An Analysis of Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening".
On the surface itself "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" is simplicity itself. It tells the story of the protagonist stopping by the woods on the "darkest evening of the year" admire the sublime then leave to "keep promises". However transcending beyond the surface the poem can be seen in a much different light; it tells of the temptation of suicide the protagonist feels. However in exploring this one needs to look at the building blocks of the narrative.
1.) Language
The use of language within the poem is crucial in understanding the difference between the overt and covert text of the poem. For example the repetition in the the final two sentences of the poem makes the difference between "sleep" and "death". This is further emphasized with the concept of "downy flakes". This is like a blanket falling onto the protagonist tempting him to lie down and sleep within the "dark lovely woods" rather than going on to the farmhouse. This therefore emphasizes the different between human sleep and that of oblivion the crucial exploration in the poem. This is even more significant in taking into consideration the setting of the text.
2.) Setting
The setting in the text is on "the darkest evening of the year". This adds a ominous touch to the text but furthermore the time is in the season of winter. Winter is commonly associated with death/dying and throughout the text there is common descriptions of "snow and frozen" all adding to the language covert text about the death wish of the protagonist. The protagonist is also standing between the woods and society, and is therefore significant as he makes a choice between suicide or keeping his promises.
3.) Form
The poem itself consists of four stanzas each consisting of four verses. It is therefore almost identical in form and within the four lines the first second and fourth lines rhyme. However this breaks in the final stanza as the forth stanza repeats the third and fourth sentence. This adds emphasis to the means of interpretation of "sleep" the first one shows a simple mortal sleep with a "farmhouse" however after it repeating itself and with the symbolism of the woods it can be interpreted as final sleep. Oblivion, or death.
4.) Symbolism
There are a number of symbols within the poem and this adds impact on the covert ideas of the text. For example the horse. The horse acts in contrast to the woods, typically seen as a symbol of wideness, as an agent of civilization. For example the horse is obviously domesticated it finds it "queer to stop without a farmhouse near" and is what acts as a reminder of the protagonist of his "promises to keep" as the horse "gives his harness bells a little shale". Another symbol is the woods, typically seen as a connection to the primal nature of irrationality; and despite being called "lovely, dark and deep" it should be remembered that they are always a symbol of irrationality. Therefore the woods can be seen as a siren song to the protagonist.
In considering the "death wish" (and to achieve AO3/AO4)it should be important to note the fact that Robert Frost constantly suffered under depression and is therefore possible that he himself had a possible death-wish, and also he owned a farmhouse and could have possibly been in the situation and is simply rewriting what he felt at that present most of time.
1.) Language
The use of language within the poem is crucial in understanding the difference between the overt and covert text of the poem. For example the repetition in the the final two sentences of the poem makes the difference between "sleep" and "death". This is further emphasized with the concept of "downy flakes". This is like a blanket falling onto the protagonist tempting him to lie down and sleep within the "dark lovely woods" rather than going on to the farmhouse. This therefore emphasizes the different between human sleep and that of oblivion the crucial exploration in the poem. This is even more significant in taking into consideration the setting of the text.
2.) Setting
The setting in the text is on "the darkest evening of the year". This adds a ominous touch to the text but furthermore the time is in the season of winter. Winter is commonly associated with death/dying and throughout the text there is common descriptions of "snow and frozen" all adding to the language covert text about the death wish of the protagonist. The protagonist is also standing between the woods and society, and is therefore significant as he makes a choice between suicide or keeping his promises.
3.) Form
The poem itself consists of four stanzas each consisting of four verses. It is therefore almost identical in form and within the four lines the first second and fourth lines rhyme. However this breaks in the final stanza as the forth stanza repeats the third and fourth sentence. This adds emphasis to the means of interpretation of "sleep" the first one shows a simple mortal sleep with a "farmhouse" however after it repeating itself and with the symbolism of the woods it can be interpreted as final sleep. Oblivion, or death.
4.) Symbolism
There are a number of symbols within the poem and this adds impact on the covert ideas of the text. For example the horse. The horse acts in contrast to the woods, typically seen as a symbol of wideness, as an agent of civilization. For example the horse is obviously domesticated it finds it "queer to stop without a farmhouse near" and is what acts as a reminder of the protagonist of his "promises to keep" as the horse "gives his harness bells a little shale". Another symbol is the woods, typically seen as a connection to the primal nature of irrationality; and despite being called "lovely, dark and deep" it should be remembered that they are always a symbol of irrationality. Therefore the woods can be seen as a siren song to the protagonist.
In considering the "death wish" (and to achieve AO3/AO4)it should be important to note the fact that Robert Frost constantly suffered under depression and is therefore possible that he himself had a possible death-wish, and also he owned a farmhouse and could have possibly been in the situation and is simply rewriting what he felt at that present most of time.
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