Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

1
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
Presented By Eeshan Malhotra - 06D04016 Adith
Swaminathan - 06005005
2
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 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. The only other sound's
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, And miles to go before I sleep.
3
A couple of points, a subtle omission But
generally speaking, a serious discussion
4

• Philosophical, vivid imagery
• Easy Language, Maintained rhythm
• Superficially, it seems to be about the beauty of
  nature
• Calm, serene setting easy wind, downy
  flake, lovely, dark and deep

5

• Finding himself in the midst of a blissful
  forest, the poet is free from all worldly
  responsibilities.
• The silence around him invokes a sense of
  harmony, a longing for rest.
• Its a comfortable silence, not a grim one
• The darkest evening of the year (Winter
  solstice? Death?)

6
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 owner of the woods refers to (Society,
Man God?) 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. Indecision. The snow blankets the poet
in a peaceful, restful sleep, his snowy grave.
7

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if
there is some mistake. The only other sound's the
sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The horse
represents the practical side of Man, or
alternatively, Time, that insists on dragging Man
into the future 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. The poet regrets having to leave, but
realizes that he can rest only after he fulfils
his social responsibilities
8
Rhythm, Rhymes And a few other crimes
9
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 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. The only other sound's
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, And miles to go before I sleep.
aaba ccdc eefe gggg
10
Lets analyse the poems rhyme scheme in a little
detail Whose woods these are I think I know.His
house is in the village thoughHe will not see
me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with
snow. We have a definite setting, A definite
rhyme scheme a a b a and a definite rhythm
daDA daDA daDA daDA iambic tetrameter Robert
Frost could have continued with an a a b a and
Robert Frost being Robert Frost would have
easily gotten away with it. Instead, he very
carefully selects the next line My little horse
must think it queer He tacks the b rhyme from
the first stanza to the a of the second stanza.
11
My little horse must think it queerTo stop
without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and
frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year So
after one stanza of a a b a, the next one is not
c c d c, but b b c b. And the pattern continues
The third stanza follows c c d c He gives his
harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some
mistake.The only other sound's the sweepOf easy
wind and downy flake. Genius! But even geniuses
have to end their poems
12
So Frost is caught in his own web. The third
line of every stanza rhymes with the first second
and fourth of the next one. So how does he end
his poem? Does he leave the third line of the
last stanza hanging? Nah. Hes too good for
that. One option is to hook it back to the
first, second and fourth of the first stanza, and
create a sort of loop. Unfortunately, Frost was
not a mathematician. He was a poet. He goes for a
much more radical solution. He repeats the third
line of the last stanza 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. Wham! Impact. Wham! Impact.
13
aaba bbcb ccdc dddd
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 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. The only other sound's
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, And miles to go before I sleep.
14
A forest, an allusion And a bit of confusion
15
The rhyme scheme just discussed, is rare, seen in
few poems (not A few. Few.) One of those few is
Dantes Divine Comedy The rhyme scheme is aba
bcb cdc ded Divine Comedy begins with Midway
upon the journey of our life  I found myself
within a forest dark,  For the straightforward
pathway had been lost. Sounds familiar. It seems
like Robert Frost included a subtle allusion to
Dantes work. A further indication of the fact
that Stopping By is about death
16
No captain, No crew A batty cynics view
17
Whose woods these are I know for sure. His house
is in the village, I know He will not see me
sneaking in To chop the trees and steal the
dough My little horse must think it queer His
masters brow devoid of fear A storm is building,
I can see The end is close success is near He
gives his harness bells a shake To warn me of my
big mistake I heed no beast, nor any God The
gambler in me puts all at stake. The woods are
lovely, dark, and deep, A lightning bolt through
the sky did creep Bright light, full of might It
struck me dead at my horses feet