A snowy evening in the woods can be both appealing and distant. In Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, the woods are depicted as a bleak but idealistic place. The poem recounts the story of a person travelling alone with his/her horse and stopping by a dark forest. The latter is torn between two decisions; S/he can either stay in this snowy and pleasant scenery or leave because of the obligations s/he is compelled by. By means of slow rhythm, long vowel rhymes and the use of the sematic field of darkness, Frost achieves to create out of the gloomy woods a “Locus Amoenus”. This idyllic and controversial place hypnotises and lures the speaker into it. As far as the attraction to death is concerned, the allure of the woods emphasizes his/her temptation to stay and therefore the difficulty to leave.

In “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, the slowness of the rhythm creates an impression of hypnosis which attracts the speaker to the woods. The use of long vowel rhymes throughout the poem, such as: “know, though, snow, here, queer, near, year, deep, keep, sleep”, highlights the slow rhythm and refers to a lullaby which hypnotises the protagonist. It thus prompts him/her to stay in this soothing place. Moreover, the “easy wind and downy flake” (12) create a sensation of wellness and the speaker seems entranced by the melody emanated from this breeze. Nonetheless, whilst the woods are trying to hypnotise the speaker, someone tries to awaken and alert him/her to their fallacy. In the third stanza, her/his horse tries indeed to rouse him/her by ringing its bell: “He gives his harness bells a shake” (9). However, although the horse incites her/him to leave, it merely comforts him/her even more in his/her dream-state. The alliteration in “sss” reminds of the sound of the wind which mesmerises and anchors the protagonist even more in these woods. By means of slow rhythm and alliteration, the protagonist is therefore enticed into this pleasant and attractive place.

While the slow rhythm suggests a hypnotising and seductive place that attracts the speaker, an analogy between death and the woods is also drawn. By means of the semantic field of darkness, the forest is indeed associated with death. They are both grim: “dark and deep” (13). S/he even asserts that it is “the darkest evening of the year” (8). Additionally, the fantasy unfolds during winter. The use of the cold and gloomy season emphasizes the atmosphere of darkness. Nevertheless, although the speaker characterises the woods as sinister, s/he concedes they are beautiful: “lovely” (13). This paradox accentuates the concept of this dream-like place. Despite their darkness and depth, the woods remain very attractive to him/her. Even if they are lugubrious, the protagonist still wants to stay and seems beguiled. However, although the narrator seems enchanted by the woods, s/he manages to challenge and resist this attraction: “But I have promises to keep” (15) and “And miles to go before I sleep” (15-16). It surely heralds the depart of the protagonist and also the end of the poem. Although s/he has no desire to leave, expressed by the “But” (15), s/he has no other choice. There remain obligations.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” does not only relate the story of a wandering person in the woods on a snowy night. The woods become simultaneously the very essence of wellness and a metaphor for death. Not only have the woods and death the same aspect, they also have the same capability to release the protagonist from his/her responsibilities. Even if the speaker acknowledges their inhospitable aspect, “dark and deep” (13), s/he feels welcomed there. The woods, namely death, become even more appealing than his/her own life because s/he can eventually be released from the aforementioned responsibilities. Notwithstanding, by dint of her/his will, the speaker does not cede and manages to resist the temptation and leave.