"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. |
Why does the speaker stop here?
Why does he care if the owner knows he is here or not? Is he tresspassing? |
| 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. |
Is this personification of the horse?
Stopping for no reason? Juxtaposition again: here between the woods and lake. What is 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. |
Again, the "horse" seems to ask, "Why are we here? What's the
problem?"
Sounds: bells and the wind/snow. The S sound is at its height. |
| 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. |
Is dark and deep usually associated with lovely?
What promises need to be kept? Here is Frost up to one of his favorite tricks, saying exactly the same thing twice but meaning something totally different the second time. |