FREE ESSAY ON ROBERT FROST COMPARE/CONTRAST

ROBERT FROST COMPARE/CONTRAST

Robert Frost takes our imagination to a journey through wintertime with his two poems
"Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Frost comes from a New
England background and these two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in
our part of the country. Even though these poems both have winter settings, they contain
very different tones. One has a feeling of depressing loneliness, and the other a feeling
of welcome solitude. They show how the same setting can have totally different impacts on
a person depending on their mindset at the time. These poems are both made up of simple
stanzas and diction, but they are not simple poems.
In the poem "Desert Places" the speaker is a man who is traveling through the countryside
on a beautiful winter evening. He is completely surrounded with feelings of loneliness.
The speaker views a snow-covered field as a desert place. "A blanker whiteness of
benighted snow/ With no expression, nothing to express." Whiteness and blankness are two
key ideas in this poem. The white symbolizes open and empty spaces. The snow is a white
blanket that covers up everything living. The blankness symbolizes the emptiness that the
speaker feels. To him there is nothing else around except for the unfeeling snow and his
lonely thoughts.
The speaker in this poem is jealous of the woods. "The woods around it have it - it is
theirs." The woods symbolize people and society. They have something that belongs to
them, something to feel a part of. The woods have its place in nature and it is also a
part of a bigger picture. The speaker is so alone inside that he feels that he is not a
part of anything. Nature has a way of bringing all of her parts together to act as one.
Even the animals are a part of this wintry scene. "All animals are smothered in their
lairs, / I am too absent spirited to count." The snow throws its blanket of whiteness
over everything, and to him it is a feeling of numbness.
"The loneliness includes me unawares." The speaker has lost his enthusiasm for life. He
cannot express his feelings easily because of this feeling of numbness. The speaker is
also in denial about feeling alone. He is at a stage where he just does not care about
too much and he feels a bit paranoid. "They cannot scare me with their empty space." He
is saying who cares how I feel; I do not need anyone else. "I have in me so much nearer
home/ To scare myself with my own desert places." The speaker was starting to realize
that he had shut himself off to the world. He recognized that this winter place was like
his life. He had let depression and loneliness creep into his life and totally take over
like the snow had crept up on the plain and silently covered it. If he continues to let
these feelings run his life, eventually everything would be snuffed out much like the
snow does to nature.
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a much happier and more upbeat poem than
"Desert Places." This poem is about stopping to enjoy life or as the cliche goes,
stopping to smell the roses. "But I have promises to keep, / and miles to go before I
sleep." The speaker in this poem was a very busy man who always had obligations to
fulfill and places to go. A feeling of regret is present. The man would like to stay and
enjoy welcome solitude. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep." This poem expresses the
joy of nature. The speaker seems concerned about what the rest of society would think
about him just stopping in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. His horse
represents society. "My little horse must think it queer/ To stop without a farmhouse
near." He admits that just stopping does seen odd. He is also somewhat concerned about
the man who owns the woods. The man almost feels guilty for looking so lovingly at this
other man's woods.
"He will not see me stopping here/ To watch his woods fill up with snow." I think that
the speaker's life may be a little better off since he stopped to take a deep breath and
enjoy all that really matters, the simple things.
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is the opposite of "Desert Places." The settings
where exactly the same, both being calm, dark, wintry evenings, but they express totally
different feelings. "Desert Places" is a very depressing poem with a dark tone. The other
is very happy, and it makes you wish that winter were already here.
These two poems are very different, but they are also the same in some ways. They show
two extremes of the same emotion. Being alone can be positive or negative. It just
depends on the state of mind. Loneliness can be very depressing, or it can be a time to
collect your thoughts without the pressures of the outside world crashing down. Winter is
the perfect season to reflect upon when expressing solitude. Winter can make everything
seem dead. It can be a time of starting over. Snow's whiteness can, in a way, blind you
with its beauty and make you forget about your troubles. Winter for me is a time of
silent reflection. I could sit for hours and gaze at the blowing snow.
Robert Frost creates two winter scenes with different outcomes. The first, "Desert
Places" is a sad poem about loneliness and lost enthusiasm. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening" is a rather uplifting poem about enjoying simple things in life. Frost seems to
draw upon his experience from living in rural New England and converts those experiences
into his beautiful poetry.
Desert Places
By Robert Frost
Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.
The woods around it have it-it is theirs.
All animals are smothered in their lairs.
I am too absent-spirited to count;
The loneliness includes me unawares.
And lonely as it is that loneliness
Will be more lonely are it will be less-
A blanker whiteness of benighted snow
With no expression, nothing to express.
They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars-on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep, 
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.