A Brief Analysis of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

School of Politics and Administration 026 020634638

Abstract: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy E !ning" is on! of th! most famo#s po!ms writt!n by $ob!rt %rost& 'n this po!m %rost trac!d o#t a snowy sc!n! and s#cc!!d!d ma(ing his own thin(ing and !motion cl!ar)c#t and achi! !d th! !*p!ct!d a!sth!tic al#!& +his !ssay stat!s th! bri!f acco#nts of th! a#thor and th! po!m, and tri!s to analy-! ling#istic f!at#r!s of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy E !ning" from som! diff!r!nt p!rsp!cti !s& Key words: End rhym!, Allit!ration, .yp!rbaton, $!frain, /!taphor, .yp!rbol!, p!rsonification

I.

Introduction
.Brief account of t!e aut!or

$ob!rt 0!! %rost, b& San %rancisco, /ar& 26, 1824, d& 3oston, 4an& 25, 1563, was on! of Am!rica6s l!ading 20th)c!nt#ry po!ts and a fo#r)tim! winn!r of th! P#lit-!r Pri-! 71523, 1530, 1536, and 15428& An !ss!ntially pastoral po!t oft!n associat!d with r#ral 9!w England, %rost wrot! po!ms whos! philosophical dim!nsions transc!nd any r!gion& Altho#gh his !rs! forms ar! traditional ) h! oft!n said that h! wo#ld as soon play t!nnis witho#t a n!t as writ! fr!! !rs! ) h! was a pion!!r in th! int!rplay of rhythm and m!t!r and in th! po!tic #s! of th! ocab#lary and infl!ctions of ! !ryday sp!!ch& .is po!try is th#s both traditional and !*p!rim!ntal, r!gional and #ni !rsal& .is !rs! forms ar! con !ntional, and his artistic conc!ption is familiar and s!nsory& Som!thing #ni !rsal, abo#t d!ath and lif!, lo ! and hat!, war and p!ac!, th! good and th! ! il, is what h! mostly writ!s& +h!r!for!, h! is g!n!rally r!gard!d as a po!t of philosophy&

". Brief account of t!e poe#

+h! a#thor #s!d inornat! lang#ag!, cantabil! rhym! and flowing rhythm in this po!m and trac!d o#t a myst!rio#s snowy sc!n! in wint!r of England& +h! imag!s in th! po!m can b! di id!d into two (inds: is#al imag!s 7!&g& woods, ho#s!, illag!, snow, la(!, harn!ss b!ll8 and a#ditory imag!s 7!&g& sha(!s of b!lls, th! sw!!p of !asy winds and downy fla(!8& +h!y corr!spond to th! s!nsory f!!lings of th! a#thor as w!ll as th! r!ad!rs, and th!r!for! cr!at! i idn!ss& 'n th! po!m, th! a#thor stands b!tw!!n th! nat#r! and th! h#man soci!ty watching th! woods co !r!d by th! snow& +h!r! is no ho#s!s or illag!s ! !n his hors! do!s not (now wh!th!r his own!r sho#ld r!st at s#ch a dar( and cold plac!& .ow! !r, th! bo#ndl!ss charm of th! woods ma(!s him g!t rid of his f!ar and !n;oy th! woods in !asy wind and downy fla(!& %inally th! attracti ! woods ma(!s th! a#thor calm down and r!coll!ct his promis! d!t!rmining to f#lfill his r!sponsibility&

$. %a&or t!e#e of t!e poe#

1

As a tra !l!r, th! a#thor stands b!tw!!n th! woods and p!opl! facing th! gr!at attraction from th!s! two worlds& <n on! hand, h! is t!mpt!d strongly by th! myst!ry of th! woods, on th! oth!r hand, h! also hop! that h! can r!;!ct this (ind of s!d#cti ! t!mptation and go bac( to th! r!ality so that h! co#ld b! abl! to carry o#t hi promis!& .!r! th! th!m! may b! th! n!c!ssity to fac! th! r!sponsibiliti!s and d#ti!s inh!r!nt in ad#lt inst!ad of !scaping th! pr!ss#r! and sadn!ss of th! circ#mstanc! and th! w!ight of r!sponsibiliti!s&

II. 'inguistic presentation of t!e t!e#e

. (!onological features
) * End r!y#e 'n !ach lin! on!, two and fo#r in first, s!cond and third stan-a th!r! is !nd rhym!& 7!&g& lin! 1,2 ,4) + u,& lin! =,6,8)+i ,& lin! 5,10,12)+ei, ei,&8'n th! fo#rth stan-a !nd rhym! is #s!d in !ach lin!& 7!&g& lin! 12,13,14,1=)+i:p, i:p,&8 /or!o !r, %rost pic(s #p th! #nrhym!d so#nd of !ach stan-a 7th! third lin!8 and lin(s it with th! rhyming so#nd of th! stan-a that follows it, #ntil th! fo#rth stan-a wh!n h! clos!s with fo#r matching rhym!s& )"*Alliteration S!riat! #s! of +s, ma(!s r!ad!rs b! ca#ght in th! woods i idly h!aring th! so#nd of th! wind and fla(!& 7!&g& sounds the sweep8 >o#bl! +d, ar! #s!d as a whol! in ord!r to !mphasi-! th! dim and d!!p of th! woods& 7!&g& dark and deep8 +h! s!ns! and th! m#sical !ff!ct of th! po!m ar! r!inforc!d by this s(illf#l phonological #s!& <n! thing m#st b! point!d o#t that, tho#gh th! po!m is r!g#lar in its iambic p!ntam!t!r, %rost a oids m!trical monotony by d!parting from th! patt!rn slightly in th! final stan-a and by his mast!rf#l control of t!mpo&

". 'e-ical features

) * (ronouns +hro#gho#t th! po!m, th! narrator '" is consist!nt& +h! narrator t!lls th! occ#rr!nc! and sp!a(s dir!ctly abo#t hims!lf& +his ma(!s th! condition s!!m ?#it! fact#al and i id to th! r!ad!rs& @E*ampl!: lin!1: Whose woods these are I think I know. lin! 14: But I have promise to keep, lin! 1=: And miles to go before I sleep. lin! 16: And miles to go before I sleep. )"* Ad&ective +h!s! thr!! simpl! words, lovely, dark and deep" cr!at! a strong contrast& 0o !ly" h!r! m!ans th! b!a#ty of th! woods wh!r!as dar( and d!!p" con !ys a s!ns! of f!ar and d!ath& @E*ampl!: lin!13: +he woods are lovely, dark and deep, )$*Adverb +ho#gh" in lin!2 has its connotation that is: ' (now who own this land, 7and ' will f!!l s!lf) conscio#s if th! own!r saw m! standing and staring into th! spac! this way8 b#t h! do!snAt
2

li ! o#t h!r!, and h! wonAt s!! m! pa#sing to ga-! idly&8" @E*ampl!: lin!2: His house is in the village though;

$. Syntactic features
) * .yperbaton 'n th! b!ginning of th! po!m %rost #s!s hyp!rbaton in ord!r to !mphasi-! th! !ss!ntial rol! th! word woods" plays thro#gh th! whol! po!m& @E*ampl!: lin!1: Whose woods these are I think I know. )"*/efrain %rost adopts th! form of r!frain to str!ss th! significanc! of his r!sponsibiliti!s whil! pro iding ambig#ity witho#t stating what sl!!p" m!ans& .!r! sl!!p" impli!s wh!th!r falling to sl!!p" or passing away" is not so cr#cial& 'n st!ad, it is an int!r!sting point aro#sing r!ad!rsA imagination& $!ad!rs may g!t own #ni?#! #nd!rstanding from this m!aningf#l !*pr!ssion& @E*ampl!: lin!1=,16: And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.

0. Se#antic features
) * %etap!or 'n this po!m, th! most significant trop! is m!taphor& Woods" impli!s nat#r!, ho#s!" and illag!" s#gg!st r!al world", and th! own!r of th! ho#s!" r!pr!s!nts h#man in soci!ty"& %rost #s!d common words inst!ad of big words s#cc!!ding d!scribing an in sort of way abstract s!lf) conflict& )"* .yperbole +h! choic! of dar(!st" not only con !ys th! lit!ral m!aning b#t also !*pr!ss!s th! a#thorAs conf#sion thro#gh an !*agg!ration& @E*ampl!: lin!8: he darkest evening of the year. )$* (ersonification +h! hors! s!!ms to as( if th!r! is som! mista(!"7lin! 108& P!rsonifying his littl! hors! h!lps to !nhanc! th! d!gr!! to which a#thor f!!ls ?#!!r" in this condition& 't shows to r!ad!rs how ?#!!r" th! action h! ta(!s is so as to ! !n littl! hors!" is p#--l!d&

1. 2igures of speec!
+his po!m is w!ll #nifi!d and coh!r!nt achi! ing gr!at coh!sion and coh!r!nc!& 't has a narrati ! ?#ality in that th! a#thor acco#nts his mo ing, his stopping, his m!ditating, and his r!sol ing to go on his ;o#rn!y& Anoth!r !l!m!nt of this po!mAs coh!r!nc! is its logic& +h! first thr!! stan-as rais! implicit ?#!stions and th! final stan-a gi !s th! answ!r, tho#gh not !*plicit& +hirdly, th! r!g#lar rhythm and rhym! patt!rn also h!lp achi! ! coh!r!nc! and coh!sion& +h! rhym! patt!rn is not only a pl!as#r! to !ars b#t also a s#pport to th! po!mAs m!aning&

III. 3onclusion

+hro#gh analysis from fo#r asp!cts of stylistics, w! can #nd!rstand th! po!m Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening not only abo#t its stylistic f!at#r!s, b#t also abo#t connotation of lit!rat#r!& +h! stylistic charact!ristics of this po!m achi! ! th! a#thorAs !*p!ct!d goal to gr!at !*t!nt thro#gh attracting r!ad!rsA att!ntion and l!a ing th!m m#ch spac! to cr!at! th!ir own imagination&

Appendi-
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening )!obert "rost
1 2 3 4

Whos! woods th!s! ar! ' thin( ' know& .is ho#s! is in th! illag! thoughB .! will not s!! m! Stopping h!r! +o watch his woods fills #p with snow& /y littl! hors! m#st thin( it #ueer +o stop witho#t a farmho#s! near 3!tw!!n th! woods and fro-!n la(! +h! dar(!st ! !ning of th! year.

= 6 2 8

.! gi !s his harn!ss b!lls a shake 10 +o as( if th!r! is som! mistake. 11 +h! only oth!r so#ndAs th! sw!!p 12 <f !asy wind and downy flake&
5 13 14 1= 16

+h! woods ar! lo !ly, dar( and deep, 3#t ' ha ! promis! to keep, And mil!s to go b!for! ' sleep& And mil!s to go b!for! ' sleep&