Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Tone

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Literary Devices Tone

The tone of “Stopping by Woods” is at once easeful and slightly unsettling. Formally, everything in Frost’s poem conjures a sense of calm. The meter, for instance, has an easy flow made possible by the use of strict iambic tetrameter throughout. The rhymes also have an effortless quality, which Frost achieves by using ordinary monosyllabic words. In addition to meter and rhyme, Frost also uses alliteration to evoke a sense of calm. In particular, he uses repeating H, S, TH, and W sounds, all of which have a soft quality that gives the language a quiet sensuousness. This sensuousness is exemplified in images like “the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake” (lines 11–12). Yet however calming the poem’s language and central image of snowfall may be, they are also slightly unsettling. The speaker feels tempted by the cozy feeling of tranquility evoked by the “downy” flakes accumulating in a blanket of snow. His wish to stay and rest stands in clear contrast to whatever sense of duty has motivated this nighttime journey. But it isn’t just about evading responsibility. The speaker’s desire for rest also has deeper symbolic undertones of death.