Monday, November 9, 2009

Answer to Question 7 for 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening'

In the comments section of this post, I have put the answer to number 7 of 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.' You must copy this down into your notes by tomorrow.
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Miss Jones said...

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.

Monday, November 09, 2009

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