Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 19:55:14 -0500
From: George Trail <gtrail-AT-UH.EDU>
Subject: Re: PLC: Frost, Interpretation, and Death


>I was surprised to read that Robert Frost said that "Stopping by Woods on a
>Snowy Evening" was about nothing more than stopping by woods on a snowy
>evening.  I have always been told, and accepted it as fact, that Frost was
>writing metaphorically about the seduction of death.
>
>I wonder if some may want to comment on this as I try to gather what Frost
>may have meant and what implications this has for my reading of this and
>other poems.
>
>Best,
>Paul
>-----
>Paul E. Smith
>smithpe-AT-flash.net


Sure. Frost was well known for his obtuse responses. Among the most famous
was to a Bryn Mawr Student who gushed "Oh Mr. Frost, I have always amired
your poetry so much, and I just wondered if there was a secret to
understanding this poem, " holding up the book to him. He views it
peeringly and said "Ah, yes. There is a secret to that poem. The clue is
between here (points to the title) and here (points to the period at the
end of the poem).

If you think about it a bit, it makes perfect sense. To ask a poet what her
poem means is to suggest that there would be another way to say it. The
question is hence insulting, and many poets have been recorded as making
similar answers. Hemingway said that there are no symbols in the end of A
Farewell to Arms.  Right.

Cheers,
g




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