How Robert Frost Writes A Poem
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SOURCES
Langdon Hammer's two lectures on Frost:
• 2. Robert Frost
• 3. Robert Frost (cont.)
Robert Frost On The Sound Of Sense and Sentence Sounds:
udallasclassic...
Robert Frost documentary:
• Robert Frost documentary
Frost Interview:
• Robert Frost interview...
MUSIC (via Epidemic Sound)
PAUS - 369
Life in Bits and Pieces - Rikard From
For You, E - Anna Landstrom
Bloom - Jakob Ahlbom
This was my grandfather’s favorite poem. When I was a young boy, he paid me a small sum of money to memorize the poem for him. From then on, whenever we spent time together, he would ask me to repeat it; to keep it fresh in his mind as his memory faded. When he passed, I got to read it for him one last time at his funeral. I still have it memorized today.
These poetry videos are not only making me fall in love with poetry again, but with nature, the world. Life, as a whole. And it's been a while. Thank you.
The first time I read this poem was in the children's novel "Smiles to Go". The title comes from one of the characters' misreading of the last line of the poem: "and smiles to go before I weep".
I will say from a personal standpoint I can understand the suicidal interpretation of the poem.
At a low point in my life I found myself reading this poem, and surely there's some bias and wish fulfillment I'm placing on the narrator, but the specific wording of the woods being "lovely, dark, and deep" always resonated with me. Suicide is tempting when it's not a knee jerk reaction, it pulls and tugs on the mind, it lies to you and convinces you of it's self importance, it tells you that it's lovely dark and deep.
But there's promises to keep, there's people that love you, family, friends, people that will miss you not because of what you can offer them but what radiance you brought into their lives.
And the repetition, miles to go before I sleep, maybe one day I can check out early, but not today. And miles to go before I sleep, affirmation, a reminder, a bit of chiding of the self for even needing to be reminded again.
You can stop in the woods, take measure of the beauty around you, let it whisper in your ear about how much easier it is just to let go and stay, enjoy the woods, be free, but you're made of sterner stuff. It was just an idea, fleeting diabolic errant thought. You may be in the woods again some day, but right now there's promises to keep, and miles to go before you sleep.
I love this comment.
This is fantastic thank you
I've always thought the beauty of this poem is that it has in it both Evan's interpretation and the suicidal one, and I think it's intentional. To add further substance to the claim that Frost intended the suicidal interpretation, I think there are references to Dante's inferno in Frost's imagery. Specifically, the 7th circle of hell and its Wood of the Suicides, and at the center of hell, according to Dante, is a frozen lake. The devil is imprisoned at the very center of the lake, and the rest is filled with filled with "traitors, betrayers, and oathbreakers," or alternatively put, those who do not keep their promises.
This is a beautiful and weirdly comforting take
Beautifully put
That 7 seconds of snowfalling immersed me there in my imagination to the setting of the poem. It was perfect. The way you presented it is a gift and for a few minutes I got lost in it and leaving the video with a smile on my face. ❤
I really like how you point out so many different facets of the poem - letters used, rhythm, word choice and imagery, rhyming pattern - and show how they serve the intention of the poem as a whole. It makes it seem like the poem couldn't be written any other way to convey the meaning as well.
I remember reading this poem in English class in sixth grade in a small school located in southern flatlands of Nepal. The teacher interpreted the mood of this poem as somber, a little dark and tried to relate it to human life. Snowy woods in the darkest night of the year did elicit somber imagery to me as kid. But I had never seen snow nor did I know why he'd call it the darkest night.
I'm in my late 20s now and I think this poem reads very differently. There's a very soothing, very beautiful, and even somewhat cathartic tone to it. The snow woods now sounds beautiful and romantic.
the sound editing in this is so delicious
Thank you for making this. I love Robert Frost's poems.
'Stopping by woods' has been my favourite poem since forever!
I am not interested in poems, but how you bring the viewer into the atmosphere makes me love your content.
I like the contrast between the darkest day (evening) of the year and this particular moment in the woods where it's snowing. Snow being white and fleeting, like any day is. Whether between the mundane or the literal darkest day of the year, any one can pass a moment of brightness and appreciate it for what it is - different and fleeting. That's life.
Yes!! Thank you so much! Another poem anaylsis!! Happy Lunar New Year!!
I actually think this is the quickest I ever clicked on a video. I don’t know what else is even close.
Same!
SAME! 😂
Ikr! It felt instinctual, just before consciousness, before choice, like catching a ball 🏈 in the flow, between sleeping and waking, much like his poetry. True love 😘
Same!! Lololol like, can I upload this in my veins???
I’ve always read this poem as an innuendo: ‘Whose woods these are, I think I know…’ As though he were hesitating on having an affair with another’s wife - ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep’ - finally deciding not to, refusing to ‘sleep’. Going onwards in his path, elsewhere.
I love that you cover all forms of art so lovingly. Poetry, film, architecture, paintings...a well-rounded dude
Robert Frost is my favorite poet (outside of many written by JRR Tolkien, whose poetry is also worthy of a video by you). A few months ago I read through his book "You Come Too," which I've had since I was a kid. I'd walk to a park and pace next to a bench under a tree and read the poems out loud, savoring them. They are wonderful, precise, and thoughtful. I'm glad you pointed out how they differ from many other poems of the modern and postmodern era, in the direct language and clear communication they use. So many other poems seem to look down at the reader, as if we're too dumb and dirty for them to give their treasures too, hiding themselves behind slant language. Frost's poems contain depths, but they let us peer down as far as we want to and offer us something valuable at each level. He makes it look easy, even though it isn't.
Thanks for the video essay. This is why I subscribe.
So much depends upon the forest road, covered in snow, beside the path most taken.
William Carlos Frost. A national treasure.
😂😂
As Mary Oliver highlighted, and as you highlight too, the usage of sound here really drives the poem and lets it linger in your mind: the usage of alliteration, assonance, of consonance helps lull the reader to the poem, as the narrator sees some woods fill up with snow (the beauty of the -s sound lulling one to sleep). But that's before the reality of the world comes back to haunt him, with his horse thinking it queer, shaking the bells as if there's a mistake (the harsh -k sounds jolting you awake) before the miles to go lull you back into sleep, but with the promises that you must keep (the -s v.s. the -k sound battle) hovering over your head. What a wonderful little poem.
This is my favorite poem. Absolutely beautiful. Glad to see you do a video about it. I appreciate you covering forms of art like poetry and painting that I don't always take the time to dive into myself but are rewarding to experience alongside someone with experienced eyes and ears.
What you were talking about at the end about following your passions at the behest of the algorithm is honestly really encouraging to me because that's what I'm trying to do as a small creator.
Nicely done. Subscribed. 😎 When I was in high school chorus, we did a seven-song suite of Robert Frost poems set to music by composer Randall Thompson. This was one of them, as was "The Road Not Taken" and my favorite, "Choose Something Like A Star."
"he gives his harness bells a shake / to ask if there is some mistake" yes it feels like muffled sounds partly understandable to me at first. perhaps for the reason you mentioned, to create the sound that wants to be in the centre but just fails to be a sound with much meaning in comparison to the meditative woods. The speed change also reminds me of when people are so deep in thought almost dissociating that he might just made a reflex sound by shaking the bells so to wake up. The metrics of how he changes speed gives me a feeling when you were about to fall asleep and your head has been slowly descending but then you pull it up quickly and in a stiff movement. you want to sleep, but you are fighting it
thats a lovely take
I absolutely love Robert Frost. Every time I'm exposed to any of his work my admiration for his style grows, which is a rare thing. I'm always tempted to do a deep dive but I know that if I keep at this rate, finding him by accident like the snowy forest outcropping of this poem, the magic will always be there. I will never run out of Robert Frost, which makes sense to me.
Evan this is a fantastic video! I really like your take on the poem and passion of your analysis. Hope you can do more poems analysis on the future.
Beautiful video.
❤
So well thought out and presented.
Stopping by Woods is a poem that's stuck with me my whole life, since they taught in to us so early in school. I always felt it invoked a simple but oh so effective moment of contemplation. I would think about it sometimes, and the words felt obvious and trivial, almost childish. But it always drew me in to a quiet moment and made me wonder about life and responsibilties and much more. I guess I never thought the choice of sounds, of letters and focus within the poem might be drawing me in, so thank you for consolidating why this poem leaves the effect it does.
Now, what are these promises he has to keep? that's what gets me. Great job. We need more literature on main stream content.
One of the few channels i follow I have the bell icon on for. So I can watch it asap!
Lovely video!
the joy i felt when i saw it was on my syllabus this year !! also one of my favourite poems. great insights!! thank u
Thank you, sir. Frost had a way of writing poetry of great meaning and importance simply. His descriptions place the reader in his poems easily, as if they had been there before. He's been my favorite poet for a long time because he evokes so much with simple words and imagery.
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening feels like Tolkien. Like it sounds like something Gandalf would think.
Please continue to do these poetry videos. I think really any video on a subject you are truly passionate about will make for a great video because your love for it comes through.
Thank you for existing. How you make me listen and keep focus, is more worth than the finest of values. You are a natural-born teacher, and even better storyteller. Thank you, for making more videos. Thank you, for perfecting them. Thank you :)
That video was absolutely beautiful. Thank you
this poem is my favorite too
the first time i heard this poem, i was in a dark place and it came to me in a literature class in college and idk i just felt heard -- by someone in 1929 -- which is crazy but also just so human in a way
miles to go before i sleep, helped me just kind of hold on to something --- like i have so much things to still do -- before i go
please make more of these
I just found my collection of Robert Frost's poetry while reorganizing my bookshelf yesterday. What a pleasant synchronicity✨️🌿
That was really a masterful analysis and edit. Thank you!
This was absolutely gorgeous. Might just have been the poem to define my current epoch. I dont know if finding this will help me or break me further for I do indeed have miles to go before I sleep while my heart rests solemnly in transcendental echos of melancholy, wonder, love, resistance, dreams, curiousities & pain.
The videos on poems are my a favorite of mine. An unexpected one. Thanks for making it!
What a beautiful breakdown of a mesmerizing poem. I love it!
Your videos give me so much joy. Thank you, Evan!
English is not my native language, so when we learned "English" in school, it often didn't include stuff like that - I knew of Shakspear's sonnets, but I am so happy to find out more about classical americal literature. Thank you so much for this video, I am definitely going to check out some Frost now..
I love these poetry analysis videos. Please, keep up the good work.
The NY Times games compiler must have seen this video yesterday and decided to make this evening's Strands theme this poem. No way that's a coincidence.
Thanks for making these videos on poetry that I would never in a hundred years grasped the full depth of.
love these poetry/poet analyses!! follow your enthusiasm evan!!
Thank you so much for this Evan! Sending you love from the other side of the world 🌍 💌
Was hoping for something more general based on the title, a comparison of different Frost poems or a description of how he turned ideas into words
Your videos have long been a breath of fresh air
Already favourited. Love your videos about poetry.
Please keep up this most excellent channel... these videos are gold.
NYTimes Games Strands for Thursday January 30th saw your video. 😅
I'm really annoyed I did it before watching this video.
I don’t even like, nor care about poetry all that much. But that thumbnail hooked me immediately and the video itself was incredibly thought provoking. GREAT VIDEO
Nerdwriter poetry videos are my favourite type of Nerdwriter videos
This was a beautiful and thoughtful video. Thank you.
Super lovely script here, as always! Really great video!
Always a great day when you upload. Go birds.
Fly Eagles Fly
Absolutely loved this video!
your poetry analysis is some of my favourite videos of yours fwiw.
this was life changing for me
just got a collection of robert frost poetry for christmas from my mom, perfect timing
I love these poetry ones
Great work again
Excellent study of a timeless poem, by a great poet.
this poem enchanted me since the first time I read it as a kid
Into My Own is my favorite. This was a great review Evan.
Well, that was lovely
Im glad u finally covered frost. Hes the only poet i rlly studied in school
I came to find a video to show my class today and what do you know, there’s a new one posted just minutes ago!
We missed you Evan
There is a beautiful interpretation of Borges that says that the first "miles to go before I sleep" means real sleep, and the second verse means death as sleep. So it is an invitation to continue traveling despite everything
This was awesome! Great work!
Earth’s Pull
Lying on soft forest ground
Drifting still, yet feeling found
Amber rays through softwood trees
Answer to my unheard pleas
Brown of soil and green of moss
Discovery through death and loss
Getting up, I feel earth’s pull
And tell her she is beautiful
This is a poem I wrote myself. If you like it, check out my poetry collection "Seasons Pass" by Nin Reckermann
It's my second collection after "Setting Sail"
Your "poem" sucks.
“where time and space is not structured in human ways” puts to words the mystery of nature that is often indescribable
The Drumlin Woodchuck:
One thing has a shelving bank,
Another a rotting plank,
To give it cozier skies
And make up for its lack of size.
My own strategic retreat
Is where two rocks almost meet,
And still more secure and snug,
A two-door burrow I dug.
With those in mind at my back
I can sit forth exposed to attack
As one who shrewdly pretends
That he and the world are friends.
All we who prefer to live
Have a little whistle we give,
And flash, at the least alarm
We dive down under the farm.
We allow some time for guile
And don’t come out for a while
Either to eat or drink.
We take occasion to think.
And if after the hunt goes past
And the double-barreled blast
(Like war and pestilence
And the loss of common sense),
If I can with confidence say
That still for another day,
Or even another year,
I will be there for you, my dear,
It will be because, though small
As measured against the All,
I have been so instinctively thorough
About my crevice and burrow.
-Robert Frost
Much love from Brazil!!!
It's neat how both "writing" and "reading" are creative acts in this context
Thank you, that was lovely. The poem is a little moment for us, too, to temporarily forget the promises we have to keep, the miles to go before we sleep. I do see a hint of death in the woods, "lovely, dark and deep", on the darkest night of the year, the "sleep" which, for a moment, is attractive. It's slightly sinister, as if the wood tempts him to linger too long, with its own "promise" of rest - eternal rest. I agree that it's hardly suicidal, but there is, as you say, that tension between the relentless rhythm of everyday life and the enchanting, hypnotic effect of the silent snowfall. I love the horse, too :) - he's kind of humble and tactful, though he, too, wants to get home and rest. Everyone else is at home - in the village or in the farmhouse, but they are out, working on a cold night. "My little horse" (another "owned" part of nature) shows the man's affection for him. Difficult duty versus dangerous beauty - there's a kind of Puritan ethic there, very American. You're right, it's unresolved.
Thanks for the video, I loved it. One interesting comment: I've always imagined the narrator in a sleigh, not a wagon. Given the snow and time of year, (plus when Frost's New England Background) I figured it would have been the most appropriate mode of transportation.
Thank you for this video. I live in Mexico CIty and the first time I heard this poem was in a Charls Bronson movie: "Telefon", where a rogue KGB agent used the final verse to activate sleeper agents in the US to blow up military bases.
Robert Frost is one of my favorites, I would also !love to see another video like this about Henry David Thoreau!
Greatness of Robert Frost's poetry lies in it's deceptive simplicity. A commonplace happenstance is permeated by his poetic insight and elevated to almost a philosophical take on life .
I love Poetry. For me, Poetry is the highest expression of language, it goes beyond the intellectual capacity, time or space. I've been writing poetry for a while and as with music these two expressions of art are so nourishing for my heart.
Hey man, long time fan. A critique on the editing of the narration. I can clearly hear the cuts. I love your videos where your narrative feels like free flowing speech, and not stitched together. If you don't mind me going a bit meta here, the poem is about paucity - would have loved it if it reflected in the narration too. Again, long time fan man - I wait for your videos to show up, and immediately drop everything to watch it. The Nighthawks and the Prisoner of Azkaban are my favourites :)
I love these poetry videos but I would love it if we got another prose video like your Austen one!
Thank you, Evan. 🍃
Beautiful. Insightful. Thanks for sharing!
I love how poetry means different things to different people. To me is always represented my desire to rest and or live in my past or in my memories but the real world calls. Be it wanting to go back home. Or something that’s happened and I can no longer back to it. A girl from long ago. A past situation.
I highly recommend reading the story "Tenth of December," by George Saunders, in conjunction with this poem. The potential suicidal meaning of the poem becomes a lot more apparent.
I click on these videos not because I have any interest in the topic but because I trust you’ll make me interested. Thanks for sharing with me more art I knew next to nothing about
Hey man thanks for what you do
I used to really dislike poetry, maybe that's because high school is really bad at teaching poetry and rarely puts you in the right space for enjoying it. It's gems like this that show that I missed out
This channel is really beautiful. Thanks amazing job.
I love this poetry video. More please.
I know it's like the most "basic" preference, but Robert Frost has been my favorite poet since I was a teenager.
Beautiful. Thank You.
Lovely!
Ha! The New York Times just had this very poem ( Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening) in their Game section TODAY!! 😳
Talk about a coincidence 😮, I just finished the puzzle to watch a bit of YT and Nerdwriter pops this in my notifications 😂 Literally downloaded the poem 15 minutes ago!
1:52
“But this beauty of Nature which is seen and felt as beauty, is the least part. The shows of day, the dewy morning, the rainbow, mountains, orchards in blossom, stars, moonlight, shadows in still water, and the like, if too eagerly hunted, become shows merely, and mock us with their unreality. Go out of the house to see the moon, and 't is mere tinsel; it will not please as when its light shines upon your necessary journey. The beauty that shimmers in the yellow afternoons of October, who ever could clutch it? Go forth to find it, and it is gone: 't is only a mirage as you look from the windows of diligence.”
- Emerson