Robert Frost Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - lecture

[wtsailor]

This poem represents life's finality and the adage; "stop and smell the roses". Life isnt too bad if we stop to think about it and the we can look forward to peace at the end. But, remember our commitment to society.

[jtowens55]

I believe that anyone who has interpreted a Robert Frost in great detail will know that this poem is not just about a moment in the cold of winter. Robert Frost was actually a very dark man. I'll paraphrase a quote I've heard credited to him here: "When I die, I want the whole world to die with me." This poem, in every facet, is about the finality and peace of death. The man in this poem is depressed, in his "darkest evening of the year" . But the man has promises to keep..

[greengringo2003]

We all live with thoughts of our death. They may occur to us infrequently or frequently, but they do occur, maybe more often when we are tired or discouraged, or otherwise not at our most energetic and optimistic. Few people may want to admit to having these thoughts. Why does the poet stop just there? Why is the poet alone with his horse and sleigh? Is he maybe a country doctor on the way to see a patient, or has he perhaps just come from a death bed? The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

[bellanovember21]

he is taking a moment to just look at the wonder and awe of something so simple in life. just enjoying a moment of peacefullness in nature's ambiance, and look around himself instead of just trekking through to keep his promises, he stopped and looked. sometimes in life you just need to look around yourself

[kyctsproductions]

i believe that this poem is about society telling us what our responsibilities are and the woods represent the person just wanting to get away from that and live life the way he wants to, without all of the responsibilities. the horse is his conscience and the village is society

[PinkBananaFilms]

Another thery id He is about to die and the village is god.

I am only 11 and three quarters and I love his poetry

[PinkBananaFilms]

Another thery if mine is that he is walking in the cold snow showing his horse what it's like if your bad and the village house is the devil.

He has a promise to keep to the devil even though he loves the woods so much. Miles to go before he dies.

[PinkBananaFilms]

He is Santa!!!!!!!

[grafonolafavorite]

He was afraid of trespassing.

[TheAlina808]

The poem is about life and how caught up in we are in our worldly obligations. The horse represents the speakers conscience and the woods represent eternal sleep or the more finer things in life. Carrying on the journey represents how we must fulfill our responsibilities before dying. Some critics say that the poem is about suicide but I beg to differ.

[fattymattyp]

In an audio of Frost reading this pome himself he say's" The woods are ugly dark and deep". To me this leads more towards a darker Interpretation. One I find much more moving.

[kingsindiandefence]

Interesting. i like the poem but never gave much thought to deeper meaning. I took it to mean a contrast between the isolated woods, caught in the cold grip of winter (natures rhythms) and the civilisation that holds out false promises. For some reason I thought before posting that Kurt Cobain would know the answer. I read he carried around with him a book called 'Perfume' in which the main character shunned society. Maybe the subject of this poem flirts with that, but briefly.

[christopher4560]

I think the narrator of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is going through some problem in his/her life (there is no implication of which gender the narrator is) the person finds the woods as a refuge to the turmoil in their life and wishes to stay there but knows they have to go back into civilization.

[shady4life1991]

Was that genuine or just bad sarcasm?

[seanmoody1000]

can someone gives me ideas i can write in my 500 word essay about this poem? I guess i have to include an original analysis and thoughts

[TKZ100]

I always saw this as a poem about adultery. The woods represent a woman, as they are "lovely, dark and deep". She does not belong to Frost, is not his wife, and is considering staying with her while her husband is away.

He decides not to give in to temptation, as he has made promises, most likely vows, that he would have to break in order to enter the woods. He reminds himself that he has a long ways to go to get home, and much time ahead of him before the grave.

[leftysergeant]

@TKZ100 That is an absurd stretch. I see no erotic imagery or allusion here.

[TKZ100]

@leftysergeant Then you aren't looking hard enough.

[leftysergeant]

@TKZ100 That he closes with a complaint about obligations elsewhere leads me more to thinking that it is about distractions from his poetry, rather than shame at sampling what is not his. Mind you that there is probably a church in that village, and that God expects the speaker to do more than just contemplate nature.

[TKZ100]

@leftysergeant

The last verse, to me, is about the obligation of fidelity, not his poetry. He refers to having promises - perhaps wedding vows - to keep. "Lovely, dark and deep" SCREAMS to me of feminine imagery. The first time he says "miles to go before I sleep" refers to actual sleep at home, and the second refers to the many years he has until the sleep of the grave.

[leftysergeant]

@TKZ100 My, but you can be the lecherous one at times. I would refer you to the post I made to prylyko's question of the horse. The horse is all WTF? The horse would know its master's trysting places.

You're trying too hard to find a sexual connotation.

[larry89]

@TKZ100

that's pretty perceptive and creative to take the woods as a symbol for a particular woman! i also saw the woods as an immoral entity, a life without rules, a life of illicit behavior, or maybe even death itself.

[prylypko]

@TKZ100 then what about the horse? what does horse represent in this poem?

[TKZ100]

@prylypko The horse is representative of his conscience.

[leftysergeant]

@prylypko On one track, I get the horse being one of the petty minds who cannot grasp that a poet might want ot step outside the cycle of money-grubbing materialism for a moment and just groove on the snow. The horse was, at the time, still pretty much cutting-edge technology, so it is a good proxy for society and commerce. Maybe a publisher impatient for a promised manuscript?

[nattles2010]

I would think that it is possible (I am not claiming this 100% but just that it is possible) that he writing about himself?

[nattles2010]

While I find that plausible, I don't think that is the only way to take the poem. I really believe Frost was in a dark state of mind when he wrote this poem. I know that poets don't always write about their own life but I have a question: could Frost be referring to his own depressive state? From the research I have done on Robert Frost it demonstrates that he had been through quite a difficult life, such as the loss of 4 of his children.

[nattles2010]

I had to do a paper on this poem and my thesis was that the person (man or woman, it was defined) was contemplating death. But my professor said "there was no possible way for this poem to mean anything like that" and he told me the ONLY interpretation was that the man was just admiring the beauty in nature.

[RottingBoard]

It's about someone who has encounter death. A deep loss of someone. For a moment this person reflects on the death of that person and their own immortality. Others watch... as this person stops and listen to the silence of death. A silent queer moment in their lives. To take in the sorrow and pain... into their soul. And then... they move on... with living. (What do you think?)

[shady4life1991]

There are many clues in the poem that point to the pagan ritual celebrated many years ago, that praised the return of the light after the winter soltice, which was the darkest time of the year. A shaman went around at this time from farmhouse to farmhouse giving gifts, usually a colorful mushroom that were red and white. I think the poem is referring to that pagan ritual.

[sixpak2g0]

@shady4life1991 Probably. Because that makes perfect sense.

[John27346]

Thanks for explaining the word queer. Bloody homos.

[phaaurarlison]

I have wrote a story about this poem, If you want me to send it to you, send me your email.and please tell me what you think.

[uurkus]

I was introduced to this poem as a child, and took the words at face value. I knew nothing of suicide or the darker side of man's nature.

Now, as an old man, I still regard Frost's words as I did as a child: a pause in the journey home to behold the peace and beauty of a moment in a snowy wood.

Peace.

[leftysergeant]

@uurkus I did and still do see it that way.

Having taken up poetry myself rather late in life, I find that the usual hassles of life get in the way sometimes, not leaving us time to stop and contemplate the meaning of a snowy evening.

Frost was always one of the few poets I found interesting as a child. I especially like his use of the rubaiyat form. It is one of the few metered forms with which I was ever comfortable.

[groundsgivingway]

I believe it is a simple poem of wanting to live in the moment to "be here now" to soak up this mysterious feeling he is getting from these deep and dark woods. Maybe a primal urge to live and be one with nature. However, modern man has responsibilities he probably has a family to take care of. One can't always be immersed in ones thoughts of the moment we must think ahead, plan, prepare, before we can rest.

[Poemsapennyeach]

It can be read on both levels...but obviously the Death suggestion is the more intriguing...and takes it beyond description on to another more profound level...but who am to know...and who am I to know..

As you no doubt know..you have a very nice calm way of describing things...

[Average18yearold]

suicide. he wants to 'off' himself. but he has his whole life infront of him before he can truly sleep.

[clikfliker]

Like Donne's poetry, it is helpful to recognise both the sacred and the secular environment of the poet as well as his works.

If the subject is the ease that suicide may bring to the tiring journey of life, I think I know whose woods these are. If we were to substitute "his" with "His" - could "He" not be "God". To the faithful, the woods are indeed "His". And in this moment, when "God" will not look, "He" is disdeified and made to appear more mortal, using the small "h" for "his".

[clikfliker]

At the brink of disobeying God perhaps "He" has to limit His omniscience.

His church is amongst the living men "though", and at that moment of the contemplation of a sacreligious act, it is in the "will" of the poet, not God.

"He will not see me stopping here"

Will is, of course, a fine ambiguous word. It seems as if The Owner of the woods, of all nature, cannot see this moment.

[clikfliker]

But what if it is "will" as in He "wills" Himself not to see such moments, the choice to break that barrier is left to the mortal. Nature, duty, and love for others, voiced in promises, apparently turns the rider/poet away at the end - possibly suggesting that these are the core meanings to life, that make it worth living, even if for a moment faith is abandoned.

[lizzie0123]

Thank you, you have actually helped me do some good revision.

I agree with you about the death representation.

[JustAnotherDeadPoet]

He is the villager. He owns the woods. but he speaks like it is someone else because at the moment, for a moment, he is changed by the soft beauty of the darkness. the character who thought this poem existed only for a moment, then vanished into the shadows of the travelers mind.

[AbecedariusRex]

"Whose woods these are I think I know

His house is in the village though"

Who owns 'the woods'? Woods are the metaphor for chaos & lawlessness, village is the opposite. Why would this city dweller own a plot of land that is wild? Why would the speaker be desirous of sleeping in that wilderness of snow and dark woods? Is the realm of village the realm of promises and duty? Is the poem about the draw to silence interrupted by the committment to others and the world of consciousness?

[gonzagirl]

Well, I guess this part, "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, 15 And miles to go before I sleep." Could be a death wish, considered and then discarded, but I think the poem is more about the temptation to watch beauty while responsibilities are forgotten.

[gonzagirl]

Solitude often leads one to feel more at one with nature, and to be more observant of the world around them, which often times leads to introspection. IMO this is about the desire to be in the world, but not of it. However, the world seems to always suck us back into our perceived responsibilities.

[Fatali1989]

Interesting thoughts you have ...

[gonzagirl]

What do you think about the poem Fatali?

[Fatali1989]

Hello Germany from NY! I see this poem as a very clearly depicted genuine stream of thought. The man in the poem wonders about so much things in his mind. He lives in his own inner world and gives the horse and the woods qualities that he feels fit. He says And miles to go before I sleep. maybe that long road represents the life that he should pass before he sleeps or dies. Its interesting to wonder about the offstage of this poem = )

[beastking816]

I think a lost of Frost poems are spiritual. Images of nature can reflect the self. Who says nature can only have one meaning. Spirit and nature are one in the same.

[servant1983]

it is a poem of self-consciousness. it reflects on the lost bond of man and nature. he finds the quiet woods so compelling ,but there is a greater thought of what he thinks others might think of him stopping and away from his worldly duties. his horse thinks it is queer,but really horses do not have human quilt, it is the man's idea of his situation and the pull of society and man. he says the woods are lovely and then he escapes the moment by his promises and miles he has to go.

[NickArcade]

Heck yeah man Robert Frost would be proud

[xHarry2112x]

I think Nabokov, via Kinbote, gave one of the best and most concise interpretations of the last lines when his character said: "two closing lines identical in every syllable, but one personal and physical, and the other metaphysical and universal."

I also like greatsea's question about what "I think I know" means. I've thought about this before but never turned up a decent answer.

[sjponytail]

Great professor, very helpful. Thank you:o)

[MCBrash]

well done.

[DrMierzwiak]

Frost often refers to 'darkness' and one is inclined to think this refers to death. I think this poem is about a man pondering the point of going on living. He is entreated by the horse to continue, but seems inclined to succumb to despair. He doesn't know whose house this is, suggesting perhaps an absence of God or meaning. In the end he is resolved to perservere, the repetition hinting at mixed feelings of dejection on one hand and of determination to overcome on the other. Just my opinion.

[qwertyliciouslol]

Or he could just be stopping by a house on a snowy evening.

[666Boczek]

Have any of you ever been to a forest on a snowy, cold evening? Maybe that's the key. Maybe we should some day just take a walk to the woods ona a chilly winter evening, try to contemplate the special atmosphere of such a place, and think of what comes to our minds. I 'm not saying the interpretation is that simple. But maybe there is something one cannot completely comprehend unless he has experienced such eerie ambience on his own.

[christinel12]

interesting

[greatsea]

Has anybody ever thought of the epistemological implications of the phrase "I think I know" in the poem?

[wytworny]

there's this song by Leonard Cohen "A thousand kisses deep" in which he sings: "and maybe I have miles to drive and promises to keep", that looks like being inspired by Frost

[rangergranger]

This is a 16-line poem, with the first 12 lines painting a somewhat neutral, harmonious picture of silent, static winter. But the final four lines depart from that to describe a sense of hypnotic doom:

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 narrarator is transfixed, staring into an unseen abyss. For all we know, he could be stuck there forever, repeating "And miles to go before I sleep".

[sadmidget8000]

this was pretty crappy

[flyby7a]

Great lecture Professor as always.. Thank you and please keep posting.. I wish I could take a class from you sir..

[SCjoker51]

The poem can represent suicidal feelings, but it doesn't necessarily have to mean that for everyone. It could just represent frustration or exhaustion with one's life. For those who have never experienced depression, it's sometimes rehabilitative to sit and feel like crap for a while until your "darkness" subsides. The key to this poem are the last two lines when he repeats "miles to go before I sleep." He means this once in the literal way and once in a figurative way. Miles to go before

[SCjoker51]

I sleep in my bed tonight would be the literal meaning, while many more things to accomplish and take care of before I can die would be the figurative.

Please stop worrying about the horse so much! Its just to show that he has stopped somewhere that they usually don't stop (the author is stopping to reflect on the troubles in his life).

[seph1884]

Its a longing I think we all feel when we are frustrated because life is confusing and exhausting. We want to slip away. We're not suicidal. We just want to exchange our lives for something simpler, or more adventurous. Like Miniver Cheevy, or a dungeons and dragons player. Its a common experience we all feel but are never quite able to put into words. And Frost did. Because he's awesome.

[Joonavainio]

Of foreign (I'm Finnish you know :) poetry this is my absolute favourite. I have translated it, too, according to my personal interpretation. But I'll spare you from that. Contemplating suicide is definitely one of the thoughts Frost had in his head.

But just to add to the mix, consider a Finnish viewpoint. The Woods has a special meaning for us, by being itself magical. Finns generally are very "one with the land and old ways" despite mostly being secular or christian now.

[Joonavainio]

...so, for a Finn this can also mean the longing back to the nature (woods) away from all this hi-tech sh*t. But the merciless, superficial modern lifge will not allow it. If anyone has read the Year of the Hare (by FInnish author Paasilinna), he/she should understand what I'm gettin at.

[Joonavainio]

And finally, miles to go before I sleep may mean the stubborn resolve to do you duty no matter what. No matter how tired or sick or wounded you were. It is called sisu. I have promises to keep.

[oOHomestarOo]

i see this as conversation between the man and the horse troughout . the man see's the loveyness of woods and wants to stop admider it

repsenting the feigner things in life. the horse

see's it as just a job and its not praticl to stop i see it as a pull beween work and play

[eski514]

The horse KNOWS it must go on, to greener pastures and a safe barn (similar to someone's "normal" life once hardships have passed). The horse sees no point in stopping on the "darkest evening of the year" when it fully knows that ti will reach a barn in due time. The last stanza represents the traveler's Ego - the conscious battle between the desires of the Id and the morals of the Superego. The traveler contemplates the peace held within the woods, but knows that he has more to live for.

[eski514]

The first stanza represents his Ego - the unbridled desire to let go of reality in these peaceful woods. His ego provides ample reasons for the traveler to drift into never-ending sleep. The second stanza has the horse represent the traveler's Superego - the strict, morally just part of someone's brain. The horse KNOWS he must go on, even if it is the "darkest evening of the year" (a tragic, suicide-inducing event in someone' life).

[eski514]

I too found the implied meaning of death and escape in this poem. Frost illustrates the serenity of the woods in the two last stanzas, describing the forest as easy and serene - a perfect place to lay yourself to rest. To give the poem a psychological angle, I find it to describe the battle of a man's Id, Superego and Ego when contemplating suicide. The first stanza describes how the traveler will not get caught if he stays in these woods, since the owner is far-off in the village.

[ironclownfish]

We read this poem in my Engilsh class (i'm 15). My group of two other students and I interpreted the poem as a wish for death, and the teacher said we were the first students she's ever had figure it out. If the implication of death were not present, and the narrotor only wished for sleep in the restful sense, why did he not hurry throught he woods in search of shelter from the cold? Why did he stop in the freezing weather long enough, even, that his horse realized something was awry...?

[dannyknapp]

it just strikes me that as quickly as he realizes what a magical and wondrous moment he is experiencing he presents himself three reasons for guilt. one it's not his property, 2 his horse is confused, 3 he has promises to keep.

[wwwExamplePapersCom]

I love Frost.

[irishboro]

the essence of the poem is the enchanting beauty of nature which acts as a spell on the poet to be broken by the bells on the horse and ordinary life must continue

[algifari]

To me, these dark quiet and cold woods symbolises death. The darkest evening(not night!) of the year is probably because of his own problems. So the owner of "these woods" are probably an epic figure like Karhun, mother nature or maybe even God? Does anyone know wich is more likely for Robert Frost? Promises to keep is the obligations we all have in life I think.

[phatzac145]

I use your videos as an aid for every work of poetry I can. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Is there any possibility you can analyze Kubla Khan?

[bedhooker]

Can anyone, please, explain the implicative role of a person to whom these woods belong? I think it is one of the key elements to understand the poem.

[ran266]

I want to make some points in favor of the dark meaning.

first, you have to realize that falling asleep in a frozen wood, means that you will probebly freeze to death.

the horse knows that, and that is why he is so confused.

the man reminds himself why he have to stay alive. he have promises to keep. but he realy want to fall asleep and die.

the repeat of the last line is very important, I think. it is like someone who is starting to fall asleep while trying to resist it.

[BoStevoD]

I'd have to agree with you, esecially because of the opening lines. What reason would the man have for mentioning that his attention is on whether or not he will be discovered standing there in the woods? It seems as if he is contemplating death and does not want to be found in his gloomy solitude.

[ran266]

right. that's another good point.

[ignesandros]

I think he may even mean dath when he says sleep. Sort of the same way a grandparent might hang on just long enough to see their grandchild born before succumbing to a protracted illness, the narrator thinks of the obligations he has before he can let go.

[33jenevieve]

He is caught, or allows himself to be caught, in a pristine moment of nowness, just being in the peace, beauty and joy of this moment in this beautiful, quiet place. It is a place to capture briefly, but not a place to stay. Driving to work I sometimes realize that the scene before me - fields of grass or crops or rolling hills - are exquisite, and I think "This is a happy moment," but of course I must drive on to duty and, eventually, back to my home where I belong.

[stacyhm]

How wonderful. It sounds like you are describing on of those moments of connection with Nature (large N) that Wordsworth tries to capture in "My heart leaps up when I behold a ranbow in the sky" or the daffodils in "I wandered lonvely as a cloud"

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;

[2meheavensentmusic]

@stacyhm Sorry, I couldn't find the comment button. My take, as you asked for... Is the man is unhappy at home, the woods represent a secret affair. He has to stop somewhere not to be found. Away from his wife , family life. His promises are to his family with miles of promises... His vows to them. The snow is tears, the sadness of leaving his true passion (dark mysterious) No finality, he wishes , it could be. He is tired of home baggage. The woods, represent his only peace (another life)

[RacePointLight]

Yes, your comment is what I had in mind too. The imagery is not so much death as the perfect nowness, and the longing for that unity -- but he recognises his attachment to the dual nature of the world -- and must go on.

[dmsoms]

Cmt 3-He is aware of his presence and others around him. For one brief moment, he experienced a time of perfection but he knows the moment was not his to keep. Life is accepting who you are and what you are.

[dmsoms]

Cmt 2-He begins to question this moment of reflection. Once this moment is over, what is next for me? As the moment begins to fade, his thoughts entertain the questions of, "Why am I important to this moment? and Why is this moment so important to me?" As the conscience level begins to elevate, the slight sounds of the surrounding become more apparent.

[dmsoms]

Cmt 1-Who are these people in my life and why are they here?  The visitor's mind begins to wander to distant thoughts of similarity and everything around him fades out. In his mind he is alone and invisible to those around him. He is not a horse. It is his inner thoughts.

[armorsmith43]

In fact, this whole poem seems very much a window into one man's thoughts. what else could it be when he is alone and yet talking? So, when the speaker gives his horse's harness-shaking a reason, it isn't that the horse told him that was why. Horses cannot talk. It is because he things others would see this as queer.

[armorsmith43]

first I must say that when I read this I felt like I knew exactly what he was talking about.

I think that ambiguity imparts a shade of meaning, that is to say, that there is to some degree a desire to die. However, it is not something shouted as in a poem written by an emo kid standing over the sink with a razor blade. Rather, it is in the back of the person's mind.

[teflonmagnet]

thank you, prof. wink martindale

[bullybrown]

The owner of the wood is irrelevant. The vision is the thing. The loveliness of a quiet, snowy wood, the contrast of whiteness and the dark of evening. The sudden beauty of a scene so profound as to make one pause on one's journey - just long enough to appreciate it, and then the acknowledgement of the gift as something that can only be appreciated for a moment before moving on and resuming one's life.

[tesbihceken]

Hi I think he is tired of living but there are some people that he has to look after, like his family, his friends, maybe symbolized by his horse so he chooses to continue his ride. This is the obvious one.

OK maybe the woods is another woman. And the owner is the husband so he thinks about doing some debauchery but that's not a logical alternative so he rides to his own woods perhaps?

[frankklaassen]

This is a really great lecture.

I am looking forward for more.

Frank Klaassen

De Kwakel

Netherland

[bumprays]

I read the poem as the narrator's experience of tension between his fascination with the loveliness and mystery of the woods, and the need to leave and get on with his duties. It's a defining moment, as when he came to that fork in the road.

[cerus007]

I was forced to memorize and recite this poem as an eight grader way back when... Then it was simply about

a man with a horse in the woods. It stayed with me and has taken on a different darker meaning to me as I have grown older. I have now indeed visited those woods many times. I've never considered the owner of the woods. Who or what is this person? This could change the whole meaning for me.

[eliote24]

very interesting analysis of Roberst Frost's poem.I really liked it and Ithink that the three steps you mentioned are necessary to approach a litterary text.Thank you