Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening

Out of all the poems I have read in my life, all the poems I have loved, this is the one that has always stuck with me for some reason. It's the only poem I can recite from memory, actually. The imagery is fantastic in it, in a very simple way. Frost doesn't go out of his way to paint the picture with fancy words and extreme detail, but instead uses simple structure and clean words to give us a connection to the poem.

Certain lines from the poem such as "to watch his woods fill up with snow" and "between the woods and frozen lake" and the famous "the woods are lovely, dark, and deep" helps us paint a very clear picture in our heads. You feel as if you are sitting astride a horse, pausing beside an icy lake and a patch of woods, mesmerized by the sight of snow falling down and coating the ground around you. It makes the woods come alive, become a place that sucks you in and transports you to a peaceful place, a place full of quiet and serenity. You can see the clean countryside, miles away from the bustle of town, covered in a blanket of white, and feel the exhaustion of knowing you must keep trekking on, no matter how deep the snow is, no matter how tiring and consuming the trip will be.

It's not just a picture, though, for Frost also gives us sounds in his poem with lines like "he gives his harness bells a shake" and "the sweep of easy wind and downy flake". With those being the only sounds, it gives us a sense of quiet again, of sitting still and listening to a cold winter wind blowing around you, sending snow dancing with each gust, our horse tossing his head impatiently, wanting to keep going through the cold while we are lost in the moment. Perhaps the horse blows out a frustrated breath, sending steam through the air, or even stomps a foot, urging us to move on. We can't move on, though, not when we are so fascinated by the scene before us.

This poem is so much more than just a man riding a horse past a stretch of woods. That's far too simple an explanation, though I suppose that's all some people can see. The poem is deeper than that, though, and darker too. I see it as a man's pre-occupation with something, some thought or problem that has taken up his mind completely. He gets lost in the simple sight of the snowy woods because it is his break from his reality and though he wishes he could stay lost forever, ignoring his problem and lost in a dream-world, he knows he cannot give up, but must persevere. This poem is the one I read when I'm feeling low, or overwhelmed by something I feel I cannot solve. I go to my own dark place at times, my own stretch of evening woods, and reading Frost's determination to go on reminds me that I too have miles to go before I sleep. No matter how dark and deep the woods are, no matter how tempting it is to just stop and lose myself, I always read this poem and remember I must go on.