Frost:Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening & Nothing Gold Can Stay?

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening


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








Nothing Gold Can Stay





Nature's first green is gold,


Her hardest hue to hold.


Her early leaf's a flower;


But only so an hour.


Then leaf subsides to leaf.


So Eden sank to grief,


So dawn goes down to day.


Nothing gold can stay.











Which one do you like best?

Frost:Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening %26amp; Nothing Gold Can Stay?
The first one. It really takes me there.
Reply:I love them both
Reply:I hate Frost. I really do. People always misinterpret his poetry and take it to mean something happy and prolific when really it was quite pessimistic and depressing. But even when you delve in and figure out what it really means, you discover he never even had anything important to say.





Example: take the answer above me. what the poem actually means (according to Frost himself, mind you) is that the poet speaker is contemplating suicide and then changes his mind because he has things to do. what things? nope, he doesn't tell us. he gives us no REAL reason for not committing suicide. he gives us no real reason to keep going. it's a passive statement, that has no real meaning behind it. the poet just wasted my time telling me a whole bunch of nothing.





that's just me. i'm sure other people love him.





now gary soto on the other hand--THAT's poetry.





edit: how nice to get thumbs down for voicing an honest opinion. poetry is about interpretation. just because you like it and i don't is no reason to get testy.
Reply:The second one.
Reply:Both. Robert Frost is one of my favorites. His work can be so grim yet so beautiful at the same time :)
Reply:I love the first one. It is so vivid and detailed. It also can mean so much. The key to reading a poem is to look for the unusual words that didn't need to be used to describe or tell the story. In this poem when he describes needing to continue he says "But I have PROMISES to keep" Why did frost pick that word? It tells you something else is happening other than a man watching the snow fall. What it is, is up to the individual reader. I interpret the poem as a metaphor for taking a break from obligations and responsibilities. Somebody is counting on him to do something, and it is really weighing him down.


But he promised, so he will follow through.





Its funny how the person below me corrects my interpretation of him taking a break from life, but continuing because you have responsibilities, by saying he's contemplating suicide but doesn't because he has responsibilities. Its pretty much the same thing. And poetry is meant for interpretation. Good poets know that the readers don't necessarily get the same thing from a poem that the writer does. That's the art of it. So don't give me a thumbs down for giving this answer.
Reply:Stopping By Woods has always been a favorite. I love Robert Frost. The only problem I have with Nothing Gold is it reminds me of Pony Boy and I thought the Outsiders was too sappy.
Reply:They both are really cute, I like the winter one because I have always loved how beautiful snow looks.!!