Robert Frost, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

www.online-literature.com ^ | June, 1922 | Robert Frost

[#1CTYankee]

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.

[Guenevere]

Thank-you for this respite.

We all have miles to go before we sleep....esp. now....

This was a nice poetic oasis ...thanks!

[Slinky911]

[spectre]

Frost reminds us that life is hectic and we have obligations that get in the way of fulfilling that which really makes us happy in the end. He tells us we don't have time to enjoy our child hood pleasures of this world...in this case, a simple snow fall.

It's probably what "retirement" should be.

sw

[fish hawk]

Why does a poem have to be symbolic? What if he just thought that patch of the woods was beautiful and mystic at that time of his passing and he just wanted to express that. It probably did not take much thought or rewriting as arranging words with a flow and ease was his forte, not a second job.

[Guenevere]

It might make sense to you ??....I sure don't see it.

I find yours a strange interpretation, but each his own....

[Tax-chick]

I don’t think he’d even consider going to Dartmouth, fortunately. He wants to be a chef.

[Poincare]

...about death.

I was thrown out of my high school English class for suggesting as much. (1962).

[ReluctantDragon]

But he apparently is not simply passing by. Why else would there be the mention of “he will not see me stopping here”? He is obviously in a place that is not usual. Thus, the symbolism.

[rlmorel]

I have always liked this poem immensely.

But I have always thought that people read too damn much into simple things. As another poster said, his English class was taught it was about suicide. Good Lord, is there any snippet of literature of any kind that an English teacher will insist has layers of deeper meaning, usually involving death or sex?

To quote Freud...”Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

I have always taken this to mean exactly what it says. When he says “...miles to go before I sleep...” I don’t get the impression of suicide or death.

I get the impression of a man, either on a horse or being drawn in a small carriage dressed in heavy clothes and peacoat. It is the Winter Solstice, heading out of his small town to some other destination, possibly to visit distant relatives for Christmas. I imagine he has only left town recently, and has left the warmth of a house and fireplace. His journey is going to be long, and he knows that the comfort and warmth he still retains will eventually disappear as his journey progresses. As he thinks about the long journey, he thinks about the end of the journey, where a warm bed with quilts, a fireplace and the comfort of a safe roof over his head awaits.

But, that is going to be a long way off.

Nevertheless, while he still retains that comfort, he can stop, look out at the woods where he is heading and appreciate the silence, serenity and beauty that only the woods at night in a light snowfall can possess, and only be fully appreciated by those who do not yet feel the full bite of the elements.

That’s all.

But then, I am a glass-half-full guy...:)

[rlmorel]

"...If you've never walked in a winter snow at night, then you would need this poem interpreted..."

Exactly!

[Richard Kimball]

Robert stopped by Woods,
And Elin clubbed him with a 9 iron.

[Daffynition]

The silence. The unique smell to the air. Frozen perfection.

[1rudeboy]

Good Lord, is there any snippet of literature of any kind that an English teacher will insist has layers of deeper meaning, usually involving death or sex?

If he doesn't, he's removed half of the reasons to study literature in the first place.

[GOP Poet]

Lovely additions and interpretations. Thank you so much for sharing them. I read that Frost was a bit surprised by the popularity of this particular poem. He merely had been out and experienced a quiet moment such on his neighbors property and wrote a poem about it.

Although your analysis as well as others is right on and deepens the understanding of the poem for others, I think you might agree with me in saying the best poems resonate on multiple deeper levels and that is part of their power. This is one of those poems resonating through time and is such a subtle, quiet but eternal poem it can't help but be one of my very favorite. It always causes an intense emotional/mental response in its reading--especially aloud.

Happy New Year all!

Frost was enjoyable to everyday people and would be happy to know a man or woman would not need to be 'learned' to interpret or to enjoy!

and miles to go before I sleep . . .. May it be true for us all.

[GOP Poet]

Ah The Raven. Yes.

[AnnaZ]

Thanks for the lovely poem, I adore it, although another is my favorite Frost.

My eldest son memorized it for a reading when he was about 7, and any recital of it made my eyes well up. It made him crazy... lol.

The Road Not Taken
by: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.

[rlmorel]

LOL...I do know what you mean, but sometimes beautiful literature doesn’t have a deeper meaning, it stands on its own two feet (in my opinion)

Kind of the way two people might look at a beautiful red rose in bloom.

One person looks at the rose as a metaphor for life...striving through the melting of snow into the warm summer, short lived, reaching its beautiful bloom and decaying into corruption and disappearing.

The other person looks at the rose for the beauty that it is in its full bloom the beautiful fragrance it exudes, and doesn’t give a second thought to the coming rainstorm that is going to strip all the petals and leave it bare.

Which road of perception would each of us travel on that will make all the difference?

[Mr Inviso]

“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.

Lovely poem. The last part was used in some spy novel or movie to wake up the sleeper agents. I don’t remember which one.”

Telefon, starring Charles Bronson.He was a Soviet agent tracking down all the sleepers that were to be awakened by that verse. Another agent had gone rogue and was activating them all, and Bronson’s character was there to stop it. Lots of crashes, explosions, etc.

That one would make for an interesting remake today.

[marmar]

I memorized this poem for school a long time ago and I still remember most of it, because I liked it so much. Thanks

[jimfree]

Ah The Raven. Yes.

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting;
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!