Stopping by Woods on a snowy evening

Robert Frost is an American poet and he is known for his realistic depiction of rural life. Frost honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer prizes for poetry. He became one of America's  rare public literary figures, almost an artistic institution.          

Poem- 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.   

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.

- The Rhyme scheme is AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD

My analysis on Stopping by woods on a snowy evening

* The poem opens with the narration of Forest, There is a gentle, slightly mysterious atmosphere created by the second, third and fourth lines, all suggesting that the owner of the woods lives elsewhere in village, is separate and not able to see this visual trespasser near the woods.

* In the second stanza concentrates on the horse's reaction to the narrator stopping.
narrator thinks that his horse must feel it queer , to stop without farmhouse near or in deep forest where is no any sign of human.

'Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.'

  This is very symbolical language, between woods and frozen lake means there is no any voice calm and deep forest and sleepy lake, Nothingness becomes the central imagery. 'Darkest evening of the year'
  If we interpret with the archetype of literature it is the season of death and lifelessness means, wind of December fizzle out the human and nature's lives. Darkest evening is as stone in smooth path, means when everything goes well and suddenly some disturbance appear.


* In the third stanza there is reference of  harness bell, horse reminding the rider that stopping by woods in lone place is a tad disturbing. This is not normal, what he normally do. This is unfamiliar territory.

  Here the horse is symbol of intuition and Nobel grace that how he realized something negative about place and give sign to his master for move ahead, apart from cold and dark.

* The last stanza of poem is very famous especially for last line of poem. Metaphor used for woods is very oppositional because dark, deep and though lovely !
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before i sleep...


The last lines confirm the reality of narrator's situation. It will be a long time before he disengages with the conscious world means before the death he wants to taste life.


* Symbolically if we see i found the very deep meaning of poem that Woods is symbol of life, which is full with stone and rose means it's dark, deep and lovely but, before the death reach to us we have to go miles ahead ... Beyond woods.

For Further reading Analysis of poem