Analysis of Stopping by The Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

This article provides a complete summary and critical analysis of the wonderful poem written by Sir Robert Frost, “Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening.”

Analysis of Stopping by The Woods on a Snowy Evening:

Stopping by woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost comes across as a beautiful piece celebrating nature’s beauty at the first read and it is only after digging deeper into the poem that a reader realizes the hidden message which the poem unfolds in its sixteen lines. This Stopping by woods on a snowy evening analysis will shed light on that aspect of the poem which reveals the escapist mentality of humans and their struggle to overcome it every time they feel the urge to let go.

Stopping by woods on a snowy evening poem begins with the poet traveling through the thick wilderness to reach his destination on the darkest evening of the year. The beautiful dark woods mesmerize the poet and he stops his carriage to look at the trees fill up with snow without worrying much about getting caught for this trespass as the owner lived far away in the village.

His horse, bewildered by the absence of a farmhouse near; shakes his harness bells questioningly as if expressing his doubt regarding the poet’s choice of place to stop at. This pulls the poet from his trance and he takes his leave very shortly in spite of wanting dearly to revel a little more in the seductive charm of the woods. He realizes that rest and indulgence in nature’s beauty was something that he could not afford at that moment since he had long distances to cover that night.

Stopping by woods on a snowy evening interpretation can be many. Some think it’s the reflection of a suicidal mind whereas some think it is simple appreciation of nature. But the most plausible interpretation speaks of the attraction of death and how worldly responsibilities stop a person from embracing death in-spite of its promises of eternal peace and infinite rest. This meaning of Stopping by woods on a snowy evening makes it a piece of poetry which gives us insight into the mind of a person who is tired and depressed and wishes to mingle with darkness but cannot do so because of his ties in the mortal world which keep him from embracing death or escape. Here in the poem, the poet says that it is “The darkest evening of the year” which means that the traveler in his journey of life has reached a troubled point where his days are mired with depression and exhaustion to such an extent that he wants to give up. He sees beautiful dark woods which tempt him to take recluse in its beauty.

These deep woods here stand for death. The owner of the woods in the poem is in the village which means the grim reaper is far away, i.e. the poet has still not begun his journey towards death. The traveler’s horse fails to comprehend the traveler’s choice of place to stop at since there was no farmhouse nearby. This horse symbolizes all those people who do not understand the writer’s needs for escape from the mortal world.

They do not consider death as a resting place and urge the poet to move on in life. In-spite of being tempted by the dark beauty of the woods the poet thinks of the untraveled miles and gets on with his journey. This means that death with its promises of freedom from worldly miseries is indeed very tempting but the traveler on the path of life has to ignore the inviting beauty of death as he is reminded of his duties to his friends and family and the many things in life he has not experienced as yet!

This Stopping by woods on a snowy evening meaning makes the readers perceive death as a luxury which the fighters in life cannot afford as they have to keep the promises made by them to their near and dear ones. The hope of something new and better in life keeps them going on and they choose that hope over death’s promise of eternal peace. This poem still remains as one of the most beautiful and highly appraised in the world of English poetry.

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5 comments

  1. I have my literature test the day after tomorrow… and these are just the type of notes I need for my exam.
    Thank you so much?

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