Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
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.
A classic and well known poem by Robert Frost. The rhyme scheme here is an AABA pattern with the B from the prior stanza becoming the A of the following stanza. All of this leads to very lyric and sonorous transitions from one stanza to the next. The last stanza is a little different and we'll address that when we get there.
The first line begins with an repetition of the word W in Whose woods, but it's not a straightforward alliteration as the W in Whose is silent. The first stanza has eight syllables per line. The second line begins in the same pattern as the first starting with alliteration, this time voiced. The subject of the stanza is vague. The vagueness of the lines are something that will carry through to the rest of the poem. One gets a sense of trespassing, His house is in the village though/he will not see me stopping here. There's also the sense of being carried away by natural beauty. To watch his woods fill up with snow.
The second stanza anthropomorphizes his horse, giving it the quality of thought. Here the old use of the word queer as strange finds use. Again the narrator reiterates the distance from any civilization in this woods. To stop without a farmhouse near. Even the horse has been domesticated to accept civilization, and here away from civilization the narrator is reflecting on the woods and frozen lake, watching the snow fall. The cold of the environment is evident in the narrators allusive reference to the winter solstice, the day when the suns light is at it's nadir.
The third stanza begins with the horse trying to shake the narrator out of his reverie, again thinking something must be wrong. But again the narrator's attention returns to the sound and sweep of the easy wind and downy flake.
The last stanza of the poem switches up the rhyme scheme for repetition in the B slot. The repetition of the word sleep here gives us insight into the almost hypnotic trance the narration conveys in watching the falling snow in that landscape. The first line of the last stanza alliterated dark and deep. Here the narrator makes it plain that civilization still has a hold on him with promises to keep. The idea of a deathwish is hinted at. Yet the pull of civilization here found in the horse pulls the narrator along. He has miles to go before he sleeps.
The first line begins with an repetition of the word W in Whose woods, but it's not a straightforward alliteration as the W in Whose is silent. The first stanza has eight syllables per line. The second line begins in the same pattern as the first starting with alliteration, this time voiced. The subject of the stanza is vague. The vagueness of the lines are something that will carry through to the rest of the poem. One gets a sense of trespassing, His house is in the village though/he will not see me stopping here. There's also the sense of being carried away by natural beauty. To watch his woods fill up with snow.
The second stanza anthropomorphizes his horse, giving it the quality of thought. Here the old use of the word queer as strange finds use. Again the narrator reiterates the distance from any civilization in this woods. To stop without a farmhouse near. Even the horse has been domesticated to accept civilization, and here away from civilization the narrator is reflecting on the woods and frozen lake, watching the snow fall. The cold of the environment is evident in the narrators allusive reference to the winter solstice, the day when the suns light is at it's nadir.
The third stanza begins with the horse trying to shake the narrator out of his reverie, again thinking something must be wrong. But again the narrator's attention returns to the sound and sweep of the easy wind and downy flake.
The last stanza of the poem switches up the rhyme scheme for repetition in the B slot. The repetition of the word sleep here gives us insight into the almost hypnotic trance the narration conveys in watching the falling snow in that landscape. The first line of the last stanza alliterated dark and deep. Here the narrator makes it plain that civilization still has a hold on him with promises to keep. The idea of a deathwish is hinted at. Yet the pull of civilization here found in the horse pulls the narrator along. He has miles to go before he sleeps.
No comments:
Post a Comment