10A and 10B-- your comprehension question answers for Shakespeare's Sonnet LXXIII are due Monday, 10/20.
10A-- in the comments section of this post, I have put the comprehension question answers for Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. It is your responsibility to write down the answers-- especially answer number 7 in the notes section of your notebook.
10A and 10B-- on Thursday, 10/23 in EL-C, we will be going over Antigone pages 60-78, so you must read this by Thursday.
10A and 10B-- Also remember that on Thursday, 10/23, your essay analyses (the essay rubrics you filled out) as well as the first draft and the final edited draft of your essay are due.
Lastly, because I love you so very much, I am planning to give you a quiz over the English Sonnet and the Italian Sonnet on Wednesday, 10/22.
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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
1. Write a paraphrase of this poem.
A traveler is making his way through some woods. The woods are isolated and far from the village, and when the traveler reaches the woods, he stops to watch them as the snow comes down and fills them up.
The traveler imagines that his horse is impatient to continue on their journey since there is not a farmhouse or any place to rest nearby—and since it is very dark outside and cold.
The traveler’s horse shakes his harness bells, and the traveler imagines that the horse does this because it wants to continue—the sound of the bells reminds the traveler how quiet it is around him, since the bells and the sound of the snow and wind are the only sounds out in the woods.
The traveler finds the woods lovely, dark, and deep, and he wants to stay there and rest—but he knows he must continue because he made promises and because he has miles to go before he can rest.
2. What conflict is presented in the last stanza and how is it resolved?
The main conflict presented in the last stanza is the conflict between the traveler’s individual desire to rest (The woods are lovely, dark, and deep… and miles to go before I sleep) and the traveler’s responsibilities or job (but I have promises to keep)—so it could be man vs. himself. In addition to this conflict, however, is the greater conflict of the man as an individual versus his role within society— since it is about a man who is isolated and away from civilization (the woods are separated from the village, there is no farmhouse near) and who finds this isolation hypnotic, peaceful, and tempting-- so in this way, this last stanza can also represent a conflict between man and society.
The conflict’s resolution is ambiguous. On the one hand, the man could continue since he knows that he has promises to keep and since he knows he has miles to go before he sleeps. On the other hand, the fact that he repeats the last phrase “and miles to go before I sleep” could also signify that the man is falling asleep and failing to keep his promises.
3. What can we determine about the speaker of the poem?
We can determine very little about the speaker. We do not know the gender of the speaker, but we do know that the speaker is travelling, and that the speaker is alone—the speaker is in an isolated state since he/she is away from the village, away from a farmhouse, and surrounded only by woods. We know that the speaker is drawn to the woods, that the speaker has a long journey to make, and that the speaker is being tempted by something to stop-- but the speaker has promises that must be kept. Lastly, we know that the speaker is accompanied by a horse.
4. Describe the stanza pattern and give the rhyme scheme—
This poem consists of four quatrains of iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD
5. Point out notable examples of alliteration:
One notable example of alliteration is in lines 9-16—there are several alliterative words, such as “he… his…harness” and “some mistake…sound’s…sweep….sleep” and “only other.. of” and lastly “downy…woods…dark…deep” The increased amount of alliteration is significant because it conveys the speaker’s drowsiness, exhaustion, and temptation to rest—it acts as a way of slurring the words together.
6. Give examples of effective imagery- “to watch his woods fill up with snow” (line 4), “the darkest evening of the year.” (line 8), “he gives his harness bells a shake..” (line 9), “the only other sound’s the sweep of easy wind and downy flake” (lines 11,12)
7. How does the repetition of the last line suggest a symbolic interpretation?
The two words with heavy connotations within the refrain “And miles to go before I sleep” are “sleep” and “miles.” Traditionally, sleep has been used as a symbol of death. Sleep could also simply mean rest from something. Also, traditionally, miles can be symbolic of a journey—and therefore, they could represent the journey of life or the journey towards a goal or a responsibility. When considering these two things as well as the conflict of the poem, the poem can have two potential symbolic meanings. The poem could potentially be about the way that we face hardships and temptations in our life. The speaker is isolated and alone—away from the comfort of companionship, and he must face a long, cold, and dark journey—this journey could stand for any trial that a person faces in their life. Sometimes, trials can be so hard that we would rather be dead than have to experience the trial. This poem could be about the temptation that we have to give up on life when we face extreme difficulty—and one can conclude either that the speaker did or did not give up on life.
The second potential symbolic meaning relies upon the conflict set up in the first three stanzas—and this is the conflict between man as an individual and his individual desires versus society and the role and responsibilities that man has within that society. With this interpretation, the promises the man must keep are in relation to his responsibilities within society—and the sleep that he longs for stands for following the desires that he may have—desires that must be sacrificed for the good of the society he is in. Therefore, the poem could symbolically represent a conflict between individual desire and corporate/societal responsibility.
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