by Jake Betz

Created on: September 20, 2011   Last Updated: September 21, 2011

 “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” is Robert Frost’s best known poem, the literary work through which he has been introduced to generations of high school students.

Just 15 lines long, “Stopping by the Woods” is dazzling in its imagery and elegant in its simplicity. Good poetry doesn’t just make you make you feel, it makes you see. As you read or hear the words, the scene takes hold of you, playing like a video in your mind.

The narrator, driving a horse-drawn carriage, arrives at the edge of a forest during a snowstorm. Since the forest is privately owned, the narrator directly addresses the possibility that he (or she? – we can’t be sure) is intruding or worse, trespassing. The narrator is unafraid, however, because he is confident that the owner, who does not live nearby, will never know he was there.

The narrator seems familiar with the site. He knows there is no farmhouse on the property and is aware of a nearby frozen lake in the other direction. Although we have no proof of this, perhaps he has stopped by on other occasions, most likely in daylight and in warmer weather since the horse seems surprised to be there in the dead of winter. The horse’s pull on his harness bells is the only sound, except for the soft sounds and feel of the wind and snow.

The tranquility and beauty of the snow scene are appealing, so much so that the narrator would like to stay longer (or maybe even forever), but he decides to move on because he has “promises to keep” and “miles to go before” he “sleeps.”

What does this mean? Is Frost merely using carefully crafted words to paint a scene that is reminiscent of a print by Currier and Ives, or is there a deeper message? The line, “darkest evening of the year,” though obviously referring to long winter nights could be a metaphor for the narrator’s deep depression or sadness. Is the decision to “stop by the woods” an attempt to clear his mind and gain solace from nature? Does he find the “lovely, dark and deep woods” so intoxicating that he is considering staying in the woods until he freezes to death?

Regardless of the narrator’s reasons for stopping by the woods, in the end, he decides he must move on and continue with the business of life.  The “promises to keep” before he sleeps may refer to the necessity of honoring the particular responsibilities of each day or doing one’s best to fulfill an important lifetime mission before death.

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