English IX - Chapter No.13 - Reference To Context (Poem Section)

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STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Text Book Name: Secondary Stage English Book One For Class IX

Explain With Reference To Context (Poem)

1.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
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Ans:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Explanation: The narrator (may be the poet himself) of the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening stops by some woods on his way one evening. The narrator knows the owner of the woods and even where he lives. He is a bit relaxed thinking that the owner of the woods lives in the village and so he won’t see the narrator stopping here. Therefore he can continue watching the natural beauty of his snow-covered woods.

2. 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
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Ans:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Explanation:  In the second stanza, the narrator of the poem says that his dear horse, whom he is using as his carriage, must think it strange to stop here between the woods and the frozen lake in a dark evening, as he normally stops near a farmhouse. The narrator calls his horse “my little horse”, as it is very dear to him or may be the horse is a little one in the literal sense, i.e., a pony. It may also suggest that the speaker is a humble and ordinary citizen and cannot afford to buy an expensive horse. He also personifies the horse by indicating that it has a thought process and also referring it as “he” in the next stanza.
In this stanza the narrator suggest that the weather is cold enough to freeze a lake. The expression ‘darkest evening’ could suggest several things. May be the narrator-traveller was very depressed due to his long journey or the cold weather. Otherwise it may also refer to the longest night of the year – the night with the most hours of darkness. In that case, it is 21st or 22nd December, when the winter solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere.

Stanza No.3

3. "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"  (KHI Board, Science Group 2018)
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) Why does the horse shake his harness bells?
(iii) What kind of scene does the poet describe?
Ans:
(i) These lines are taken from the poem" Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening". And the poem is written by the American Poet "Robert Frost".
(ii) The horse shakes his harness bells to ask his master if there is some mistake.
(iii) The poet describes the scene of woods (trees) ,frozen lake and the darkest evening of the year. and mention the sound of easy wind and downy flakes which show the peace and calmness of the scene.
Explanation: The horse is shaking its head ringing the bell attached to its harness, as if ‘he’ is asking his master whether there is any problem, as it is unusual for him to stop by the woods in the darkness. And the important thing in this stanza of the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is the sound imaginary. There is only three sounds – the sounds of the harness bell, light wind and the snowflakes.

Stanza No.4

4. 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,
(i) Name the poem and the poet / poetess.
(ii) Give the Central idea of the poem
(iii) Why can't the poet stay to enjoy the beauty of the woods?
(iv) What promises did the poet or poetess have to keep?
(v) What is the meaning of ,before I sleep'?
Ans:
(i) This stanza is taken from the poem " Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening", which is written by the American Poet "Robert Frost"
(ii) The beauty of woods on a snowy evening is worth seeing. The central idea of this poem is that the world is so beautiful and attractive that nobody wants to leave it but one day he has to leave it as he has to get back to God.
(iii) The poet wants to enjoy the scene of lovely, dark and deep woods. However he has to travel a long distance. He is in a hurry so he can't wait there to enjoy the beauty of the woods. Moreover, he has to keep promise.
(iv) The poet intends this phrase to have literal meanings, by stating that the speaker is traveling, and needs to cover some distance before getting back home. Symbolically the word “sleep” suggests death and darkness. Hence, this line refers to a long journey ahead before the speaker could go to eternal sleep of death, or it simply proposes that the speaker has many responsibilities to fulfill before sleeping or dying.
(v)  In the above stanza the word “before I sleep” means  death and darkness.
Explanation: Here in the last stanza the narrator describes the woods using three adjectives – lovely, dark and deep. This indicates that he is enjoying the scene and wants to do so for long. But he has other responsibilities in life. He has to go a long way before he sleeps. So he cannot get the enjoyment for long. He has to move on. And the important thing here is that the poet repeats the last line to attract the attention of the readers. In this very last line lies the allegorical interpretation. Here “sleep” may refer to death. We, in our real life, have many things to look at with awe, many things to enjoy, but in most cases we cannot simply because we have other things to do in our short lifespan, so we have to move on.
Again some critics interpret it in a different way. The ‘woods’ here may also suggest the distractions and temptations in the journey of our life. The poet may mean that we should not pay heed to those outward temptations. We should stay focused on our goal and try to reach it in time. We must fulfill our duties before we die, so we have no time to look at other things on the way.