Name: ___Nasteho Abdulle___________________________
Assessment of Learning: Critical Analysis
Poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
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.
1. What is the main idea of the poems? Give the theme of the poem. Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening
2. Give examples of figures of speech or figurative language from the poem (5 or more here)
1.Repetition -And mile to go before I sleep. 2.Personification-to ask if there is a mistake the horse
is given human features.
3.Imagery -Visual imagery(watch his wood fill up with snow) 4.Alliteration/symbol(the darkest
evening of the year) 5.Onomatopoea -the word(queer )is used to describe the horse mood.
3. What does the writer want to tell you in the poem? Your point of view compared to his point of
view. The poet is in the woods, enjoying nature and its tranquillity. He does, however, have something
to do in the village and knows he must leave. He is unsure whether he should stay or go, but he
chooses to leave.
4. Are there words or phrases you find hard to understand? Write them down here.
Harness, downy flake.
6. Comment on the structure and diction of the poem.
Structure
Structure-Rhyme scheme. (a,a,b,a - b,b,c,b - c,c,d,c - d,d,d,d)
know, though, here, snow
queer, near, lake, year
shake, mistake, sweep, flake
deep, keep, sleep sleep.
Diction -The word "frozen" used to describe the lake helps the reader both feel and visualize the
lake in the dead of winter.
7. Who is the speaker and to whom is he speaking to?
The speaker is a man driving his carriage through the woods.... 2 The owner of the woods is not
mentioned in the poem, but the speaker does in the first line. 3 The horse shakes his harness bells,
as if to inquire why they have come to a halt.
8. Give the time and place, comment on images present in the poem.
It is the winter time ("fill up with snow", "frozen lake", "downy flake").