Whose woods these are I think I know. A
His house is in the village though; A He will not see me stopping here B To watch his woods fill up with snow. A My little horse must think it queer B To stop without a farmhouse near B Between the woods and frozen lake C The darkest evening of the year. B He gives his harness bells a shake C To ask if there is some mistake. C The only other sound’s the sweep D Of easy wind and downy flake. C The woods are lovely, dark and deep. D But I have promises to keep, D And miles to go before I sleep, D And miles to go before I sleep. D |
Form (Closed)This poems follows a style very similar to Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter. Although it is similar to iambic pentameter it differs in the syllables present within each line. In normal iambic pentameter there is ten syllables per each line and it has a particular rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables. Stopping by Woods follows that same type of beat, but instead of ten syllables per line, it only has eight, which makes the poem a quick and fast paced read. This is called iambic tetrameter and this causes the sort of sing songy rhythm that Stopping by Woods has.
Due to the poems steady rhythm caused by the iambic tetrameter, the continuity of the rhyme scheme throughout the entirety of the poem, as well as the similar structure and length of each line within the stanzas, it is defined as a closed form poem. Stopping by Woods is one of the more well known examples of closed form poetry and is often used to demonstrate closed form poetry. |
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme of this poem is as follows: AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD. This rhyme scheme is very unique and incredibly difficult to achieve without influencing the meaning or quality of the p This form of rhyme scheme is called Rubaiyat Stanza. The only part of the poem that does not actually follow this is the last stanza where the rhyme scheme stays constant (D).
Frost was notorious for writing poems like this and really believed in the importance of rhyming and the way in which words sounded together to create a feeling or a mood within his poetry.
Frost was notorious for writing poems like this and really believed in the importance of rhyming and the way in which words sounded together to create a feeling or a mood within his poetry.