Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening can be summed up in one simple choice: keeping promises or deciding not to and dive into the unknown. The persona is torn between these two options. When reaching the woods on a dark evening, he should continue his road and simply cross them. But while stopping his horse to watch the snowfall, he is distracted and faces this dilemma. By showing this moment of hesitation and how attracted to the woods the persona is1, this poem illustrates the difficulty of keeping promises.

While he rides his horse, on the way to keep his promises, the persona has a moment of aberration. Although he is not supposed to, he stops in the middle of the woods to watch the nature surrounding him and consider his options. “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.”(lines 5-8) In this extract, the behaviour of the horse demonstrates that something is going wrong, or at least not according to the original plan. It may be used to stop in a farmhouse when the persona has to sleep or eat, but this is unusual. Its rider puts his commitments aside while he contemplates the woods. He may be hesitating about settling down here for a longer amount of time, or even take a totally different road and get away from his promises. The fact that the evening is very dark can also reflect the persona’s mind; he is in complete darkness and doesn’t know what to do anymore. The woods represent a chance to free him from his responsibilities, and he considers this option while he stops in them, fascinated by the opportunity he sees.

But he soon realises that he must take a decision quickly when his horse brings him back to reality. When it demonstrates its incomprehension, its rider understands that he cannot wait any longer, that he has to choose once and for all. “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.” (lines 9-12) There is a lot of suspense in this stanza. So far, the poem has built up to this crucial decision and it is finally the turning point of the story. By shaking its harness bells, the horse is asking a question to the persona. It is waiting for an answer, a direction, a choice. The description of the sound atmosphere of the scene adds up to the suspense. Those kinds of noises, the wind one especially, are often used today in cinema, especially in thrillers or horror movies, in order to accentuate the tension. The last stanza eventually breaks this suspense  when  the persona choses to keep his promises and continue his road, although it is mentioned that “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.” (line 13) The dark and deep can seem pejorative at first, but it also means freedom and many opportunities for the persona. This demonstrates that he was highly tempted to let go of his responsibilities and nearly did.

The persona finally choses to stick to his commitments, but it is obvious throughout the poem that it has been a very hard decision for him to make. The woods offer him a way out, a path to freedom, and he seriously considers taking it, before finally deciding not to. The poem does not state whether it is the good or the bad choice; it just shows how difficult it was to keep his promises.

1 Inspired by Isis Giraldo in EC class