The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost uses the descriptive words of the natural world to better describe his pains and the metaphor of a journey to express his feelings on life and the darkness that it entails within the present.
Throughout the work the woods are described as “lovely, dark and deep” (13 Frost). The woods to Frost are a symbol for the mind as he sits within the frozen wasteland alone upon his journey with “miles to go before I sleep” (15 Frost) thus does Frost see that this hardship will end. This use of denotation allows for Frost to explore his mind as he speaks of the world around him. This can be seen specifically in the diction he uses within each of these lines as he understates the time he has left in this life while he reflects upon his presentation which is dark and depressing however lovely in it’s pain. The narrator also represents his hardships through the description of the woods is haunting and unknown during “darkest evening of the year” ( 8 Frost). This further description of the time in which the man travels shows the depression the narrator feels. When describing the season as winter and dark the narrator shows the depression and hopelessness of his current struggles within the world around him.
However he pauses during this time to acknowledge his horse whom “gives his harness bells a shake”(Frost 9). The physical connotation of the bell brings not only the narrator but also the reader back into the physical world. This break within the poem also shows a shift in the narrator’s depressive thoughts as he now begins to see the need to continue on as the distractions of the real world bring him once again to the need to continue on within life. This shift in from inward contemplation upon life to the outward call of those around him specifically the horse. This shift in thoughts leads the narrator to continue on in life not only to his destination but also within his life itself for he has “miles to go before I sleep”(15 Frost). This acknowledgment of the journey is a progression from bleak hopelessness to the belief in continuing on for happier times. This is also seen through out the mind of Robert Jordan, a man whom faced with similar challenges is just as in tune with nature like that of the narrator for the “earth moved” (Hemingway) for Robert truly is a piece of nature. This can be seen through the continual descriptions of nature specifically in the first and final lines of the novel as Robert feels “his heart beating against the pine needle floor of the forest”(Hemingway 471). A literal closeness specifically placed within the text to show the physical need of Robert to connect with the nature around him. Also like the narrator within “Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening” Robert reveals through his diction his guilt for he repeatedly says “you mustn’t worry.”(161 Hemingway) for he knows the evils that he has wrought upon this world and acknowledges those which he plans to are morally wrong. Yet like the narrator Robert must use his own vocalization of the plans to force himself to move forward.
This natural progression of the writers of both For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost transposes the emotions of their characters upon the natural world. Hemingway, through the emotions of Robert Jordan and the subsequent reaction of the natural world around him literally shaking the earth during great fits of passion. However Robert Frost uses the nature around him to help morally guide the narrator forward upon his life thus allowing him to over come the great challenges of life while looking into the frozen, snowy, woods. Thus does each author use both the physical connotation of the words and the symbolism they denote through out each piece to fully express the emotion behind their contemplations.
This poem has always been one of my personal favorites. The repetition of "miles to go before I sleep" at the end seems much like the description of the ending in Hemmingway's stories, as well as his life; it seems as if it ended too quickly and left questions unanswered. However, what I find most interesting about this poem is how comfortable the speaker seems to be in his situation. The woods are indeed dark and perhaps intimidating, but he's stopping for a moment to take it all in before carrying on. It makes me wonder if Hemmingway was as "comfortable" with his state of depression as this speaker is with these dark woods. Frost's writing definately contains many other parallels to Hemmingway's works. Perhaps the main character in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is named Robert for a reason?
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