I know it is long, but please read it because my teacher is very strict and i dont wanna get a bad grade. im in grade 11.
Here is the poem if you dont know it.
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.
Robert Frost effectively uses nature to show the dark sides of life in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” On the surface this poem is very simple. The speaker is stopping by some woods and taking in the scenery, but then he moves along realizing he has other things to do that night.
But the deeper meaning is suicide. In the first stanza,
“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.”
The speaker is discussing how the man who owns these woods would not even notice that he is there, this could mean that the man who owns these woods died, and “house” could symbolize his grave. Of course the man would not see him stopping there, because he is dead. This could also be specifying that no one would even notice if he died, or killed himself. The speaker is slowly sinking into a dream-like state, thinking of how peaceful it would be if he just died.
The speaker goes on to say that the horse “gives his harness bells a shake, To ask if there is some mistake.” This is the speaker’s snap back into reality. This is showing that the horse doesn’t know why they are stopped because the horse is trained by humans and humans don’t take the time to see the beauty in nature that God has created for us. The horse is also telling him that suicide is not the answer and they need to get out of there before he does something he will regret. Frost added this in the poem because it is showing the subconscious debate he is having regarding his death. He is stuck in between life and death, or rather “Between the woods and frozen lake.” The woods are symbolizing life and the frozen lake is symbolizing his life that is freezing over.
The speaker mentions that this is “The darkest evening of the year.” The darkest night of the year is December 21st, but this is included to show that this is the darkest, most emotional night of the year for him. He is alone physically, except for his horse, and his sadness and depression are the biggest problems in his life at this time.
This is the perfect time and place to act on the suicide because it is very quiet and peaceful, the only sound is the wind. The speaker feels if he could stay there then the wind could hypothetically blow all of his troubles away and the “downy flake” could cover up all of his problems, and he would never have to worry about them again. But if he did act on it, the snow could cover up everything.
Although the speaker could just take his life right there in the “lovely, dark and deep” woods, that this could be someone’s answer, but it is not his answer. He realizes that he has “promises to keep” and other obligations in life before it is his time to go. By using this line at this point in the poem, it gives you a sense that the poem is about death, the man might be mentally unstable and sick, and feel that his life is coming to an end, he can still think of other reasons to live.
The last two lines are the same and Frost repeats himself,but by repeating himself like this, it gives the lines two different meanings. The first time he says “And miles to go before I sleep” he literally means he is a long way from home, and it will be a while before he gets to sleep. But the second time, it holds a deeper meaning. It means the amount of time he has before he dies. But after spending time in these woods he realizes that he has too much going in his life to end it right there. These woods were his personal salvation.
