Explain how the following poem starts in delight and ends in wisdom. Make at least two references to the poem.

Question

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
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.

Answer 1

The poem begins on a light-hearted tone of delight
"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
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."

the owner will not even see the speaker since he does not watch his woods when they fill with snow.

The speaker's horse
" must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year."
and he " gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake."
as if reminding of the promise made earlier to stop by a farmhouse.

The sense of wisdom is evident in the new resolution and determination to proceed on and to keep the promise:
"But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"



good luck.

Answer 2

the poem does not begin in delight, but in intrigue. robert frost tells us:

Whose woods these are I think I know.


he is careful not to say he is sure who the woods belong to, he simply thinks he does. the poem teases us, offering the same kind of almost-certainty the poet is feeling.

the poem does not end with wisdom, but with resignation.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.


But the poet has 'promises to keep' (and must continue on his way). we know that the poet would like to stop and watch the woods in the snow (though we are not told why he wants to do this) but that he realises that the responsibilities of life impose other duties on him.

inasmuch as frost belonged to a movement he was one of the english 'georgians' (specifically he and his best friend edward thomas were on the edge of the dymmock group). the georgians (dh lawrence was another poet on the edge of this set) distrusted the large and vapid emotions of victorian gothic poets including tennyson and lewis morris. frost would have avoided big clumsy ideas like 'delight' and 'wisdom' - he preferred to offer his deep truths in ordinary language.