Stopping by Woods The Road Not Taken Analysis

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.
--Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken

BY
ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
Throughout the poems "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening", Robert Frost utilizes analogies and imagery in both to convey his message. Depending
on the real-life situation being described, Frost specifically chooses certain situations that help
the readers to infer what the purposes of the poems are. Due to this, interpretation may vary
depending on who is reading the poem, but, as a whole, the message conveyed will generally be
the same for all.
For the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", Frost uses iambic tetrameter,
which isn’t a typical meter found in English poems. For "The Road Not Taken", he also uses
iambic tetrameter. For the rhyme scheme, he uses an AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD structure,
resulting in a four-stanza poem with four lines in each stanza in the former poem. In the latter
one, Frost groups the poem into four stanzas with five lines per stanza, with a rhyme scheme of
ABAAB CDCCD EFEEF GHGGH. Each stanza represents a different event or thought, helping
readers to organize the poem and analyze each section to truly understand the message behind
the poem. For both poems, Frost chose these specific meters and rhyming schemes in order to
make the poem flow better and to make the poem, in general, more appealing. With the use of
rhymes and the specific meters used, it is easier for readers to follow along with the poem and
determine the meaning behind each poem. Additionally, when poems rhyme, the audience’s eyes
naturally gravitate towards the poem and makes the reading experience more enjoyable and
mellifluous.
Breaking down each of the poems specifically, the first poem, “Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening”, primarily relies on the use of imagery, specifically of a traveler and his horse
on a journey during a snowy evening, as evident by the title. One interesting poetic device that
Frost uses in the poem is personification of the horse. Through his choice of words, he makes it
seem as though the horse, like a human, is judging the traveler for stopping to admire the woods.
“He” doesn’t understand why the traveler/speaker would stop in the middle of their journey
when there isn’t anything “of value” near: it is just a dark, gloomy, cold evening with snow.
Through this and other devices, I feel that Frost is talking about how we, as a society, are now
accustomed to rushing, and that we need to slow down and take time to appreciate what we have,
especially nature. Back in the “olden” days, people didn’t use to rush through life: they would
take it step-by-step and enjoy it while it lasted. However, with the technological and scientific
advances in the “new age”, it seems that we are trying to make everything fast, whether it is
complex problems to simple, daily tasks. This mentality carries on today: many people feel that
they have to get through school as fast as possible to attend college for a shorter amount of time,
then get into the workforce as fast as possible. So, instead of continuing this negative mentality
of the need to rush through life, we need to take a step back from our problems and enjoy what
we have around us. If we continue to rush, then we will regret not taking the time to interact with
nature and the world around us.
While “The Road Not Taken” also utilizes imagery, it is used more as an analogy. By
referencing “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, he is trying to draw attention to something
simple that we do in everyday life: make decisions. Usually, when we are faced with a decision,
we have two choices, both of which tend to conflict with one another. So, because we don’t have
information on what will be the consequences of each choice, all of us face a dilemma on what
would be the “better” option. Instead of making an independent decision, we have a tendency to
consult others on what they would do, then typically follow the bandwagon on what others
would do. However, if there is a negative outcome associated with that choice, we don’t blame
ourselves for that choice, as we “didn’t have enough information” or we “were misinformed by
others”. Frost wants us to take ownership of our decisions and follow through with the choice
that we made, but, more importantly, he wants us to make our own, independent decisions when
faced with two choices. Sometimes, the path that seems “riskier” may actually be the more
rewarding one in the end.

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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

My little horse must think it queer

He gives his harness bells a shake

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

The Road Not Taken

And both that morning equally lay

I shall be telling this with a sigh

the same for all.

nature and the world around us.

rewarding one in the end.

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