IT Home E-Learning: LA - Lesson 1

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

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.
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1. In this poem, there are two devices of figurative language. Hyperbole and symbolism.

The hyperbole is used in the line "To watch his woods fill up with snow". In figurative language it means to just watch the it snow down upon the woods, but in reality, it is not possible to fill up a wood with snow, therefore it is a hyperbole.

There are two instances of symbolism in the poem. The first use of symbolism is in the line "And miles to go before I sleep" repeated twice. It actually is saying more than just the length he has to travel before he gets a decent sleep, but also the time he has before he dies.

The second instance of symbolism in this poem is in the entirety of the poem. It is not only about the author's journey across the woods in the middle of winter, but it also represents one's journey of life of hardship, with that ever-remaining gentle longing for death that tinges the poem with a melancholy that is reinforced by the night and winter images.

The author has much reason to use these figurative language in the poem, but the most pornounced reason might be how the death/sleep metaphor so pronounced in the poem blends in perfectly with the night/winter image the author conveys with this poem. Winter means the loss of leaves from the trees and night means that it is supposedly a time for sleep. By adding the figurative language, the author allows readers to peel off the skins of the poem layer by layer, going deeper and deeper, and while one can simply read the surface and admire the beautiful picture that forms in your mind, one can also dwelve deeper to find out more.

2. Just imagining the scene, the setting in which the poem takes place makes me like this poem. But what stands out from the rest is how the inner meaning of the poem blends in perfectly with the story itself, therefore making it literally 'short and sweet', unlike many other longer poems that are more boring to read. It also describes life in its true entirety, and one can relate to it intiminately, making it one of my personal favourites. (79 words)

~Markie