"Stopping by woods on a snowy evening" by Robert Frost Poem analysis

Essay by latinababeHigh School, 10th gradeA+, April 2003

download word file, 4 pages 3.5

Downloaded 266 times

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening (Robert Frost)

- Poem Analysis

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' is one of Robert Frost's most well known poems. It is a magnificent poem that evokes a series of wonderful feelings. It has a deep and hidden atmosphere and specific mysterious phrases to gives us a clear view of what is happening. It has a superb rhythm that keeps the reader grasped to this one of a kind poem.

The poem is about a person who stops by woods on a snowy evening. At least that is a simple explanation that one can see but when looking deep inside the poem there is some sort of hidden story behind this simple explanation. Already the first verse hints us this. In the poem the person stays a while watching the snow build gathering in the unknown person's woods.

We can see that this is not a normal action by the person as the "little horse" thinks it's "queer". This sets a mysterious atmosphere and lets the reader ask himself several questions about the story behind the words. The atmosphere is a dark and mysterious as we are clearly told on verse 8 when it says "the darkest evening of the year" meaning something dark and mysterious probably sad is going on about. The dark symbolizes isolation, mystery and fear against the white snow, which is a symbol of tranquility and peace. This is a nice contrast with the beautiful tranquil scene of the woods filling up with snow contrarily to the worries of the person and the darkness of the night. One might say that the person is stopping there to fill themselves with the tranquility and serenity of this peaceful sight, an escape from their busy...