"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" - Poem Summary

Summary

Robert Frost's 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' is a 1922 poem from his New Hampshire collection. It features four stanzas in iambic tetrameter, exploring the natural world's beauty and the tension between appreciating it and fulfilling societal duties. The poem's complex rhyme scheme and the repeated final line hint at the speaker's reluctance to leave the serene woods, possibly foreshadowing a darker, symbolic end.

Takeaways

• 📚 Robert Frost's poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' was published in 1922.
• 🌲 The poem is part of Frost's 'New Hampshire' collection and consists of four stanzas.
• 📏 It is written in iambic tetrameter, a common meter in Frost's work.
• 🌳 The poem uses the natural world as a subject, assigning metaphysical meaning to pastoral scenes.
• 🏡 The speaker stops his sleigh to watch the snowfall in the woods, despite the potential disapproval of the owner.
• 🐎 The speaker's horse is confused by the stop, shaking its harness bells in question.
• 🎶 The poem has a simple structure but a complex rhyme scheme that progresses through the stanzas.
• 🔄 The final line is repeated, possibly indicating the speaker's reluctance to fulfill responsibilities or his falling asleep.
• 🔁 The repetition could symbolize the traditional duties of a New England farmer or the speaker's eventual death.
• ❄️ The poem contrasts the beauty of the snowy woods with the speaker's obligations and the passage of time.

Q & A

In which year was Robert Frost's poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' published?

The poem was published in 1922.

Which collection does the poem belong to?

The poem is part of Robert Frost's New Hampshire collection.

How many stanzas does the poem consist of?

The poem consists of four stanzas.

What is the meter of the poem?

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter.

What is the subject of the poem?

The natural world is the subject of the poem, with metaphysical meaning ascribed to pastoral scenes.

What does the speaker initially worry about when stopping by the woods?

The speaker initially worries that the owner of the property might be upset by his presence.

What does the speaker remember that alleviates his worry?

The speaker remembers that the owner of the woods lives in the village and will not see him stopping there.

Why does the speaker's horse shake his harness bells?

The horse shakes his harness bells out of confusion at stopping in an isolated setting without a farmhouse nearby.

What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

The rhyme scheme is complex; the first, second, and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme, while the third line rhymes with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza.

What could be the interpretation of the repeated final line of the poem?

The repetition of the final line could signify the speaker's reluctance to fulfill his responsibilities or suggest that the speaker is slowly falling asleep, possibly to the point of death.

What might the speaker's 'Promises to Keep' symbolize in the context of the poem?

The 'Promises to Keep' could symbolize the traditional duties of a New England farmer, where hard work is highly valued, and the act of stopping to watch the snowfall might be seen as a trivial indulgence.

What is the significance of the poem's setting during the darkest evening of the year?

The setting during the darkest evening of the year adds to the poem's atmosphere of isolation and the contrast between the speaker's desire to stay and enjoy the woods and his obligations to leave.