Page 83 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes in the snow—it is ill advised. The speaker ascribes society’s reproach to the horse, which may
seem, at first, a bit odd. But the horse is a domesticated part of the civilized order of things;
it is the nearest thing to society’s agent at this place and time. And having the horse reprove
the speaker (even if only in the speaker’s imagination) helps highlight several uniquely human
features of the speaker’s dilemma. One is the regard for beauty (often flying in the face of
practical concern or the survival instinct); another is the attraction to danger, the unknown,
the dark mystery; and the third—perhaps related but distinct—is the possibility of the death
wish, of suicide.
Not that we must return too often to that darkest interpretation of the poem. Beauty alone is
a sufficient siren; a sufficient protection against her seduction is an unwillingness to give up
on society despite the responsibilities it imposes. The line “And miles to go before I sleep”
need not imply burden alone; perhaps the ride home will be lovely, too. Indeed, the line could
be read as referring to Frost’s career as a poet, and at this time he had plenty of good poems
left in him.

Notes “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening “ is a lyric poem. It was first published
in the New Republic on March 7, 1923, and republished later that year in a collection
of Robert Frost’s poems entitled New Hampshire. This collection won Frost a Pulitzer
Prize and widespread recognition as an important American writer.

6.6 Setting of the Poem

Frost wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” while residing in the village of Franconia
in the northwestern corner of New Hampshire. It seems likely that woods near Franconia
inspired him to write the poem and that Franconia is the village mentioned in line 2. The time
is “the darkest evening of the year.” If by this phrase the speaker/narrator means the longest
night of the year—that is, the night with the most hours of darkness—then the day is either
December 21 or 22. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs each year on one
of those days. The solstice is the moment when the sun is farthest south.

Characters

The Observer (Speaker/Persona/Narrator): A person travelling by a horse-drawn wagon (or
cart or carriage) on a rural road. The traveller stops to observe snow piling up in woods.
The Horse: A small horse with a bell attached to its harness. It shakes its head, ringing the
bell, to signal that it does not understand why its master has stopped.
Owner of the Woods: A man who lives in a nearby village. He is mentioned in the first stanza
of the poem.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Frost wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” while residing in the village of
(a) Franconia (b) Macidonia

(c) Lithuania (d) none of these

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