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Dickens wrote this savagely satirical ballad for the Liberal journal The Examiner; it was published on Saturday, 7 August 1841, shortly after the Tories had taken over the government in

a parliamentary election. The anachreontic song is a parody of a popular ditty about a Fine Old English Gentleman who, "while he feasted all the great,/ He ne'er forgot the small.")

I'll sing you a new ballad, and I'll warrant it first-rate,

Of the days of that old gentleman who had that old estate; When they spent the public money at a bountiful old rate On ev'ry mistress, pimp, and scamp, at ev'ry noble gate,

In the fine old English Tory times; Soon may they come again!

The good old laws were garnished well with gibbets, whips, and chains,

With fine old English penalties, and fine old English pains, With rebel heads, and seas of blood once hot in rebel veins;

For all these things were requisite to guard the rich old gains Of the fine old English Tory times; Soon may they come again!

This brave old code, like Argus, had a hundred watchful eyes,

And ev'ry English peasant had his good old English spies, To tempt his starving discontent with fine old English lies,

Then call the good old Yeomanry to stop his peevish cries, In the fine old English Tory times; Soon may they come again!

The good old times for cutting throats that cried out in their need,

The good old times for hunting men who held their fathers' creed, The good old times when William Pitt, as all good men agreed,

Came down direct from Paradise at more than railroad speed. . . . Oh the fine old English Tory times; When will they come again!

In those rare days, the press was seldom known to snarl or bark,

But sweetly sang of men in pow'r, like any tuneful lark; Grave judges, too, to all their evil deeds were in the dark;

And not a man in twenty score knew how to make his mark. Oh the fine old English Tory times; Soon may they come again!

Those were the days for taxes, and for war's infernal din; For scarcity of bread, that fine old dowagers might win; For shutting men of letters up, through iron bars to grin,

Because they didn't think the Prince was altogether thin, In the fine old English Tory times;

Soon may they come again!

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/Tory.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/Tory.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/chatham.html

But Tolerance, though slow in flight, is strong-wing'd in the main; That night must come on these fine days, in course of time was plain;

The pure old spirit struggled, but Its struggles were in vain; A nation's grip was on it, and it died in choking pain,

With the fine old English Tory days, All of the olden time.

The bright old day now dawns again; the cry runs through the land, In England there shall be dear bread — in Ireland, sword and brand;

And poverty, and ignorance, shall swell the rich and grand, So, rally round the rulers with the gentle iron hand,

Of the fine old English Tory days; Hail to the coming time!

(Written and published in 1841)

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Complete Text

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 5

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. 10 The only other sounds 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, 15 And miles to go before I sleep.

Summary

On the surface, this poem is simplicity itself. The speaker is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. He or she takes in the lovely scene in near-silence, is tempted to stay longer, but acknowledges the pull of obligations and the considerable distance yet to be traveled before he or

she can rest for the night.

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/ireland1.html

Form

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The poem consists of four (almost) identically constructed stanzas. Each line is iambic, with four stressed syllables:

Within the four lines of each stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme. The third line does not, but it sets up the rhymes for the next stanza. For example, in the third stanza, queer, near,

and year all rhyme, but lake rhymes with shake, mistake, and flake in the following stanza.

The notable exception to this pattern comes in the final stanza, where the third line rhymes with the previous two and is repeated as the fourth line.

Do not be fooled by the simple words and the easiness of the rhymes; this is a very difficult form

to achieve in English without debilitating a poem’s content with forced rhymes.

Commentary

This is a poem to be marveled at and taken for granted. Like a big stone, like a body of water, like a strong economy, however it was forged it seems that, once made, it has always been there. Frost claimed that he wrote it in a single nighttime sitting; it just came to him. Perhaps one hot,

sustained burst is the only way to cast such a complete object, in which form and content, shape and meaning, are alloyed inextricably. One is tempted to read it, nod quietly in recognition of its

splendor and multivalent meaning, and just move on. But one must write essays. Or study guides.

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Like the woods it describes, the poem is lovely but entices us with dark depths—of interpretation, in this case. It stands alone and beautiful, the account of a man stopping by woods

on a snowy evening, but gives us a come-hither look that begs us to load it with a full inventory of possible meanings. We protest, we make apologies, we point to the dangers of reading poetry

in this way, but unlike the speaker of the poem, we cannot resist.

The last two lines are the true culprits. They make a strong claim to be the most celebrated instance of repetition in English poetry. The first “And miles to go before I sleep” stays within the boundaries of literalness set forth by the rest of the poem. We may suspect, as we have up to

this point, that the poem implies more than it says outright, but we can’t insist on it; the poem has gone by so fast, and seemed so straightforward. Then comes the second “And miles to go

before I sleep,” like a soft yet penetrating gong; it can be neither ignored nor forgotten. The sound it makes is “Ahhh.” And we must read the verses again and again and offer trenchant remarks and explain the “Ahhh” in words far inferior to the poem. For the last “miles to go” now

seems like life; the last “sleep” now seems like death.

The basic conflict in the poem, resolved in the last stanza, is between an attraction toward the woods and the pull of responsibility outside of the woods. What do woods represent? Something

good? Something bad? Woods are sometimes a symbol for wildness, madness, the pre-rational, the looming irrational. But these woods do not seem particularly wild. They are someone’s

woods, someone’s in particular—the owner lives in the village. But that owner is in the village on this, the darkest evening of the year—so would any sensible person be. That is where the division seems to lie, between the village (or “society,” “civilization,” “duty,” “sensibility,”

“responsibility”) and the woods (that which is beyond the borders of the village and all it represents). If the woods are not particularly wicked, they still possess the seed of the irrational; and they are, at night, dark—with all the varied connotations of darkness.

Part of what is irrational about the woods is their attraction. They are restful, seductive, lovely, dark, and deep—like deep sleep, like oblivion. Snow falls in downy flakes, like a blanket to lie under and be covered by. And here is where many readers hear dark undertones to this lyric. To

rest too long while snow falls could be to lose one’s way, to lose the path, to freeze and die. Does this poem express a death wish, considered and then discarded? Do the woods sing a siren’s

song? To be lulled to sleep could be truly dangerous. Is allowing oneself to be lulled akin to giving up the struggle of prudence and self-preservation? Or does the poem merely describe the temptation to sit and watch beauty while responsibilities are forgotten—to succumb to a mood

for a while?

The woods sit on the edge of civilization; one way or another, they draw the speaker away from it (and its promises, its good sense). “Society” would condemn stopping here in the dark, in the

snow—it is ill advised. The speaker ascribes society’s reproach to the horse, which may seem, at first, a bit odd. But the horse is a domesticated part of the civilized order of things; it is the nearest thing to society’s agent at this place and time. And having the horse reprove the speaker

(even if only in the speaker’s imagination) helps highlight several uniquely human features of the speaker’s dilemma. One is the regard for beauty (often flying in the face of practical concern or

the survival instinct); another is the attraction to danger, the unknown, the dark mystery; and the third—perhaps related but distinct—is the possibility of the death wish, of suicide.

Not that we must return too often to that darkest interpretation of the poem. Beauty alone is a sufficient siren; a sufficient protection against her seduction is an unwillingness to give up on

society despite the responsibilities it imposes. The line “And miles to go before I sleep” need not imply burden alone; perhaps the ride home will be lovely, too. Indeed, the line could be read as

referring to Frost’s career as a poet, and at this time he had plenty of good poems left in him.

|| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below ||| .: :.

This poem makes us realise that we are tempted to dis materialistic world and go on... But never realise

that we have many promises,duties we have to keep before we die,i.e, before i sleep....

This is an awesome poem.

fatima khan

| Posted on 2011-04-22 | by a guest

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At First I Didn\'t Like This Poem At All!! But After I Started Reading It Again And Again I Started Liking It

More !


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AWESOME POEM....INDEED ITS A LESSON FOR LIFE..I JUST LOVE THE LAST STANZA. -PRIYA


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Frost was contemplating on the age old question of human suffering, in light of all the beauty and in

conflict with the harmony of nature...the contrast is stark and yet mysterious in its elegance...


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We find ourselves, as Heidegger might suggest, thrown into an existence that\'s nothing less than

spectacular: there are the trees, the vaulted blue sky, florescent green grass after it rains- an

inexhaustible amount of beautiful things. Indeed, the very idea that one is alive- existing- is marvelous in

itself. In short, we\'re surrounded by an incredible, incredible amount of beauty.

All too often, however, we loose ourselves in mundane worldly matters, becoming so obsorbed in

sustaining existence that we tend to loose sight of its very beauty, its splendor. Aesthetic passion and

attention flees- or at least seems greatly diminished- where social obligations reign. A great majority of

times it seems conventional existence is structured to wage war on on the aesthetic heart- \"busy, busy,

busy\" ... \"worry, worry, worry\" become its mantra, and we seem hypnotized by it to the point that we

literally don\'t take the time out to stop and smell the roses.

On a purely superficial level it seems that Frost would at least have us aware of the conflict between our

inherent desire to be one with beauty and the social constrains and obligations that tend to domesticate

that desire. It\'s almost as if the poem has for its inner topic the conflict between freedom and

necessity.

The poet\'s individual yields to that beauty- out of nowhere and just that moment- and takes in the

\"lovely, dark, and deep\" which was laced with snow that was still falling. Necessity then impinged itself

upon the moment and called this person\'s attention \"back to reality\" and away from beauty\'s

transcendental sway. In the end the individual leaves that snowy encounter.

The point I derive from the poem is that, despite pressing obligations and social demands, we should

step outside of our constraints occasionally and take in some of this beauty that surrounds us.


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This poem is about remembering who you are.What is your purpose in this life? Why are you here?

Robert Frost knew that on an innate level. Always take note of why certain lines of poems resonate with

you. There is a deeper meaning which you may want to meditate on. Miles and miles to go before I

sleep is simply shifting the unconscious to the conscious. A transformation if you will.What a glorious

wonder when one taps into it. Past lives my friend. Listen, be still, be silent and you will hear the

answers. Your spirit guides and angels are waiting to talk to you.


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this is not about the suicide..Robert frost show\'s here how important are life is..in his poem I realized

whatever happened we should not stop..I\'ve learned that \"LIFE MUST GO ON\"


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This poem is definatly not about suicide .It\'s a wonderful poem with a lot of meaning and the last lines

mean nothing about suicide .It just shows that the speaker has got a lot to do,many promises to

keep,towards those who are close to his heart ,before he dies .It\'s as simple as that nothing about

suicide1!


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The deeper meaning of the poem goes this way. The poet in his first line says Whose woods these are I

think I know ( here the word woods refers to this world as a whole , the poet means that he know that

this world belongs to the lord Almighty). His House is in the village though ( meaning the lord almighty

resides in his heart) . He will not see me stopping here ( meaning that the author will not be noticed

stopping at this point of his life to ponderabout it) To watch his woods fill up with snow . (here the word

snow refers to the old age of the poet) My little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse

near (meaning his mind herein refered to as horse would feel queer as to why at this point of time the

author is standing still and pondering ) Between the woods and the frozen lake ( meaning between life

and the death ) the darkest evening of the year ( meaning evening is refered to old age considering

morning as childhood , noon as young age ) . He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some

mistake (harness bells here refer to his concience , meaning he shakes his concience to find out what

mistake he did in his lifetime ) The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

(meaning he gets no proper answer to it)

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.

( meaning this world is lovely , darkand deep meaning this world is filled with lot of uncertainties , and

miles to go before i sleep meaning the author has many commitments at this age which he has to fulfil

towards his family before he could die peacefully )


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i think it is more about death.A responsilibility in life must be fulfilled before the final rest which is

obvious in the last stanza i believe


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I love this poem. It touches the reader in a way that seems to evoke each individual\'s personal life stage

and experience. I personally feel like this is a man who whistfully stops, alone but for his little

companion that demands nothing of him, in a beautiful, and peaceful place. He seems to want to stay in

this secret, quiet, beautiful serenity when his little inquisitive horse gently brings him back to reality. Not

threat, no anxiety, just the reminder that his promises are his to fulfill and it is time to move on and

keep moving. Wonderful!


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the last line was repeated because frost could not think of anything else to complete the last stanza

-yash sri


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The repeating of the last line in the poem , �And miles to go before I sleep.� Is the key to

understanding this poem for me. It changes the emphasis on what he means. From literally that the

subject must not linger because is trip home is a long one and the weather is bad and there are people

waiting and he has obligations. The repeating of the lines asks to look deeper and beyond the literal. So I

ask what �promises� may go unfulfilled by his meandering? What does �sleep� have to do with the

dark woods?

The �promises to keep� suggest to me life�s burdens and obligations. While the stop in the woods

on �The darkest evening of the year� ,may suggest that life has been hard and he might be

contemplating suicide or an early death. Repeating the word �sleep� transforms and gives it greator

meaning and a finality because we all know that our final sleep is death.

The repetition of the last line begs for me to change my interpretation of the entire poem affecting both

denotation and symbolism. To go deeper and to reflect on life its burdens and its beauty and to realize

that life is difficult


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this poem may be about a man who wants to appreciate god's beautiful creations but is drwn back his

responsibilities.


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The rider is the "owner of the woods". The conundrum faced is to return to his life, his house and to

continue until the miles are passed, or to "rest" in the woods.


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Suicidal thoughts.

Horse woke him out of his stupor.

Trudged on.

He'll be back in those woods.


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in my opinion this poem represents more than just a winter ride in New England's winter, although that

is a valid interpretation. to me the woods represent the holy gates, beautiful and deep, but also with the

dark shade of judgement looming near. the darkest eve of the year seems to represent the savior Jesus

Christ being near his birthday. the village could be heaven itself and, agreeing with the post on march

30th of last year, the church being the house Frost speaks of, representing God both metaphorically and

very literally as God's earthly house is the church. to complete the trinity, i believe the horse represents

the Holy Spirit, serving as a guide for the man and reminding him of his unfinished responsibilities in life,

whether it be a family or something else. the horse (Holy Spirit) is gently telling the man 'not yet', you

still have 'miles to go before i sleep' there is more to do before you enter the Kingdom. just my opinion,

not decrediting any other analysis'.


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the title was quite subordinate to the level of the poem. it gave a too vivid description of the events

within the poem, however a ithoroughly enjoyed the rest of the poem because of the variety of themes

which it covers. it can be viewed as a poem about the life cycle. of how we must go on no matter what.

ot can also be regarded as a nature poem which beautifully portrays the "sound of easy wind and downy

flake". or as a poem about reflecting on peace and serenity


.: :.

This is a poem to be marveled at and taken for granted. Like a big stone, like a body of water, like a

strong economy, however it was forged it seems that, once made, it has always been there. Frost

claimed that he wrote it in a single nighttime sitting; it just came to him. Perhaps one hot, sustained

burst is the only way to cast such a complete object, in which form and content, shape and meaning, are

alloyed inextricably. One is tempted to read it, nod quietly in recognition of its splendor and multivalent

meaning, and just move on. But one must write essays. Or study guides.

Like the woods it describes, the poem is lovely but entices us with dark depths�of interpretation, in this

case. It stands alone and beautiful, the account of a man stopping by woods on a snowy evening, but

gives us a come-hither look that begs us to load it with a full inventory of possible meanings. We protest,

we make apologies, we point to the dangers of reading poetry in this way, but unlike the speaker of the

poem, we cannot resist.

The last two lines are the true culprits. They make a strong claim to be the most celebrated instance of

repetition in English poetry. The first �And miles to go before I sleep� stays within the boundaries of

literalness set forth by the rest of the poem. We may suspect, as we have up to this point, that the poem

implies more than it says outright, but we can�t insist on it; the poem has gone by so fast, and seemed

so straightforward. Then comes the second �And miles to go before I sleep,� like a soft yet

penetrating gong; it can be neither ignored nor forgotten. The sound it makes is �Ahhh.� And we

must read the verses again and again and offer trenchant remarks and explain the �Ahhh� in words

far inferior to the poem. For the last �miles to go� now seems like life; the last �sleep� now seems

like death.

The basic conflict in the poem, resolved in the last stanza, is between an attraction toward the woods

and the pull of responsibility outside of the woods. What do woods represent? Something good?

Something bad? Woods are sometimes a symbol for wildness, madness, the pre -rational, the looming

irrational. But these woods do not seem particularly wild. They are someone�s woods, someone�s in

particular�the owner lives in the village. But that owner is in the village on this, the darkest evening of

the year�so would any sensible person be. That is where the division seems to lie, between the village

(or �society,� �civilization,� �duty,� �sensibility,� �responsibility�) and the woods (that

which is beyond the borders of the village and all it represents). If the woods are not particularly wicked,

they still possess the seed of the irrational; and they are, at night, dark�with all the varied connotations

of darkness. Mohammed AL- Yafrosi


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this beauitful peom is writte by robert frost.he is saying that he had seen these woods


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This beautiful piece at a first read may seem quite a nice and simple poem but with analysis one will find

it has great depth to it. The poem i feel is a methapor for the journey of life. The traveller may be of

middle age where he may be looking upon the possibilty of retirement. In the meantime he stops for a

moment to appreciate life-like we all do at some point. He expresses the woods being lovely,dark and

deep by this we can interpret that perhaps the poet has had a satisfying life with a few rough patches.

Robert frost has used the rhyming pattern of the poem to his advantage. You may notice that the last

word of the third line of every stanza sets off the rhyming pattern for the following stanza. This can

depict the continuty of life;how something from the past may continue to live on.


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This poem can be interpreted in so many ways, so nobody is really wrong. Personally, I see it to describe

a man with a death wish who chooses not to take that route. It could suymbolize Robert Frost's writing

career or civiliation vs. nature. There are so many different interpretations that nobody is truly wrong.


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This to me is just about Robert Frost admiring the beauty of nature. Then again you people should stop

arguing over what is the right answer because in poetry there isn't a right answer just your personal take

from it. It could be about this, santa clause, suicide, anything really.


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this poem is about santa clause, think about it, that's why the horse would thi nk it would be so strange

to stop without a house because it is used to stopping at houses to drop off gifts, plus there are other

clues as well: the bells on the reins, the darkest evening of the year (december 25th), santa stops to

admire the winter view, but he can't stay because he has to keep on going to deliver more gifts to other

houses which would be the promises to keep mentioned


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robert frost is trying to send a message by using aproverb in last para .


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robert frost is trying to send a message by using aproverb in last para .


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a poem can be about more then one thing. it can be about suicide, balance, work versus nature and

many other things. it all depends on your personal reading of it. and please guys, learn to spell when

posting on a famous poem.

-k-


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I think this poem is about a man with a wife and family who sees a beautiful married woman and is

tempted by her "lovely, dark, and deep" beauty. The woods would be the beautiful women, the owner

of the woods who is in the village would be her husband, and the horse thinking it queer shows that he

is a married man


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This poem is not about suicide mr frost even said so at the top! i like the poem because when you first

read it you think that it is about a man walking through the woods and he is admiring the beauty., btut

when you read it again you realise that it is about commitment and that you shouldnt be sidetracked.


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This is a poem which has a good positive meaning. It has no connection with suicide. The poem depicts

the urge of the poet to reach his 'objective'. He advises not to be distracted by the attractive things

which may hinder you in reaching your objective. There may be very beatiful things to attract you

temporarily which may prevent you to reach the objective.

It is a very good poem with a very good message to the readers.

Suresh Elattery.


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Dear friends,

Thanks for enjoying my poem so much.

P.S:This poem is definitely not about suicide.

-Robert Frost


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Hello???!!! How could this be a poem about suicide? I quote 'and miles to go before I sleep'. When I first

read this ,I was like what the heck???!!! This sight gives you a good idea of just how much small things

like this can be misunderstood. I mean, Mr. Frost himself said this poem wasn't about suicide! Seriosly

people, LAY OFF!

With all due respect,

O.F.


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This Frost poem, like much of his work seems very simple upon first reading, however it becomes

apparent that there is much more to it than meets the eyes.

On one level, it appears Frost is concerned with the beauty of nature, using imagery of 'woods filling up

with snow' this paints a white picture, which we could take to symbolise a purity of nature, represented

by the woods.

The next stanza shows description of a horse, who 'thinks it queer / to stop without a farmhouse near'

which is odd, in this metaphorical image, humanity has stopped to appreciate nature, yet the horse is

restless. Again the horse 'gives his harness bells a shake / to ask if there is some mistake' Frost's

juxtaposition of two conflicting attitudes is strange here, I believe the horse could be a metaphor for the

man's ambition, which he rides to his goals. This conflict could represent the struggle between

transience and transcendence in man's nature.

The last stanza gives a more foreboding edge to the poem, the rhyme scheme here flattens out and

becomes completely regular, with the last line repeated. The speaker is contemplating the woods which

are 'lovely, dark and deep' this suggests an extended metaphor of death to me, that he is

contemplating- even longing for. Although he remembers he has 'promises to keep' and 'miles to go

before I sleep' This seems to be enough reason to stay alive, and he resents the duties and

responsibilities which require him to do so. This is similar to 'A Leaf Treader' where the leaves touch the

speaker's lips with 'an invitation to grief' again the speaker seems to be contemplating 'falling' with the

leaves to his death, however he resolves to avoid it through labor and hoists his foot up 'to keep on top

of another year of snow'


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Lol, guys, the poem's about suicide. It's not just 'bout taking a ride in the woods. It's called an extended

mataphore. Not everything should be taken litrally. Think about it. The horse giving it's bells a shake

indicates that it's not use to having to stop in the middle of nowhere. So obviously the guy isn't just

stopping for a view because the horse wouldn't think it "queer".


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the story is about suicide because he says in he poem his horse which maybe can be h is heads thinks it

queer to stop without a farmhouse near so that explains alot and also the woods are lovely dark and

deep so if hes starring at the woods that means hes gonna go in if its lovely its dark and its night if he

wants to kill himself that go ahead but do it in a place where no one can see and deep can also me wild

because a forest can be smll with domestic animals but this guy is seeing a huge forest with all the

possible kinds of animals and plants


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the story is about suicide because he says in he poem his horse which maybe can be his heads thinks it

queer to stop without a farmhouse near so that explains alot and also the woods are lovely dark and

deep so if hes starring at the woods that means hes gonna go in if its lovely its dark and its night if he

wants to kill himself that go ahead but do it in a place where no one can see and deep can also me wild

because a forest can be smll with domestic animals but this guy is seeing a huge forest with all the

possible kinds of animals and plants


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I also agree that this is not about suicide, nor do I agree with the fact that Robert Frost is talking about

himself in the first two lines.

"Whose woods these are, I think I know.

His house is in the village though."

He is talking about God, because (apparently the persona is religious) he believes that the woods are

God's woods alone, and no one else's. God's house IS in the village (the church), and drawing from most

of Frost's other poetry about nature, he has strong feelings that nature belongs to no man or woman.

I agree that he is talking about death in the woods, but from the last two lines

"And miles to go I sleep"

he means that he will not be ending his life with a rocky suicide. He will live out the last "miles" of his

life. He didn't say,

"And I'm sleeping right after I take a leak", or something like that, he said that he had "miles".


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what i think abt this is that it is none abt suicide.

its actually simple abt the joujrney of life and bla bl bla

kanchan


.: :.

Robert Frost wrote this poen after writing a very long one. After he finished it, he realized it was already

morning, so he decided to go on a ride. He then stopped and got inspired and started writing. However,

I do think he is making some kind of allusion to death. It may be possible he felt bad or even depressed,

cause as many of ya�ll know he just kinda went away and lived apart from society...When he mentions

the woods are lovely dark and deep...and miles to go before i sleep, he may be referring the woods as an

eternal rest, meaning death. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

m@r!


.: :.

I believe this poem is about a beautiful ride on a snowy night and nothing more. Why? Because this is

what Robert Frost himself stated at a lecture I attended.

There’s more to a poem than meets the eye.

Welcome to the land of symbols, imagery, and wordplay. Before you travel any further, please

know that there may be some thorny academic terminology ahead. Never fear, Shmoop is here. Check out our "How to Read a Poem" section for a glossary of terms.

Woods

The woods in this poem are something to write home about. Our speaker can't get enough of them, telling us that "the woods are lovely, dark and deep" (13), as though he were hypnotized.

The woods must be all that and a bag of chips, because our speaker is compelled to stop and stare at them on the freezing, dark winter evening. There's a mysterious element to these woods as

well, and we get the sense that the speaker is not alone, even though he is very much by himself. Whenever we see woods in literature, we almost automatically see them in contrast to civilization. If you've read The Scarlet Letter, think about the woods Hester Prynne frequents.

We also think of woods as being mazelike and full of hidden obstacles, like the Fire Swamp in The Princess Bride (watch out for the Rodents Of Unusual Size and the quicksand). These are

some pretty intense woods, so feel free to interpret them how you will. We will offer a few ideas below.

Lines 1, 4, 7, 13: Some interpret the woods as an extended metaphor for death. Line 4: Here we see woods as a clear and crisp image as our speaker describes them filling up

with snow.

The Natural World

Our speaker is digging the natural world. Picture him hanging out with his horse, between a frozen lake and the edge of the woods, while the snows falls gently all around him. The ideas of the village, of a farmhouse, or of the promises he must keep are not nearly as appetizing to our

speaker as the cold beauty of the world around him. There's something very lulling about the "easy wind and downy flake" (12), and we get the sense that the natural world is pretty compelling and pretty good at convincing our speaker to forget about civilization. Nature is

powerful in this poem.

Lines 6-8: With these lines, we get a crystal clear image of the snowy woods and frozen lake at night.

Line 11: We can almost hear the sound of the wind in the alliteration of "sound's the sweep." Line 13: While the fact that the woods are "lovely, dark and deep" might not seem visually

helpful, this description actually helps us visualize the image of the woods even more clearly.

Others

Alone as alone can be. That's our speaker on this snowy evening. Why then, do we feel like he's not alone? Is it his little horse that seems to have a mind of its own, is it the landowner who is snug in his cozy house in the cozy village, or is it the presence of something else entirely?

Line 2: The "village" can be interpreted as a symbol for society and civilization. Line 5: Horses have thoughts? We knew it all along. The horse is personified in this line. Line 6: Farmhouses may not be the most hoppin' places in the world, but they do usually involve

people. Because of this, the farmhouse that our speaker mentions seems like a symbol for society and civilization.

http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-scarlet-letter.html

Line 10: Giving his harness bells a shake, the horse is personified once more as he asks "if there is some mistake."

Lines 15-16: "Sleep" is a solitary activity, no? In these lines, "sleep" could be interpreted as a metaphor for death.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1923)

On a dark winter evening, the narrator stops his sleigh to watch the snow falling in the woods. At first he worries that the owner of the property will be upset by his presence, but then he remembers that the owner lives in town, and he is free to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow.

The sleigh horse is confused by his master’s behavior — stopping far away from any farmhouse — and shakes his harness bells in impatience. After a few more moments, the narrator reluctantly continues on his way.

Analysis

In terms of text, this poem is remarkably simple: in sixteen lines, there is not a single three-syllable word and only sixteen two-syllable words. In terms of rhythmic scheme and form, however, the poem is surprisingly complex. The poem is made up of four stanzas, each with four

stressed syllables in iambic meter. Within an individual stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme (for example, “know,” “though,” and “snow” of the first stanza), while the third line

rhymes with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza (for example, “here” of the first stanza rhymes with “queer,” “near,” and “year” of the second stanza).

One of Frost’s most famous works, this poem is often touted as an example of his life work. As

such, the poem is often analyzed to the minutest detail, far beyond what Frost himself intended for the short and simple piece. In reference to analyses of the work, Frost once said that he was annoyed by those “pressing it for more than it should be pressed for. It means enough without its

being pressed…I don’t say that somebody shouldn’t press it, but I don’t want to be there.”

The poem was inspired by a particularly difficult winter in New Hampshire when Frost was returning home after an unsuccessful trip at the market. Realizing that he did not have enough to

buy Christmas presents for his children, Frost was overwhelmed with depression and stopped his horse at a bend in the road in order to cry. After a few minutes, the horse shook the bells on its harness, and Frost was cheered enough to continue home.

The narrator in the poem does not seem to suffer from the same financial and emotional burdens

as Frost did, but there is still an overwhelming sense of the narrator’s unavoidable responsibilities. He would prefer to watch the snow falling in the woods, even with his horse’s

impatience, but he has “promises to keep,” obligations that he cannot ignore even if he wants to. It is unclear what these specific obligations are, but Frost does suggest that the narrator is particularly attracted to the woods because there is “not a farmhouse near.” He is able to enjoy

complete isolation.

Frost’s decision to repeat the final line could be read in several ways. On one hand, it reiterates the idea that the narrator has responsibilities that he is reluctant to fulfill. The repetition serves as

a reminder, even a mantra, to the narrator, as if he would ultimately decide to stay in the woods unless he forces himself to remember his responsibilities. On the other hand, the repeated line

could be a signal that the narrator is slowly falling asleep. Within this interpretation, the poem could end with the narrator’s death, perhaps as a result of hypothermia from staying in the frozen woods for too long.

The narrator’s “promises to keep” can also be seen as a reference to traditional American duties

for a farmer in New England. In a time and a place where hard work is valued above all things, the act of watching snow fall in the woods may be viewed as a particularly trivial indulgence.

Even the narrator is aware that his behavior is not appropriate: he projects his insecurities onto his horse by admitting that even a work anima l would “think it queer.”

Education

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