Tech Comm Student

Recently in my Technical & Scientific Prose class, we were assigned to read through and analyze 15 popular poems by Robert Frost, the last century’s most popular American poet.  By the time most of us graduate high school, we almost certainly have been exposed to a few of his shorter and (seemingly) less metaphoric work, including “Fire and Ice,” and “The Road Not Taken.”

Even while I have never taken an especial interest in poetic writing, I have found that I do enjoy much of what Robert Frost has written, not for his particular writing styles, but for the timeless concepts that has been found consistent among those I read from him.  And for this reason, Robert Frost poems will continue to be read in schools and by the public.  His messages are inherent to the human condition, they never expire:  Fear, compromise, hatred, friendship, and my favorite: the passage of time.

After reading through the poems and writing an analysis on each, I was also instructed to select the one that I most enjoy and share my thoughts with the class.  I chose “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”  This is a simple poem, but important in my mind because the pace of society has often caused us to miss out on the small benefits and joys of life as we place  focus on our careers, education, and families.

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.

I recommend reading through some of his work!  A few other poems of interest include: “A Patch of Old Snow,” “Birches,” and “On Going Unnoticed.”