Page 91 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes Line 11

The only other sound’s the sweep
• Beyond the harness bells’ shaking, the only other sound that the speaker can hear is the
“sweep.”
• The word “sweep” makes us think of the sound brooms make when they sweep dust
into a dustpan.
• At this point, we realize that the speaker is taking inventory of all of the sounds around
him. He’s interested in sounds.
Line 12

Of easy wind and downy flake.
• The sweeping noise comes from the slight wind and the softly falling snow.
• Have you ever listened to snow falling? It’s very, very quiet. There’s just a gentle whirr.
Everything is very, very still.

Stanza 4
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.
Explanation: The traveller would like to stay awhile and perhaps even enter the woods to
absorb their ambience and ponder the mystery of life and nature. However, he has obligations
and responsibilities. Therefore, he decides to move on. But the poem does not say whether he
in fact moves on. One presumes that he does.
Line 13

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
• Our speaker finally admits to liking the woods. We knew it all along. He’s entranced by
the darkness and deepness of the woods, and he thinks they are lovely.
• Dark and deep woods are awesome in our book, but they also make us feel slightly
anxious. There’s something mysterious about the maze-like nature of woods and forests.
• The point, though, is that our speaker digs these woods.

Line 14
But I have promises to keep,
• Our speaker begins this line with the word “but.” The word “but” makes us think that
the speaker is contemplating staying in these woods rather than returning to the village
to fulfill the promises he’s made.
• These promises may be things like, “I’ll be home for dinner, mom,” or they may be
things like, “Let’s get married,” or “I will take care of you.”
• Regardless of whether these are big promises or little promises, our speaker flirts momentarily
with the idea of breaking them, before deciding against it.

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