Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
by Robert Frost
Feature Menu
Introducing the Poems
Literary Focus: Symbolic
Meaning
Reading Skills: Re-reading
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Introducing the Poems
• In “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,”
the speaker is tempted to stay in the dark
woods—but he reminds himself of his promises
and the miles still to go.
• In “After Apple-Picking,” the speaker drifts off
to sleep after a long, hard day of picking
apples. The sights, sounds, and feelings of his
task fill his dreams.
[End of Section]
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Literary Focus: Symbolic Meaning
In the hands of a poet, ordinary things (snow, a
horse, apples) take on a symbolic meaning.
• A symbol is something
that stands both for
itself and for something
beyond itself.
freedom, spirit
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Literary Focus: Symbolic Meaning
Symbols in poetry
• appeal to our emotions and imaginations
• awaken us to deeper layers of meaning
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Literary Focus: Symbolic Meaning
To discover symbolic meaning in a poem, be
alert to clues planted by the poet.
emphasis
Magnified apples appear and disappear,
Stem end and blossom end
from “After Apple-Picking” by Robert Frost
mysterious
images
. . . a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the
drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.
from “After Apple-Picking” by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Literary Focus: Symbolic Meaning
To discover symbolic meaning in a poem, be
alert to clues planted by the poet.
repetition
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
by Robert Frost
word
associations
sleep
peace, death
[End of Section]
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Reading Skills: Re-reading
Re-read these poems several times to
understand them better. Focus on one poem at a
time, and note the elements listed below.
“Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening”
Second visual images
Reading what is happening
Third
all the things you think
Reading are going through the
speaker’s mind as he
gazes at the woods
“After Apple-Picking”
visual images
what is happening
what you think
“harvest” stands for
on a deeper level
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and After Apple-Picking
Reading Skills: Re-reading
Jot down your notes in a chart like this one.
“Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening”
“After Apple-Picking”
Second
Reading
Third
Reading
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