Introduction to “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”
Both poems “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods” have been written by a popular American poet, Robert Frost, on similar topics of an evening visit and loneliness. However, the treatment of this theme is quite paradoxical in both poems where one is presenting a fearful situation, while the other is presenting an easy-going and comfortable situation. If “Desert Places” presents the scene of snow falling from a different perspective where it has intensified the poet’s fear of loneliness, “Stopping by Woods” presents a similar scene of the evening when snow is falling where the poet is enjoying loneliness. However, the difference creeps in when the loneliness in “Stopping by Woods” seems enticing and alluring but the same in “Desert Places” is frightening and repelling. To treat similar themes in different ways in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”, Frost uses contradictory images, and diverse literary devices in the same setting to show the objective and subjective self of a lonely individual. However, his use of diction is highly connotative but simple in both poems.
Imagery in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”
Both poems have used the same images of whiteness and darkness alternatively. The use of visual imagery in “Desert Places” such as “the ground almost covered in snow” (Desert Places 3 ), then “a few weeds” (4) coupled with the kinesthetic of fast snow falling and the ground almost covered transforms the landscape to a deserted and frightening place. The constant shift of white and dark has made it fearful for the poet to stand alone in the midst of this barren land. However, the same contradictory images of sight, touch, and sounds are almost making the lonely poet feel comfortable in “Stopping by Woods.” The scene is quite clear of “woods fill up with snow” (Stopping by Woods 4) and that too in “The darkest evening of the year” (8) but the sound of “harness bells” (9) does not drive him to think about his loneliness. These same images rather make the same woods full of snow with “easy wind” (12) and “downy flake” (12) making it so much enticing that it seems to him “lovely, dark and deep” (13).
Literary Devices in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”
The poet has used diverse literary devices and rhyme schemes in both poems “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”. Whereas he uses iambic pentameter such as in “The woods around it have it—it is theirs” (Desert Places 5) in “Desert Places” throughout the poem, he uses iambic tetrameter in “Stopping by Woods” such as “Whose woods these are I think I know” (1). However, both the poems differ in rhyme scheme at the end though both start with the same rhyme scheme in the beginning, which is AABA, but the last two lines of “Stopping by Woods” “And miles to go before I sleep” (15) makes the real difference which turns his objectivity toward the scene clear. Whereas assonance such as “snow, going and almost”, consonance such as “field, covered and around” and alliteration of “f” has accentuated the loneliness in “Desert Places”, the alliteration of “h” in “Stopping by Woods” coupled with its internal rhyme has made the atmosphere quite encouraging and comfortable. The major difference occurs due to the simple metaphorical personification of the horse as “he gives his harness bells a shake” (Stopping by Woods 9) and gives an edge that he is not alone. However, the very title of “Desert Places” is metaphorical that makes the condition of the poet’s loneliness even worse than before.
Setting in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”
As both poems have almost similar settings of darkness and snow falling, but these settings have made the poet demonstrate his objective or subjective feelings. Whereas “Desert Places” shows his loneliness, and it is further intensified by the realization that everything is lonely, “Stopping by Woods” has the bells of the harness of the horse, which gives the poet a stimulation to enjoy the “woods…lovely, dark and deep” (Stopping by Woods 13). Whereas both the poems have used very simple and straightforward diction, the difference is made by the use of puns used in “Desert Places” on the word “race” which is suggestive of competition as well as generation and transferred epithet of “night falling” shows that night is not falling. However, despite these suggestive use of words and literary devices, the diction of both poems seems quite simple and to the point. It is the last line of “Stopping by Woods” that makes the real difference, as the poet is terrified and scared in “Desert Places” by his loneliness, referring to his subjective self, while the same loneliness is enticing and inviting whereas the objective world is of paramount importance. This makes “Stopping by Woods” excel in themes and the use of words and objectivity.
Conclusion
In short, despite having the same theme in the same setting and by the same first-person speaker, “Desert Places” presents the inner analysis of the loneliness and fear, and terror attached to it which is further intensified in the lonely and barren setting. However, “Stopping by Woods” shows a different perspective of loneliness in the same setting. Here the poet not only wants to enjoy more but also wants to stay, though he has several “promises” to keep and miles to cover before going to sleep. Although Frost has effectively used literary devices and imagery in both poems to intensify the effects of his condition, it is “Stopping by Woods” which surpasses in demonstrating how a load of meanings could be conveyed through simple language, the same event and the same setting.
Works Cited
- Frost, Robert. “Desert Places.” An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. Kennedy X. J. & Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. Vol. 10. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 822. Print.
- —————-. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Kennedy X. J. & Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. Vol. 10. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 1923. Print.
Relevant Questions of “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”: : Comparison and Contrast
- How do the themes of isolation and loneliness in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” differ in their presentation and impact? In what ways do the settings of a desolate winter landscape in one poem and a snowy woods in the other contribute to the portrayal of isolation?
- Both poems by Robert Frost feature a natural setting, but they convey distinct moods. How do the tone and mood of “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” compare and contrast? How does Frost use imagery and language to evoke these different atmospheres?
- While both poems touch upon introspection and solitude, how do the speakers’ reactions to these feelings differ in “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods”? What do their respective resolutions or realizations reveal about the human experience of solitude and contemplation?
