Robert Frost's: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Robert Frost’s: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, by Robert Frost, really caught my eye when I first read it and it left me wanting more. I found myself reading the poem over and over again, yet I still could not pinpoint what the theme might be. So after numerous times of reading, I came to the conclusion that I would talk about three categories in which help express the theme of this poem. They are beauty, nature, and responsibility. I chose beauty mainly because from the beginning the poet is saying in the woods snow begins to fall around him; and it is the beauty of the woods that makes him stop in the first place. Also the lines “Between the woods and frozen lake,” “The darkest evening of the year,” and “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.” The narrator seems to find the beauty that surrounds him enough of a reason to stop. Picturing that scenery in my mind just seems to be one of the most beautiful things I could ever imagine. Some would think I am strange for finding the darkness of the woods to be beautiful, and I would to in some occasions. But with a white blanket of snow covering the floor of the woods, it would seem as if it could be a bright romantic night. Next I chose nature because the poet seemed to have a fascination with it, natural and man made. For example, quotes such as “His house is in the village though”,
“Between the woods and frozen lake”, and “Of easy wind and downy flake.” He is passing through woods which are a part of natural nature. But someone owns these woods and his house is in the village, nature that was man made. As he continues riding through the woods he is admiring the woods filling up with snow, a part of nature that cannot be changed. There is a frozen lake. The lake could have possibly been man made, that we do not know. But nature takes its course when the water is frozen. Another quote “To stop without a farmhouse near” has some nature involved. Again being man made nature in which man had to make the farmhouse. It is the horse who seems impatient and wants to find a place of rest, a farmhouse. This shows us how completely the horse has been brought into the human world, indicating the unity of nature’s transformation to mankind’s uses. Finally, I chose responsibility because in the last stanza line two “But I have promises to keep,” the poet is responsible for keeping his promise. After reading the entire poem and then reading this line, it seems that the poets promise is to get the horse to a place of rest. “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.” This stanza shows that along the way it begins to snow and the narrator gets distracted by the scenery around him. He begins to slow down and take in and admire Mother Nature at work. When the horse begins to seem impatient “He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there was some mistake”, the poet is then reminded of his responsibility of keeping that promise. In conclusion, I find this poem to be about the beauty of nature, how man can change nature, and the responsibilities we have in our daily lives. Beauty is all around us, and nature is one example. Nature is a beautiful creation and man finds a way to change it, but the darkness and snow cannot be changed. It also reminds us how promises can sometimes be broken. In his appreciation no nature, the narrator stops to admire the woods and snow and almost breaks his promise, but is reminded of his responsibility to keep it in the end.