Stopping by Woods on a

Snowy Evening
Stanza 1:
I. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
(a) Who He will not see me stopping here is the speaker and
where is To watch his woods fill up with snow. he right now?
Answer:  The speaker is a traveler.
He has stopped at the woods to observe the snowfall.
(b) Who is referred to as ‘his’?
Answer: The owner of the woods is referred to as ‘his’.
(c) Why does the speaker stop by the woods?
Answer: The speaker stopped by the woods to observe the natural beauty and
snowfall in the woods. He wanted to enjoy the calmness of the dark, deep, lovely
woods.
(d) Write the meaning of the word ‘woods’.
Answer: Woods is an area of land which is smaller than a forest and is covered
with a thick growth of trees.
(e) Why does the speaker think he knows the owner?
Answer: The speaker thinks that he knows the owner probably because he may
have met him in the past and there might be a distant recollection of faded
memories. There is also a possibility that he might have met the owner sometime
earlier as he is a traveler and travels a lot.

(f) To whom did the woods belong and why will he not be able to see the
speaker stopping by in his woods?
Answer: The woods belong to a man who lives in a village. As he lives in a village,
away from the woods so, he will not be able to see the speaker stopping by in his
woods.
(g) Do you think the speaker is happy standing in the woods?
Answer: Yes, the speaker is happy standing in the woods because nobody is there
to watch him and he is finding solace in the thoughts. He is enjoying the natural
beauty of the woods, frozen lake and snow.

Stanza 2:
II. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
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.

(a) Where and why did the horse stop?

Answer: The horse stopped between the woods and the frozen lake because the
speaker wanted to see the beauty of the woods.
(b) What must the horse find strange or queer and why?
Answer: On such a cold and dark evening, when there was heavy snowfall, the
speaker halted at a place between the woods and frozen lake. This is what the
horse must be finding queer.
The horse must be finding it strange because he wasn’t able to understand the
reason why the poet stops unnecessarily in the woods.
(c) Do you think the horse was in support of the speaker’s decision?
Answer: No, the horse was not in support of the speaker’s decision because he
was finding it strange to stop at a place where there is no farmhouse to rest.
Moreover, he tried to awaken the speaker from his state-of-awe by shaking his
harness bells.
(d) Explain the last 2 lines of the extract
Answer: The extract is from the point of view of the horse. The horse is alarmed
at being stopped in the middle of the journey. He cannot see any dwelling nearby.
Also the darkness of the night scares him. The horses’ reaction is in contrast to
that of the travelers who finds the place oddly calming and beautiful.

Stanza 3:
III. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
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.

(a) What does ‘He’ refer to?

Answer: ‘He’ refers to the speaker’s horse.

(b) Why does ‘He’ give his bells a shake?

Answer: He did so to ask his master if he has committed some mistake by
stopping at the woods. He was finding it strange and was confused as why his
master has stopped at an isolated place where there is no farmhouse nearby to
rest.

(c) What are the sounds that the speaker hears in the woods?
Answer: The speaker hears the sound of the sweeping wind and falling
snowflakes apart from the sound of his horse’s harness bells. These sounds
indicate how quiet the forest is on that snowy day.

(d) What effect does the silence have on speaker?

Answer: The silence creates a serene ambiance that enchants the speaker and
stops him from moving ahead to his destination.

(e) What does the line ‘’ To ask if there is some mistake’’ mean?
Answer: The line means that the horse wanted to ask his master if he has
committed some mistake by stopping at the woods. He was finding it strange and
was confused as why his master has stopped at an isolated place where there is
no farmhouse nearby to rest.

(f) Why did the horse consider it a mistake to stop by woods?

Answer: This is because the woods is away from society and civilization and the
speaker is forgetting his worldly responsibilities by indulging in sensual pleasures
of nature.

(g) What is the rhyme scheme of the given extract?

Answer: The rhyme scheme of the poem is A-A-B-A.

Stanza 4:
IV. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
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.

(a) Why does the poet consider the woods as lovely, dark and deep?
Answer: This is because he finds the woods beautiful, mysterious and seductive.

(b) Why can’t the speaker enjoy the natural scenery in the woods?
Answer: The speaker can’t enjoy the natural scenery in the woods because he is
reminded of the duties and responsibilities which he has towards himself and
others that he has to fulfill.

(c) The speaker is talking about what promises?

Answer: The speaker is talking about the duties and responsibilities which he has
towards himself and others. He needs to take care of many commitments and
compulsions and before embracing a long sleep which is death, he wants to fulfill
those duties and responsibilities.

(d) Explain the significance of ‘sleep’.

Answer: In this poem, ‘sleep’ refers to death, which overcomes everything in the
material world. The speaker says that life is like a journey and we will get
attracted to various things on our way. But we need to overcome these
temptations and keep moving peacefully towards our final destination – a long
eternal sleep.
(e) What do the last two lines of the poem symbolize?
Answer: These lines symbolize a short span of human life and the duties and
responsibilities that he has to fulfill before his life ends.