Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Line by Line Explanation of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

“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.”

— The narrator (may be the poet himself) of the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening stops by some woods on his way one evening. The narrator knows the owner of the woods and even where he lives. He is a bit relaxed thinking that the owner of the woods lives in the village and so he won’t see the narrator stopping here. Therefore he can continue watching the natural beauty of his snow-covered woods.

“My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.”

— In the second stanza, the narrator of the poem says that his dear horse, whom he is using as his carriage, must think it strange to stop here between the woods and the frozen lake in a dark evening, as he normally stops near a farmhouse. The narrator calls his horse “my little horse”, as it is very dear to him or may be the horse is a little one in the literal sense, i.e., a pony. It may also suggest that the speaker is a humble and ordinary citizen and cannot afford to buy an expensive horse. He also personifies the horse by indicating that it has a thought process and also referring it as “he” in the next stanza.

In this stanza the narrator suggest that the weather is cold enough to freeze a lake. The expression ‘darkest evening’ could suggest several things. May be the narrator-traveller was very depressed due to his long journey or the cold weather. Otherwise it may also refer to the longest night of the year – the night with the most hours of darkness. In that case, it is 21st or 22nd December, when the winter solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere.

“He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.”

— The horse is shaking its head ringing the bell attached to its harness, as if ‘he’ is asking his master whether there is any problem, as it is unusual for him to stop by the woods in the darkness. And the important thing in this stanza of the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is the sound imageries. There is only three sounds – the sounds of the harness bell, light wind and the snowflakes.

“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.”

— Here in the last stanza the narrator describes the woods using three adjectives – lovely, dark and deep. This indicates that he is enjoying the scene and wants to do so for long. But he has other responsibilities in life. He has to go a long way before he sleeps. So he cannot get the enjoyment for long. He has to move on. And the important thing here is that the poet repeats the last line to attract the attention of the readers. In this very last line lies the allegorical interpretation. Here “sleep” may refer to death. We, in our real life, have many things to look at with awe, many things to enjoy, but in most cases we cannot simply because we have other things to do in our short lifespan, so we have to move on.

What Is Figurative Language?

Figurative language is a way to describe different literary techniques that help make writing memorable. Poetry, in particular, uses figurative language to help say something in a more beautiful or meaningful way. In this lesson, we'll look at some examples of figurative language from Robert Frost's poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.' This poem is a fabulous way to acquaint yourself with figurative language and the impact it can have on readers.

Symbolism

Symbolism is figurative language that enhances literal things with symbolic meaning. 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' is full of such symbols. In the poem, the poet and his horse go through snowy woods. The owner of these woods has a house in the village, but the poet is nowhere near it. Instead he is surrounded by nature, stopped 'without a farmhouse near.' The village and farmhouse can be seen as symbols of society and civilization. The lonely journey of the poet or rider might symbolize the journey of an individual through life. The dark woods that surround the poet are often interpreted as symbols of death.

Synecdoche and Hyperbole

Synecdoche (say that three times fast!) is another facet of figurative language. It involves using something small to stand for something much larger. We've already talked about the poet's journey as a symbol of life's journey. As such, we can also read this as a synecdoche. By presenting the narrow viewpoint of one individual, Frost is able to explore something much larger and central to the human condition.

Hyperbole is exaggeration to emphasize a point. We see an example of this in Frost's poem. When the poet tells us the 'woods fill up with snow,' we know that there isn't literal snow reaching to the tops of the trees. This exaggeration has the effect of emphasizing just how completely the landscape is blanketed with snow. The reader can get a real sense of where the poet is and what he sees all around him.

Imagery

Speaking of what the poet sees, this is another part of figurative language - imagery. Contrary to how it sounds, imagery doesn't just have to do with seeing. Imagery appeals to any of the five senses, and this poem is full of examples. We have the imagery of the white snow covering the ground and trees. We also can picture the sight of the 'lovely, dark and deep' woods.

We can hear things, too, like the tinkling harness bells of the horse. The poet explicitly tells us about the other sound: 'the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake.' The language makes it easy for us to hear and feel the gently whistling wind. Words like 'frozen,' 'dark,' and 'snow' also contribute to the chilly feeling. Reading the poem, one practically feels the need to pull on a sweater.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a wonderful way to wake up the reader. (See what I did there?) That first sentence was itself an example of alliteration, which is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds in words that are close to each other. This poem provides many examples, such as:

Alliteration

His house is in the village though (line 2)
He will not see me stopping here (line 3)
To watch his woods fill up with snow (line 4)
He gives his harness bells a shake (line 9)

Personification/Metaphor

My little horse must think it queer
Comparison of the horse to a human. Only a human can determine whether something is "queer."

Metaphor

He gives his harness bells a shake, 
To ask if there is some mistake. (lines 9-10)
Comparison of the sound of the bells to a questioning voice that asks whether there is a mistake