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Unit 7: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost—Detailed Study and Analysis

following lines, withdrawing his mind from those scenic beauties for the time being, the Notes
dutiful poet resumes his journey, leaving the snow-filling forest behind him to be enjoyed
some other time :
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.

Theme of Isolation
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a lonely poem, for our speaker finds himself far
away from any other human being. He thinks of this aloneness, however, and is glad that no
one is there to watch him. We get the feeling that he’d rather be all by his lonesome in the
freezing cold than back in the village. Nature helps make things even lonelier, too, for it
happens to be freezing cold, snowing, and dark out there.

Theme of Choices

The speaker in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” makes several choices, many of
which his dearly beloved horse does not agree with. The biggest choice that he wrestles with
is whether to return to the warmth and safety of the village or to stay and watch the woods
fill up with snow. Our speaker does seem to have a hard time making his decision. He
ultimately decides to return home, but it seems to take all of his willpower.
Theme of Man and the Natural World

We’re not going to lie, nature seems pretty darn scary in this poem. Not scary like it’s going
to throw thunderbolts at our speaker or let hungry tigers lose on him, but scary in that it is
mysterious and even rather seductive. Our speaker is almost enticed into staying and watching
the woods fill up with snow, but if he stays too long, we’ve got to believe that he might freeze
to death, catch a really bad cold, or forget his way home. Nature is a beautiful siren in this
poem, compelling our speaker to hang out in spite of the dangerous consequences.

Theme of Society and Class
We don’t get much information about where our speaker comes from or about the nearby
village in this poem, but we do know that he’s far away from civilization. We also know that
the man who owns the woods lives in town in a house. From this little information, we can
deduce that if you own things (like the owner of the woods does), then you live in the midst
of society. Our speaker is not so concerned with society. In fact, society to him is about as
appetizing as cod liver oil. He’d rather be alone with nature. To us, the village sounds quaint,
cute, and warm. To our speaker, the village represents his obligations, responsibilities, and
promises.

7.6 Analysis

In terms of text, this poem is remarkably simple: in sixteen lines, there is not a single three-
syllable word and only sixteen two-syllable words. In terms of rhythmic scheme and form,
however, the poem is surprisingly complex. The poem is made up of four stanzas, each with
four stressed syllables in iambic meter. Within an individual stanza, the first, second, and
fourth lines rhyme (for example, “know,” “though,” and “snow” of the first stanza), while the

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