s winter! On top of that, I think it’s the Winter Solstice [“The darkest evening of the year.”] The horse, now convinced that his master is the most whimsical creature alive, shakes his harness bells, as if to say, “I really don’t know what you’re thinking, master, but don’t you think stopping here isn’t one of your best decisions?” The horse and his master are sharply contrasting characters; while the horse represents practical, common, sort of rustic sense, the poet is clearly a lover of beauty in all its forms, even if it’s monochromatic. If he had his way, he’d spend his time simply watching the snowflakes grace the ground, while the wind howls and kicks up a fuss. In this poem, death is seen as something that is inviting, not something that should be feared; if the poet stays here, surrounded by snow and with only his horse for company, he will freeze to death [he seems to be aware of this, but, strangely enough, seems to welcome Death as a means of escape from harsh reality. However, death is never a way out. Never. You gotta stand and face your problems, rather than turning tail and running. That only gives rise to maudlin sentiment.]

The sound of the horse’s harness bells makes the poet come out of his reverie [in this sense, the horse is his master’s saviour]. That life-saving sound is what makes the poet understand that he can’t just stand there viewing the breath-taking beauty of the woods; the woods are deceptive temptations which will eventually lead to his downfall. He realises that he doesn’t want to die just yet—it’s too soon to even think of dying. The last stanza is my favourite: “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.” The last line is repeated for emphasis; it’s the highlight of this poem. It has two meanings:

1] The poet is simply talking about how he can’t rest right now, as he has a load of stuff to do, people to meet, and duties to fulfil.  Once he’s completed his work, he can rest easy on his little pillow!

2] This is a much deeper, darker meaning— the poet is stating that he has a lot to do before he dies. He holds several hopes, aspirations and unfulfilled dreams in his heart, and he’s definitely not going to die before finishing what he started. Instead of wallowing in grief and self-pity, he’s determined to find solutions to his problems.

Conclusively, this poem, in four brief stanzas, depicts the poet’s rapidly changing mood—from weak, defeated and suicidal to determined and decisive.  Frost was a great lover of beauty and art, but also possessed the horse’s common sense; he knew that he couldn’t just conk out when he pleased. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening killed two birds with one stone—it helped him vent his emotions, and inspired people—especially disillusioned youngsters—all over the world. Whenever I’m feeling low, or daunted by difficult tasks that lie ahead of me, I give myself a mental shake, tell myself I “have miles to go before I sleep”, set my jaw, and plunge into my tasks—emerging victorious. Always. Give it a shot—it works!

That’s all for now. See you next time…

Thank you! I hope you liked my article!