Assignment #8--Poems

Reader response criticism best suits Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" because the poem makes you think about many things while reading the text. Many things ran through my mind while I was reading this poem. Many of the words Robert Frost used in his poem made me wonder why did he write those words in the first place. Many of the words Frost's uses in his poem have some significant meaning to them. For example, when I read the second line of his poem where he states "His house is in the village though," I said in my mind, why did he leave the village to come in the freezing cold woods filled with snow to suffer himself? It doesn't makes sense to me. The only reason I believe he comes in the woods is to cut trees because you can see him holding an axe in the picture on page 748. This is where I got the idea that Robert Frost was probably a lumber man as well because of the axe he's holding. Then on lines 5 and 6 he states "My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near" makes me believe that he brought his horse to the woods to carry back lumber from the trees he cut and the horse feels odd and strange to be in the woods because he's used to being around a farmhouse. As I was reading line 8 of the poem I noticed that Frost came in the woods on December 21 which is the shortest day of the year known as the winter solstice because Frost states he came on "The darkest evening of the year." I really don't understand line 9 of Robert Frost's poem. It's pretty confusing to me up to now even though I read the line about 8 times already. I believe he regretting coming in the woods as soon as I read line 10 of the poem because he states "To ask if there is some mistake." This line makes me really believe he didn't want to come in the woods because it was too cold and he must have been freezing since it was snowing but then on line 13 he says the woods are lovely so maybe he does like the woods but probably didn't want to come on that particular day. Line 13 contains the three key words that best describes the woods which are deep, lovely and dark. When I read line 14 I believed that Frost was on some kind of mission that he had to fulfill because he states "But I have many promises to keep." Robert Frost emphasizes lines 15 and 16 which are repetitive and I believe it continues with the same idea of line 14. When I read these two lines I believed they stood for motivation so he doesn't give up on his mission. It's like saying yes I can, yes I can in your mind continuously when your running a marathon. I believe that he has many things to do before he dies when he says these two lines. When Frost uses the word "miles" in these lines I also think he means he wants to see the world before he dies. He wants to go far beyond where he lives and travel long distances around the world before he dies. One insight we gain about the poem through reader response criticism is Robert Frost likes the woods and snow because he uses the word lovely when he describes the woods and he has a gentle tone throughout the poem where he says downy flakes to describe the snow. If he didn't like snow he would of used words like messy and nasty to describe the snow falling down. Another insight we gain is Robert Frost likes horses because he carries one with him to the woods like a partner and companion. It's like going everywhere with your best friend. You never go alone you always have him or her with you where you go. Frost probably felt lonely and that's why he decided to carry his horse with him to the woods. Another insight we gain is Frost seems to have been a kind and gentle person because he uses a very easygoing and relaxed tone throughout the poem. He also looks like a kind person in the picture. Another insight we gain is Frost likes winter and nature. The setting is in the winter season and he chooses the shortest day to go in the woods which makes me feel like he really does like winter. He uses the adjectives easy and downy to describe the wind and snow which makes me feel he likes nature a lot. Another insight we gain is Robert Frost is a very committed and hard working person who keeps his promises and has his priorities straight. We can sense this in the last three lines of the poem where he mostly describes keeping promises and staying motivated with his repetitive lines. When Robert Frost says "...[M]iles to go before I sleep," he sounds like a person who doesn't like to waste time and doesn't seem lazy as well. He must have also hated sleeping because it got in his way of doing his work and duties.