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.
On a literal sense the narrator is talking about visiting a spot in the woods and admiring beauty, even though the horse is wondering what he is doing. I think this is a great poem that paints a nice picture. On a deeper level it may allude to Life and that we should stop and take in what’s aroung us in the world before we let it all slip by. I think the line(s), “And miles to go before I sleep” points to taking in life. The narrator is basically saying there is alot more time to be had before I leave this world so there’s no need to rush. H even emphasizes this more by saying the same line twice. I think that we get so carried away in our goals and work, that we lose sight of the things that’s around us and we forget to take in the beauty and moments that life has to offer.
Awesome poem! I love the peacefulness that this poem brings. It makes me want to be in nature and enjoy what is around me. I really agree with your analysis. I did not think about the last lines being about the longevity of life and taking the time to slow down and enjoy them, but I can see now how that makes sense. Great analysis!
blogtopassthetime said this on October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
This poem is about contemplating suicide…. There is so much more to it than meets the eye. Sleep = death.
poetryprof said this on October 14, 2008 at 1:11 pm
apparently I was off just a bit in my analysis…
helluvawriter said this on October 17, 2008 at 6:05 am