Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Snow is an essential symbol within the poem, so much so as to be featured in the title: “a Snowy Evening.” In addition to establishing the poem’s setting, it also establishes the stakes; the scene takes place on a cold winter’s day, which means remaining in the woods too long will become fatal.

Despite this sinister connotation, however, and the very real threat it presents, here snow is presented as something rich and beautiful. The first mention of it outside the title happens at the closing of the first stanza: “To watch his woods fill up with snow” (Line 4). This immediately shows that the speaker finds the snow something worth stopping for, and it is acknowledged as a symbol of The Natural World. The snow increases the otherworldly sense of isolation the speaker feels away from the constraints of society. The idea of the woods filling with snow creates the image of a blank canvas, a place in which mistakes can be erased and difficult memories forgotten. This ties into the overall theme of Life and Death, in which death is presented as a release. The

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