[The Poem][Scansion:  foot/meter][rhyme scheme][alliteration/assonance/consonance][Poetic Content/Meaning]
 

The Poem:  foot and meter (accented syllables in green)

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

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 repeated pattern here:   [unstressed syllable-stress syllable] or an Iambic foot

Now count to see how many feet there are per line:

[Whose woods] [these are] [I think] [I know]
[His house][ is in] [the vil][lage though];
[He will] [not see] [me stop][ping here]
[To watch] [his woods] [fill up] [with snow].

There are FOUR iambs per line, so we call that tetrameter.

Hence, each line of this stanza of the poem is in "iambic tetrameter."
 
 

Last modified Feb, 1999 by M. O'Conner. Contact: moconner@millikinor Click Here to Email