Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Reading is both a pleasurable pastime and an academic skill. To get the most out of any reading, whether it is a relaxing novel, a textbook, or a report from your employer, you must be able to read it carefully and comprehend it fully. This is called close reading. For this assignment, you will choose one passage from a piece of literature, just a couple of paragraphs, and do a close reading of it to increase your understanding and hone your abilities to get the most out of anything you read.

Instructions: Read Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Choose a section where the writer makes the experience meaningful, striking, or revealing. Examine this section for evidence of revealing a depth that reaches beyond the poem. In 2-3 pages, address the following prompts/questions:

1. Name three literary tools used in this piece and briefly describe how they are used. Examples are theme, tone, mood, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, imagery.
2. What does Frost tell us about the character at this moment? What does he leave out?
3. How does the character communicate (through words, gestures, or other means,) and what does he/she say?
4. How does the writer convey the character’s identity and culture? What symbols are used to communicate gender, race, class, occupation, and/or other identity categories?
5. How does this passage relate to the human experience overall? How do you relate as a reader?