Robert Frost: Poems

"Eternal Freshness of the Flawless Poem:" Why Frost's Poetry Remains Vital

In Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," from his book entitled New Hampshire, the poet descriptively evokes a bucolic New England winter ambience (which Frost knew quite intimately) and utilizes a simple narrative soliloquy centering around a rural traveler, who is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," a commonly understood and easily identifiable situation. These textual choices are employed for the purpose of subtly and cleverly articulating and arriving upon large-scale existential conclusions regarding the human condition. In this poem, which is described by Elizabeth Sergeant as "The most limpid and perfect of [Frost's] lyrics" (249), and which was written, as the poet himself explained "...in one stroke of the pen" (249), Frost utilizes language that is concurrently: simple and grandiose, surface-accessible and metaphorically rich, vague and specific, apathetic and emotion-laden, carefully articulated/witty and in layman's vernacular, and to the end, with flawless execution of what he describes as "...performance and prowess and feats of association."

Frost's utilizes language that is highly ambiguous while simultaneously densely...

Join Now to View Premium Content

GradeSaver provides access to 2314 study guide PDFs and quizzes, 10989 literature essays, 2752 sample college application essays, 911 lesson plans, and ad-free surfing in this premium content, “Members Only” section of the site! Membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in