Stopping by woods in a snowy evening Robert Frost - Essay Example

This poem is a classic example of multiple interpretations of a very simple everyday instance mentioned. We are going to analyse Robert Frost’s poem ‘Stopping by woods in a snowy evening’ in this essay to understand the mysterious nature of the poem and how it sets itself as an apt example of classic literature expressed simply. The poem has mere four stanzas. Each stanza is lyrical and ends on a rhyme note. The third line of each stanza does not rhyme but it only accentuates the beauty of the poem.

For example, “My little horse think it queer/ To stop without a farmhouse near/ Between the frozen woods and lake/ The darkest evening of the year.” The continuity of the words and its lyrical quality indicates the clarity of thought process in which the poem could have been written. The poem describes a simple instance of poet riding through woods nearby probably to his village or hometown. The evening is a winter evening with snowfall and mysterious deep silence has fallen over the woods he is driving through.

He suddenly notices the silence which is not terrifying but is mystifying and indicating the beauty of lull through woods. He notices the farm and claims to even know its owner. He is standing there for what seems like an eternity taking in the beauty of surroundings and letting the silence affect him. However after a while he realises that he needs to move on. Howsoever the woods are enchanting and calling him he has to reach somewhere. He feels the obligations of the promises he has to keep and their weight on his heart and decides to leave the scene.

This appears to be an everyday instance in any common person’s life. However as one reads and rereads this poem the depth of the poem keeps calling the reader. Frost mentions the dark, lovely woods and serenity of the rendezvous that affects him. Today we talk about running around in circles and reaching nowhere as the pace of life neither allows us to slow down nor let us reach anywhere. There comes a moment when like Frost we suddenly confront the need of feeling the peace around us and within.

He claims in second stanza that his horse finds its queer to stop without a farmhouse nearby. People surrounding us are taken aback and find it strange that at some point of time we feel the urge to listen to our heart and not the head. They keep tugging at you to get on with life like the horse shakes his harness bells and reminds Frost to move on. “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 real mystery element of this poem are the woods.

They represent all that is beautiful and enchanting. By woods we usually tend to indicate something dark and probably not so good in nature. However the woods could also represent mysteries and secrets that we have not yet unravelled or have not found time to unravel in the walk of life. The woods call us. They ask us to stop. They want us to think and to remind if we are not missing something which is beautiful and may impact our lives in many myriad ways. The poem probably represents evening time and the woods are getting darker.

Isn’t it inevitable in human being’s life that at some point of time we all realise that there are woods we have never visited and probably would never visit? So do we let go of the opportunity or pretend that it does not exist at all in the walk of our lives? Frost with his simple and yet powerful narration manages to evoke these questions in the minds of reader. The last stanza repeats the most important line ‘and miles to go before I sleep’. This line gives a twist to the entire scenario described in the poem.

Everything around is serene, beautiful and takes your breath away but all said and done we all have to come back to