Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Structure

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Literary Devices Structure

“Stopping by Woods” has a rather simple structure. Across four quatrains, an anonymous traveler on horseback stops to observe the snow accumulating in a dark wood. They feel tempted to stay, but then they decide to carry on. From this point of view, the poem is structured around a basic tension between temptation and perseverance, stopping and going. This tension manifests in a series of hesitations, where the speaker seems tentative and self-conscious. The first hesitation occurs as they consider what the owner of the woods might think if he could see them sitting still in the dark night. The speaker thinks they might appear irrational from the perspective of someone who lives in the nearby village. This moment of hesitation shows that the speaker remains afflicted by the “village perspective” even when he’s out in the countryside. The second hesitation occurs when the speaker considers their horse’s point of view. Once again, they reveal their self-consciousness as they think that even a horse must find it odd to stop on a night like this. Finally, after briefly indulging in a fantasy of remaining by the woods, the speaker hesitates again when they recall the “promises” (line 14) they feel compelled to keep.

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