Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening : Summary

Summary

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is an iconic poem by Robert Frost (1874-1963). The poem explores themes of nature, mortality, and the struggle between duty and attraction. The poem tells the story of a traveler who is passing through a snowy forest on the darkest night of the year. He stops to admire the beauty of nature. Soon, he is reminded of his responsibilities by his horse. So, he continues his journey.

In the poem, the speaker was one day riding his horse through the snow-covered forest, and thought to himself, whose forest is this? He feels like he probably knows the owner. His house will be in the village. Here, the speaker stands looking at the snow-covered forest. He is mesmerized by its extraordinary beauty. But the owner of this forest does not see that he is standing here.

It seemed to him the thickest, darkest night of the year. And the fact that he is standing between a forest and a frozen lake, without a farmhouse nearby, will be seen by his horse as a little mysterious.

In such a situation the horse gives the sound of its throat bell. Immediately the speaker regained consciousness. He noticed the silence all around. Apart from the sound of horse bells, two other sounds are heard, they are the sound of wind, and the sound of falling snow. This loneliness and silence is basically the poet’s state of mind which he expresses through natural description.

The forest seemed so dense and wonderful to the speaker. He had almost forgotten that he had set out to go somewhere and stopped on the way. He immediately remembered that he has many responsibilities and duties. He must observe them. It is not allowed to stand here like this and be seduced by the beauty. Thinking this again he left for his destination.