"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was written by American poet Robert Frost in 1922 and published in 1923, as part of his collection New Hampshire. The poem is told from the perspective of a traveler who stops to watch the snow fall in the forest, and in doing so reflects on both nature and society. Frost claimed to have written the poem in one sitting. Though this is likely apocryphal, it would have been particularly impressive due to the poem's formal skill: it is written in perfect iambic tetrameter and utilizes a tight-knit chain rhyme characteristic to a form called the Rubaiyat stanza.
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The Full Text of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
1Whose woods these are I think I know.
2His house is in the village though;
3He will not see me stopping here
4To watch his woods fill up with snow.
5My little horse must think it queer
6To stop without a farmhouse near
7Between the woods and frozen lake
8The darkest evening of the year.
9He gives his harness bells a shake
10To ask if there is some mistake.
11The only other sound’s the sweep
12Of easy wind and downy flake.
13The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
14But I have promises to keep,
15And miles to go before I sleep,
16And miles to go before I sleep.
The Full Text of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
1Whose woods these are I think I know.
2His house is in the village though;
3He will not see me stopping here
4To watch his woods fill up with snow.
5My little horse must think it queer
6To stop without a farmhouse near
7Between the woods and frozen lake
8The darkest evening of the year.
9He gives his harness bells a shake
10To ask if there is some mistake.
11The only other sound’s the sweep
12Of easy wind and downy flake.
13The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
14But I have promises to keep,
15And miles to go before I sleep,
16And miles to go before I sleep.
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Summary
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Themes
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Nature vs. Society
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Social Obligation vs. Personal Desire
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Hesitation and Choice
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
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Line 1
Whose woods these are I think I know.
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Lines 2-4
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow. -
Lines 5-6
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near -
Lines 7-8
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year. -
Lines 9-10
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake. -
Lines 11-12
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake. -
Lines 13-16
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.
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Symbols
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Woods
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Anthropomorphism
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Imagery
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Epizeuxis
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Sibilance
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Queer
- Darkest evening
- Sweep
- Easy wind
- Downy flake
- Deep
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Speaker
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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
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More “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Resources
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External Resources
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Academy of American Poets Essay on Robert Frost — Read an essay on "Sincerity and Invention" in Frost's work, which includes a discussion of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
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"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" read by Robert Frost — Watch Frost read the poem aloud.
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Other Poets and Critics on "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" — Read excerpts from other analyses of the poem.
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Biography of Robert Frost — Read the Poetry Foundation's biography of Robert Frost and analysis of his life's work.
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Encyclopedia Entry on Robert Frost — Read the Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on Frost's life and work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Robert Frost
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