Question

From any collection of classic poetry or the internet, find another famous poem by Robert Frost titled ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’. Try to understand the symbolism used in that poem in 8-10 lines.

Answer 1

Robert Frost's poem 'Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening' symbolizes the journey of life and a movement towards death. Almost every single element in the poem in that sense is symbolic of something. The undefined traveller on horse-back reminds us of the knights of the Middle Ages in the course of a heroic adventure. The cold and the dead of night and the frozen lake in the woods, the 'darkest evening of the year' - all these elements build an ambience where the immanence of death is at odds with the indomitable spirit of love, as exemplified by the traveller.

The owner of the woods is referred to but his name has not been mentioned. This can be a reference to the mystic and almost unnamable presence of God. The oath of the traveller to go on come what may, keeping his promises before he has to submit to the final call of death, an eternal sleep of sorts. The end of the poem is thus replete with philosophical symbolism.