The peaceful loneliness of nature is often opposed to the turbulence and social obligations of community life, as in Robert Frost’s poem. Through specific rhythmic patterns, sounds and words reflecting peace and beauty on the one hand and rush and constraints on the other, the speaker depicts the dilemma he is facing: staying by the woods or keeping his promises and continuing his long journey. By accepting to fulfil his obligations as the only viable option, he partly surrenders his freedom of choice.

Nature is described as a “lovely”(13) and peaceful refuge. Only the smooth sounds of the “easy wind and downy flake”(12) are audible. Smoothness and fluidity are emphasized by the use of simple monosyllabic words and regular rhythmic patterns with long syllables at the end of lines, giving to the poem a near-silence and hypnotic effect: “Whose woods these are I think I know./His house is in the village though;”(1-2). The poem sounds like a lullaby. The peaceful atmosphere of the woods is also expressed through a sense of immobility, as revealed by the repetition of the words “stopping”(3) and “stop”(6). The speaker and his horse, the only living creatures are still and the lake is “frozen”(7). The immobility and the perception of the woods as “dark and deep”(13) reinforce the hypnotic effect as the speaker’s eyes seem to get lost in them. Smooth rhythm and sounds, snow falling, immobility, deepness: all these features describe the peaceful atmosphere enjoyed by the speaker, who seems to slowly fall asleep.

The rush and social obligations are illustrated in different ways throughout the poem, thus contrasting with the peaceful feeling given by nature. The speaker has “promises to keep”(14), hence forcing him to ride in a rush into the cold “darkest evening of the year”(8) while the “woods” are filled “up with snow”(4). The social pressure is also expressed through a feeling of guilt and shame when the speaker decides to stop by the woods, whereas he has so many “miles to go”(15). Indeed, the speaker mentions the owner of the woods and seems to be relieved that “[the owner] will not see [him] stopping here”(3) as if it is inappropriate to stop and enjoy the moment, as if leisure time is not allowed. The horse acts as the keeper of promises as “He gives his harness bells a shake/To ask if there is some mistake”(9-10), the bell being the only loud sound in the poem and acting as an alarm- clock for the sleepy speaker. The sound pattern and rhythm in the above lines differ from the rest of the poem. The use of alliteration with the sound [s] and [k], harsh sounds certainly contrast with the smoothness of the poem. The rhythm accelerates and the full stop after “mistake” (10) puts an end to acceleration. Smoothness and fluidity is back but a feeling of lassitude due to the hypnotic effect of nature on the one hand and to the burden of social obligations on the other becomes obvious. This is illustrated through the repetition of the same rhyme in the last stanza and, more importantly through the anaphora at the end of the poem: “And miles to go before I sleep,/And miles to go before I sleep”(15-16).

Frost thus depicts the necessity of accepting the social obligations of community life as the only viable option. Staying longer by the woods on that cold and long night would probably have killed the speaker. Living in a community necessitates adaptation and hence partial loss of  freedom  and personal choice. Stopping by woods on that peaceful night is the speaker’s personal choice, a short stolen moment of freedom before rushing back into social obligations.