FREE ESSAY ON ANALYSIS OF ROBERT FROST'S STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

ANALYSIS OF ROBERT FROST'S STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is by far one of my favorite works of
modern poetry. The pensive, unhurried mood of the poem is reflected with a calm rich
imagery that creates a vivid mental picture. The simple words and rhyme scheme of the
poem give it an easy flow, which adds to the tranquility of the piece. Every aspect of
the poem builds off the others to put the mind into the calm of a winter evening.
The first stanza of the poem is rather simple and provides the basis for the imagery. It
mentions the woods and implies that they are located away from town and civilization his
house is in the village though. It also shows the easy pace that speaker is taking,
having plenty of time to simply watch the falling snow. As I think about them, the words
of the first stanza are not overtly somber, they do however through their order and the
way they were chosen create a rather pensive mood. 
The second stanza provides a more in depth view of the imagery sketched out in the first;
it also provides a more definite time and location. The first two lines of this stanza
firmly place the reader rather deep in the woods and away from any dwelling. He is so far
out in fact that his horse is puzzled by his actions. The next line gives a better image
of the scene Between the woods and frozen lake; it seems to be a rather quiet and lonely
place. The next line then provides that it is night and very dark, either emotionally or
actually. I think that Frost intended to make that line rather ambiguous The darkest
evening of the year, It can either be taken literally as the most lightless night, or it
can be taken as the night of the darkest emotions. I think that it is a combination of
the two, a dark moonless winter night in which the speaker experiences some form of
depression or loneliness.
The third stanza of the poem brings the strangeness of the situation to a head. The only
other living being in this cold lonely landscape, the speaker's horse takes action to
find the reason for the odd stopping. The noise from the inquisitive harness bells
provide contrast to the quiet of the scene, where the only other sounds a wind and snow.
The descriptions of the sounds provide a little insight to the speaker's mindset and
position. He is so still that he can here the soft fall of the downy flake and hear the
movement of the easy wind. This also shows a great calm and patience that the speaker
must posses. 
The final stanza of the poem brings all the sentiments of the poem together, an intense
love and awe of nature, a never ending patience and some unknown task or problem that
robs the speaker of rest. The dark and deep woods seem to reflect the speaker, his dark
emotion and depth of character. There stillness also contrasts with the need of the
repeated closing lines And miles to go before I sleep/ And miles to go before I sleep.
These final lines represent the problem that has plagued the speaker and that is most
likely responsible for his dark mood. It is something that is undefined that does not
demand a rush to deal with, but is important enough to demand attention. 
The poem as a whole, is a simple effigy of a quiet thoughtful night. I can easily relate
to the poem, the emotions it describes and the way that the images are presented. The
careless ease with which the poem is read is vital to the poem as a whole. Also this is
my favorite poem, I didn't have to open the book to remember it, only to see its format
again. It reminds me of the moods I feel on snowy nights or early mornings. I live in the
woods and before I drove; I often walked through them as a shortcut to visit friends, so
I have many memories of stopping by a neighbors wood on an easy walk home, and watching
the snow slowly fall.