Lesson 1 # Figurative Language

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

1. Figurative Language uses in this poem:
Hyperbole:

To watch his woods fill up with snow.
( The poet wants to emphasize that it was winter and that it was snowing rather heavily)

The darkest evening of the year.
( The poet wants to emphasize that it was very dark)

Personification:

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
( The poet potrays his horse as a person, asking why they were stopping in the wood, this shows that the poet and his horse were stopping at a place where they should not have stopped)

Metaphor:

-None-

Simile:

-None-

Symbolism:

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,

In this poem, the poet uses the horse to symbolise the author, as the horse knows he is not suppose to be stopping by the woods, although the poet wants to go into the woods, he knows he still has promises to keep and miles to travel before he can rest.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

In this poem, the woods symbolises the men's desire and the promises his duty. The poet is writing about a man who is torn between desire and his duty.

2. Why I like the Poem

I like this poem as it uses many figurative languages, rhymes very well and has a catchy tune to it. This poem also makes it very easy to visualise the splendor of the woods that this man is seeing. Other than that, this poem uses a lot of symbolism to show a man torn between duty and his desire and requires quite a lot of thinking before you get the gist of the poem. Overally, I like this poem as it portrays a lot of nature's splendor and the poet uses quite a number of hyperbole to make the woods seem even more beutiful and outstanding. This poem also rhymes and fits in very weel, as with the poet's choice of words.