I thought it'd be fun to discuss one of my very favorite poems "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" especially because it mentions the 'darkest evening of the year' and a few days ago was the Winter Solstice in the western hemisphere. So let's take a look! To participate in this Poetry Reader's Discussion, read the poem and then you can A) Answer some or all of the discussion questions, or B) Share your own thoughts / questions, or C) Comment on what others have said, or all three! There are no "right" or "wrong" answers in these types of discussions, it's all chill, so please feel free to jump right in and share your thoughts.
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost
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.
Source: Poetry Foundation
My Thoughts...
Spoiler! :
Questions you could Consider...
1) What do you think this poem is about / what is your interpretation?
2) How does the form (ie. the line & stanza breaks, the rhyming, and sound devices) impact your reading or contribute to the poem?
3) What's the impact of the final line repeating itself?
4) A history note about this poem - there's a story that an early editor added a comma to the line "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep" and Frost demanded it be removed again to be "The woods are lovely, dark and deep", then after his death an editor put it back in. How does that small comma change the meaning of the poem - do you like it better with or without?
5) Any other thoughts / questions / comments / highlights you would like to share?
Feel free to answer any or all of the discussion questions, or just share some of your own initial thoughts! These are just to get you thinking. There's another Frost Poem discussion here if you need more poetry discussin.
Tagging people who might be interested...
@Liminality, @Seirre, @Spatula @ScatteredScones @Quillfeather @LizzyTyler @Plume @WeepingWisteria @SilverNight @Spearmint @Moonglade @Lovestrike @angxlari
And if you're interested in checking in on more poetry discussions, be sure to subscribe to the Poetry Readers Club
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