Robert Frost

1. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost By Amanda Keogh and Sarah Phillips

2. 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. Summary: This poem appears to be very simple. Frost is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. He takes in the lovely scene in near-silence, is tempted to stay longer, but acknowledges the pull of obligations and the considerable distance yet to be traveled before he can rest for the night. 1 Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening 2 Form: The poem consists of four almost identically constructed stanzas. Each line is iambic, with four stressed syllables. (Iambic tetrameter) Within the four lines of each stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme. The third line does not, but it sets up the rhymes for the next stanza The exception to this pattern comes in the final stanza, where the third line rhymes with the previous two and is repeated as the fourth line. This is a very difficult form to achieve. 3 4

3. Discussion • The basic conflict in the poem is between an attraction toward the woods and the pull of responsibility outside of the woods. What do woods represent? • These woods are someone’s woods—the owner lives in the village. Frost faces a decision between the village (society, duty) and the woods (peace, solitude) The woods sit on the edge of civilization; one way or another, they draw the speaker away from it (and its promises, its good sense). • Society would condemn stopping here in the dark, in the snow. Even the horse thinks it is odd. • The line “And miles to go before I sleep” could be read as referring to Frost’s career as a poet, and at this time he had plenty of good poems left in him. Frost feels that he has many poems to write before he dies.

4. Characteristics of Romanticism • Focus’ on the needs and emotions of the individual- desire for relaxation and solitude. Frost’s presence in the woods allows him to feel peace and solitude, but at the same time, obligation and responsibility. • The use of woods (nature) allows Frost to become attuned with his soul. The woods allow him to understand life and its meaning. • The conflict between desire and responsibility. • The thirst of the human spirit for meaning and the search for answers to the problem of existence. Nature allows humans to look within themselves and find what it is they are looking for. • The value of responsibility and dedication. • . The long journey of life, Frost cannot simply stand still and meditate upon nature. The world continues to revolve around him. • The poem is an allegory for life- the need to enjoy what life has to offer and not be caught up in the day to day trappings.

5. Fire and Ice Summary Frost is considering the question of whether the world will end in fire or in ice. In the end he determines that either option would achieve its purpose sufficiently well. Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Form: “Fire and Ice” follows an invented form, irregularly interweaving three rhymes into a poem of nine lines. Each line ends either with an -ire, -ice, or -ate rhyme. Each line contains either four or eight syllables.

6. Discussion • An extremely compact little lyric, “Fire and Ice” combines humor, fury, detachment, forthrightness, and reserve in an airtight package. Not a syllable is wasted. The aim is aphorism—the slaying of the elusive Truth-beast with one unerring stroke. But for Frost, as usual, the truth remains ambiguous and the question goes unanswered; to settle for aphorism would be to oversimplify. • We can attribute part of the poem’s effect to the contrast between the simple, clipped precision of its vocabulary and the vague gravity of its subject. The real triumph of “Fire and Ice,” however, is in its form. Try writing the poem out in prose lines. Nearly all poems suffer considerably in this exercise, but this poem simply dies: • Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that, for destruction, ice is also great and would suffice. • The language remains simple, but the devastating, soaring anticlimax of the final two lines is lost. Those lines draw their soft-kill power from form: from their rhymes; from the juxtaposition of their short, punchy length with that of the preceding lines (and their resonance with the length of the second line); and from the strong enjambment in line 7, which builds up the tension needed for the perfect letdown. • It is one thing to pull off an offhand remark about the end of days; it is another to make it poetry. Frost masterfully accomplishes both in a single composition.

7. Characteristics of Romanticism • Dramatic monologue • Elements of nature to symbolize the strongest extremes of human emotion.   • Contemplates the faults of human kind and the overall meaning of life, if we eventually cause each other’s destruction. • Nature is so powerful that it has control over the fate of human beings. • The struggle of finding the meaning of life, the struggle of existence. Human beings struggle to exist in the world • Nature allows the individual to experience the extremities of emotion.

8. Conclusion • Robert Frosts poetry is a mixture between romanticism and a more modern style of writing.