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The Use of Literary Devices in Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

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The Use of Literary Devices in Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening In Robert Frost's poem. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” the speaker uses literary devices to show the reader the poem's meaning. Symbolism plays an important role in this poem. Robert Frost uses symbolism to show the correlation between the woods and village with heaven. Mythological symbolism is also found in this poem. when the speaker talks about the lake. it is a reference to Hel in Norse Mythology. The tone of the poem, and Robert Frost's syntax. portray a tranquil yet dark feeling throughout the poem. The observations made exhibit how the speaker views life and death. The personification of the horse shows how the horse is important …show more content…

and his conscience does not think that this thought is normal. The farm house represents a point in life, something the speaker is not trying to reach. Robert Frost writes the poem using iambic tetrameter. which follows the beat of a horse. The rhythm of the poem further alludes that the horse is a part of the speaker. Death is further mentioned in the poem when the speaker says. “In between the woods and frozen lake”(7) . In Norse Mythology. the underworld is called Hel. and is located in the frozen region of Niflheim. Robert Frost puts Hel and Heaven near each other to show how close the boundaries between the two are. The “darkest evening of the year” (8) shows how deep the speaker's depression is. This depression bolsters the speaker's suicidal thoughts. These thoughts connect to the thin line between Heaven and Hel. In the third stanza of the poem, the horse, the speaker's conscience, realizes the speaker's intention, and interrupts the the tranquil surroundings. When the horse gives it's harness bells a shake (9), it is trying to gain the speaker's attention. The speaker believes that the horse is trying to make the man realize how bad an idea suicide would be, as that would cause him to go to Hel (10). The speaker acknowledges the horses intent, and realizes the foolishness of suicide. Sensory imagery is used to show how easy suicide would be.

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