Name: __________________________

Date: ___________________________

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

By, Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

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.

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.

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.

Major Themes

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” like many of Frost's poems, explores the theme of

the individual caught between nature and civilization. The speaker's location on the border

between civilization and wilderness echoes a common theme throughout American literature.

The speaker is drawn to the beauty and allure of the woods, which represent nature, but has

obligations—“promises to keep”—which draw him away from nature and back to society and

the world of men. The speaker is thus faced with a choice of whether to give in to the allure of

nature, or remain in the realm of society. Some critics have interpreted the poem as a meditation

on death—the woods represent the allure of death, perhaps suicide, which the speaker resists in

order to return to the mundane tasks which order daily life.

Critical Reception

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” was included in Frost's volume New Hampshire, for

which he won the first of four Pulitzer prizes. Critics generally agree that its central theme is the

speaker's dilemma in choosing between the allure of nature and the responsibilities of everyday

life in human society. However, the ambiguity of the poem has lead to extensive critical debate.

Some conclude that the speaker chooses, by the end of the poem, to resist the temptations of

nature and return to the world of men. Others, however, argue that the speaker's repetition of the

last line “And miles to go before I sleep,” suggests an indecisiveness as to whether or not he will,

in fact, “keep” the “promises” by which he is obligated to return to society. Many have pointed

out that this “ambiguity” is in part what makes the poem great. Another standard interpretation is

that the speaker is contemplating suicide—the woods, “lovely, dark, and deep,” represent the

allure of death as a means of escape from the mundane duties of daily life. Still others, however,

such as Philip L. Gerber, argue that “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is most

importantly a “lyric” poem, which should be appreciated in terms of its formal, metrical

qualities, such as the complex, interlocking rhyme scheme, rather than its content or “meaning.”

Gerber notes that “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is “widely regarded, metrically, as

Frost's most perfect poem.” Critics also point to the mood or tone of the poem, as created by its

formal properties, as one of a person caught up in a reverie; the hypnotic quality of the repeated

closing lines, in particular, suggests a chant or spell. James Hepburn noted that the inability of

critics to secure a particular meaning of the poem is due to the quality by which “It is a poem of

undertones and overtones rather than of meaning.” Critical debate over the meaning and

significance of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” rages on, but few question the status

of the poem as one of the greatest in American literature. Donald J. Greiner has observed of

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” that “Its deceptive simplicity, its ambiguity, and its

interlocking rhyme scheme have been so lauded that it is now one of the most explicated

American poems.” The extent to which this poem has been discussed—perhaps overanalyzed—

by critics was indicated by the parodic interpretation of Herbert R. Coursen, Jr., who, tongue-in-

cheek, surmised that the speaker is in fact none other than Santa Claus, the “little horse” who

rings its harness bells representing a reindeer, and the “darkest night of the year,” during which

the poem takes place, a reference to the winter solstice, which is only a few days before

Christmas. According to this interpretation, the “promises” that the speaker must keep refer to

Santa Claus's responsibility to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.