This page was created by Alison Morgan. The last update was by students at Xavier University.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker mentions he does not know whose woods he is riding through, but the owner of the property has a house in the village. Because the owner is not there, the speaker knows he will not be caught to stop and “watch his woods fill up with snow.” (Street 94, Line 4). At this moment, I can tell the speaker wants to enjoy the snowfall as it gathers and collects in the woods. He has an appreciation for nature and the snowfall coming down upon it. The speaker mentions that his horse may think it’s odd to stop when they are not near a farmhouse (Street 94, Lines 5-6). This indicates that the speaker does not often stop for other things, meaning that the scenery in the woods is powerful enough to him that he has unexpectedly stopped in his travels to take it all in.
The speaker also mentions how he is located “between the woods and frozen lake” (Street 94, Line 7), where the frozen lake indicates it has been cold for a longer time now. When he says it is “the darkest evening of the year” (Street 94, Line 8), I know that he is talking about the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year or as many would consider it, the darkest day of the year. In lines 9-12, the few sounds that occur are described. His horse shakes his harness bells, which the speaker interprets as the horse asking if though the stop in the woods is a mistake. He also takes note that the only other sound than the harness bells are the “easy wind and downy flake.” (Street 94, Line 12). This is interesting because neither wind nor snow can really be heard, which indicates that the silence in the woods is so strong he believes he can hear these things. It shows how much the speaker is really taking in the moment.
Finally, the speaker acknowledges the beautiful dark woods that surround him but that he has an agenda to keep (Street 94, Line 13-14). It will be long before he is also able to sleep, and repeats the same thing in the last two lines: “And miles to go before I sleep” (Street 94, Lines 15-16). Wrapping everything he described up in the last moment, he had not stopped for long, but stopped long enough to take nature in around him and enjoy it. The beauty of nature during the Winter Solstice captured him enough to stop his journey and ponder it for a short period of time. Through describing such a powerful moment throughout the poem, the details and description easily have it fall under green writing.
Spring Pools is a poem written by Robert Frost from 1928 that depicts how nature begins to shift as the season of spring begins. He begins the poem with the speaker describing how these pools of water in the forests reflect almost the entire sky flawlessly. (Street 95, Lines 1-2). He also describes the spring flowers around the pools that have emerged and the cold air that still lingers. This could mean that it is still early in spring where the cold days have not completely left. The speaker describes that the flowers will be gone soon because of the roots coming through of “dark foliage.” (Street 95, Lines 4-6). This foliage that he describes is what I believe to be the thick green foliage that comes through after the rains of spring. He explains how quickly the flowers last before they are gone along with the pools of water when the green foliage takes over the forest. This moment of recognition while the speaker is gazing upon the pools surrounded by flowers shows how in touch with nature he is at the moment.
In the second half of the poem, the speaker describes the buds on the trees and how they have not even opened yet, but when they do they will cast shadows in the woods. (Street 95, Lines 7-8). Here, it is now clear that spring is not fully in bloom, but that it is nearing soon. The speaker goes on to talk about the trees and, “let them think twice before they use their powers To blot out and drink up and sweep away These flowery waters and watery flowers.” (Street 95, Lines 9-11). The speaker almost seems bothered by the fact the trees will eventually bloom and drink up the pools of water and the flowers surrounding them will die away. He seems quite enthralled by the pools in the forest and how the flowers have collected around them, hence the descriptive details about them. Finally, he describes where the pools have come from, which is the “snow the melted only yesterday.” It is fascinating how the flowers had withstood the snow and are still holding on even during the chill, but that the weather is already warming up for spring to come.
Media: Hush, Joe. Forest Light. Digital image. Picssr. 20 June 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2016
