17 pages • 34-minute read
Dust of Snow
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Symbols & Motifs
The Crow, Snow, and Hemlock
The crow, snow, and hemlock tree help the speaker feel less sorrow, turning these natural elements into healers. The symbolism is ironic—that is, there’s a twist that upends typical expectations. Neither of the three symbols conventionally aligns with healing. Crows have an odious reputation in culture, while snow, though enchanting during the holidays, signifies coldness. Hemlock trees aren’t poisonous, but the tree’s name comes from the similarities between its foliage and the poisonous hemlock plant.
In Frost’s poem, the trio transforms into a wholesome presence. Each one plays a role in the process of countering the speaker’s sadness and giving them “[a] change of mood” (Line 6). The hemlock tree provides a place for the snow to fall and the crow to land. The crown then shakes “[t]he dust of snow” (Line 3) from the tree onto the speaker, which puts the speaker’s “heart” (Line 5) in a positive direction. As healers, they don’t cure the speaker, but curing unhappiness isn’t plausible. The healers do what’s possible, and because of their work, the speaker has “saved some part” (Line 7) of their day from gloom.
The Heart
Stanza 1 consists of an image of the crow shaking down snow from a hemlock tree onto the speaker, and as an image, the stanza doesn’t link to emotions. The tone is objective. Once Stanza 2 arrives, the speaker’s interiority enters the poem, and the “heart” (Line 5) symbolizes the speaker’s emotions. The language is figurative. Technically speaking, the heart is an organ and can’t experience a “change of mood” (Line 6). Yet a person’s mood can change, and the heart, as it often does in culture, represents the speaker’s feelings. The speaker feels, and the snow alters their feelings and makes them—for at least “some part / Of a day” (Lines 7-8)—less sorrowful. The change originates with the heart, which signals the switch from image to interiority. The figurative heart powers the “I” (Line 8), supplying the speaker with their feelings.
Unhappiness
The motif of unhappiness supports the theme Managing Negative Feelings. In the poem, neither humanity nor nature is overwhelmingly positive. The speaker is downcast, and the elements of nature carry inimical associations. The motif joins the two, and, due to their connection with nature, the speaker is less crestfallen. Nature doesn’t dissolve what the speaker has “rued” (Line 8), but it pushes the speaker to cope with their unpleasant emotions. They have a “change of mood” (Line 6), which allows them to take back “some part / Of a day” (Lines 7-8) from despair. They’re not happy, but they’re not as sad as they once were. Put another way, they’re managing their unhappiness and persisting.
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