Understanding Frost's Imagery and Naturalism
Examples From Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Jun 10, 2009
Robert Frost was very influential in American Literature. He was one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. Most everyone has heard of his name and nearly everyone has at least heard someone quote his most famous poem, “The Road Not Taken.” Frost’s poems have a great deal of imagery weaved throughout them and his naturalistic style of writing gives his poems an earthy feel to them. The naturalism displayed in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" stands out, and creates an overall tone for the poem, and the imagery allows the reader to paint a picture that will linger in their mind even long after reading the poem.
Frost and the Use of Nature
Frost was constantly intertwining nature in to his poetry. Some of his poetry, especially “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” reminds one of the works one has read by Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” has a very earthy feel to it. Frost incorporates nature in the title and throughout the poem. “Between the woods and frozen lake/The darkest evening of the year” (lines 7-8). They give the feeling of someone actually having been in the woods on the darkest evening of the year. Simply saying that it was the darkest part of the year is going in to great detail about nature. The use of nature gives this poem a certain tone that readers feel when they read it. When reading this poem, one may feel a sense of being alone and depression. Frost conveys that tone by using the isolation of nature and the woods. “The only other sound’s the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake” (lines 11-12).
This line makes the reader feel alone and gives a dismal feeling. The whole feeling throughout the poem is depressing and dark. Frost’s employment of winter is genius because winter is in some people’s eyes one of the loneliest times of year. All the plants and trees in nature are dead or hibernating. Not only is the man alone in the woods without another human being, but he is also alone because the woods are still in the dead of winter. Along with his use of nature in the poem leading to the overall tone, Frost uses imagery that paints an elaborate picture for the reader.
Frost's Use of Imagery
Frost gives an image to the reader because of the way he writes. Imagery is in every bit of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” “He gives his harness bells a shake/To ask if there is some mistake” (lines 9-10). These two lines show the man’s horse questioning the man as to why they have stopped. Anyone reading this poem would instantly have this image of a snowy woods and a horse with his master shaking his bells and giving his master a questioning look.
The last stanza is full of imagery. “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” (lines 13-16). The last stanza creates a different feeling and a different picture than the rest of the poem. The man seems at ease with the world and nature. A picture of a man brought back from his dismal state, back to the real world where he has things to do and miles to walk is created from this line.
Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” evokes many images. Frost’s use of nature to supply a tone is an a tool which evokes introspection, whether it is a positive or a negative. Readers can tell that he spent some time in the country. While “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” is a novel poem in tthat Frost's understated useof imagery paints a vivid picture for the reader and the use of nature enables the reader to relate to the man stopping by the wood. As a result of the brilliant use of these techniques it is easy to see why Frost was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.
