Page 117 - DENG102_COMMUNICATION_SKILLS_II

Communication Skills-II

notes He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Explanation: In this opening stanza, the setting is explained as a winter evening in a rural
environment. The speaker desires to watch snow fall quietly in some woods. While these woods
belong to someone, that person is not present and so will not protest if the speaker trespasses.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

Explanation: Our speaker has a horse (neigh), and this horse is a little one. Our speaker psycho-
analyzes his little horse and supposes that said little horse must think it’s pretty strange for them
to be stopping in the middle of nowhere, with no one in sight, with not even a farmhouse close
by, and absolutely no sign of hay. Also, it happens to be the darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.
Explanation: Little horse does not like it. Fortunately, he has some harness bells on his back, and
he gives them a little shake in order to get his master’s attention. The only other sounds are of a
slight wind and of falling snow.
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 speaker admits to having a yearning for the dark woods, but he tells us he’s got
things to do, people to see and places to go. He’s got a long way to go before he can rest his head
on his little pillow, so he had better get going.

8.1.1 about the Poet

Robert Frost (1874-1963) is perhaps the most loved American poet. He was born in San Francisco.
He was educated at Dartmouth College, New England, and Harvard University. He is highly
regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.
His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth
century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. He was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for poets on four occasions between 1924 and 1943. In 1962 he received the
Congressional Medal.
Among the other honors and rewards Frost received were tributes from the U.S. Senate (1950),
the American Academy of Poets (1953), New York University (1956), the Huntington Hartford
Foundation (1958), and the Edward MacDowell Medal (1962). In 1930 he was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, Amherst College appointed him Saimpson Lecturer for
Life (1949), and in 1958 he was made poetry consultant for the Library of Congress.

112 lovely Professional university