Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
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
Task.1: Match the words with definitions
Woods - Covered with extreme cold and solid snow
Queer - Like soft feathers
Frozen - thin flat piece
Harness - Dense growth of trees
downy - Strange and abnormal
flake - set of straps on a horse
Task.2: Discuss the following topic in groups and write your opinions on the lines given.
Is nature always a friend or does it harm us? Explain
Task.3: Read the poem again and answer the following questions.
a. Where is the owner of the woods living?
b. What made the traveller stop?
c. What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza?
d. Why does the horse think it queer to stop there?
e. What season is suggested by the “frozen lake”?
f. Why did the horse shake the bell?
g. Which are the other sounds he could hear? Give two.
h. What is the figure of speech in the repetition of the sound /d/ in “dark and deep”?
i. Why has the traveller to continue his journey?
j. The end of the journey is sleep. What does ‘sleep’ suggest about the journey of human life?
