Commentary on Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Essay

And Miles to go Before I Sleep

In Stopping by Woods Robert Frost uses several different Elements of Peotry to portray a very real sense of the speakers journey. Along his journey the speaker finds himself walking past a wooded area on a cold winters night, with only his horse as he stops to admire the beauty of nature. The speaker stops, and while gazing in the snow-laden woods, he reminisces on his life. With a little persuasion from his trusty horse and his responsibilities of home he feels he must continue on his journey of life. Frost utilizes many different techniques to depict the setting and theme of the poem and this helps the reader to visualize what the speaker is experiencing.

The words Frost chooses to use in the poem play an important role in portraying the setting as a cold lonely wood. His choice in using a cold and lonely setting immediately suggests that the woods are a mysterious place, far removed from the everyday lives and concerns symbolized by the village. He chose words that depict a dangerous and cold setting instead of words like snowy which give a mental picture of a beautiful, clean, and pure place. Frosts choice in words leaves the reader with a sense of danger. The lake is frozen, and the speaker comments that this is the darkest evening of the year. The darkest evening of the year could just be literal, showing that the poem is set just before Christmas, but it may also suggest that the speaker is dwelling on some sad or depressing event.

By using personification Frost is able to make a sometimes otherwise unimportant character a driving force in the poem. By personifying the horse, Frost is able to introduce another point of view to the poem while still giving off a great sense of isolation. To some extent the horse acts as the voice of common sense, thinking it queer/ To stop without a farmhouse near. (Frost, lines 5 and 6) The horse plays a very important role, for without the speakers horse, the speaker may never have continued on his journey of life.

The tone and pace of the poem change at the end of the third stanza, slowing down due to the assonance in lines 11 and 12 when Frost writes The only other sounds the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake. By using assonance in the poem Frost is able to create the noise of the breeze moving through the snow covered woods, and shows the peaceful, calm nature of this picturesque scene. Even the terminology has some small implications, the easy wind and downy snow suggest that the speaker is getting tired, and sees the snow as a comfortable blanket rather than something that would kill him if he were to stop for the night.

In line 13 The woods are lovely/ dark and deep, Frost suggests that the speaker is being seduced by the woods despite knowing the dangers at hand. This line shows the speakers has an urge to lie down and forget all his troubles. He indicates however, a change of mind with the But at the beginning of line 14 when he realizes that he has promises to keep, some kind of responsibility either to himself or to others that he must not forget. Thus the reality of the village, with all its social obligations, enters the mysterious world of the woods, where the speaker is free to stop for a while and simply enjoy the freedoms of the natural world.

Throughout the entirety of Frosts Stopping by Woods he continually utilizes many Elements of Speech in order to emphasize the speakers journey. Frost really instills a great sense of the speaker feelings throughout the poem, which enables the reader to clearly visualize and understand the entirety of the poem. Even at the very end of the last stanza, when the speaker is just on the verge of continuing on his journey, he realizes that to forget the responsibilities of life permanently would represent the end of a meaningful life. This realization is the purpose of his journey, whether the speaker knows it or not. Finally the repetition of And miles to go before I sleep at the end of the poem indicates that the speaker is now ready to continue his journey, both through the woods to reach his destination, and through the rest of his life.