Thursday, December 9, 2010

Prose Meaning and Total Meaning-- An Analysis of Robert Frost's "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."

This poem, in total meaning, deals with the juxtaposition of obligation and desire. The speaker is torn between the "promises [he has] to keep" and his peaceful pause in the "lovely, dark and deep" "woods" as he admires the natural beauty around him. In the end, repeating the line "and miles to go before I sleep," he ends up choosing obligation over his serine observance of nature, or at least repeatedly reminding himself of these unfulfilled responsibilities.

The minute prose meanings within the text lend the total meaning its significance. Each element Frost uses to create the tranquil winter scene in the forest builds up, entranzing the reader into the narrator's peaceful world, until he is let down-- only to realize this moment of bliss, watching the snow fall in the perfectly still forest, must end. For instance, the iambic pentameter of the poem seems to lull the reader into the speaker's trance, ultimately creating a peaceful, unhurried tone, which contrasts the last stanza, a reminder of pesky obligation. Secondly, the sensory imagery of "the sweep of easy wind and downy flake" allows the reader to share in the narrator's experience, hearing what he hears, and acknowledging the utter silence he experiences in this picture of serenity.
In contrast to these blissful images, the last stanza disrupts the speaker's trance, reminding him of his "promises to keep." For example, the first three stanzas use the rhyme scheme, "aaba, bbcb, ccdc," but this pattern breaks in the last stanza-- "dddd"-- almost as if the societal obligation the speaker faces is repeatedly poking him, disrupting his dream-like moment of tranquility. However, having said that, the last stanza maintains iambic pentameter, which lends the poem a unity that brings these two states of mind (obligation vs. desire) into a single moment. There is significance in this brevity too. Frost depicts the conflict of an instant, the internal struggle of a second, the experience of a few minutes in the woods. He takes a trivial life experience, and creates depth from it.

1 comment:

  1. Your last line is a "fluff" line; no need for editorializing-- but everything else is bangarang. :) Maddie, you have such an ability to recognize nuances in literature and synthesize them in such a way to develop a strong, accurate analysis. I love your recognition of the iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme, and you do a lovely job interpreting them for meaning. I especially loved this CM: " ... the last stanza maintains iambic pentameter, which lends the poem a unity that brings these two states of mind (obligation vs. desire) into a single moment. There is significance in this brevity too. Frost depicts the conflict of an instant, the internal struggle of a second, the experience of a few minutes in the woods." Sometimes those "single moments" change everything, don't they?

    A few misspelled words; wonderful analysis.
    14/15

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