Commentary on Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Essay

In the poem, “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost uses several metaphors, meters, and literary devices to develop the poem as human life. Summary of literal meaning is the one person stops by woods on a snowy evening and looks at the beautiful scene. He/she tries to stay there for a while to look at the scene, but he knows that he has to go back home for his duty before he can take a rest.

This poem is formed of four stanzas with four lines. Each line in the poem has eight syllables. In each line; the first syllable “know” is unstressed, the second “though” is stressed, the third “here” is unstressed, the fourth “snow” is stressed, and so on. This literary device is called terza rima. Frost uses iambic tetrameter to make rhythm. Also, Frost repeats the end rhyme in the last two lines,”And miles to go before I sleep,” possibly for emphasis. Frost uses alliteration to make rhythmic poem. For example, in the first four stanzas, the “H” sounds maintains the rhyme. In the third stanza, he uses personification which is his horse “asks” a question that you are really need to stay this place?

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep” implies temptations to escape from real world. The phrase, “miles to go” represents the journey of life. “before I sleep” means before the end of life.

I understand this poem as; without thinking tomorrow or future when tired for work, and becoming tired a life, I want to look at the woods, and the woods cover easily wraps everything. Everything means realities of the life. However, I have something to do, and I have something left to finish before I die, so I have to walk further to complete my duties.