"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I..."
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
-
Robert Frost, from ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ (via seabois)
Fun fact:
This is one of the most analyzed pieces of poetry in the world… And everyone has their own idea about the symbolism of the woods and the speaker’s obligations, but finally they sat Robert Frost down at an interview and asked him, “What is the poem Really about? Is it about death? Is it about the depth of the human soul? Is it about dreams? Is it in reference to some great literary epic?”
And Robert Frost goes, “No. I was just walking home through the woods one night, and I thought the woods looked really lovely, but I had things to do at home, so I had to keep going home.”
And you can just hear the eye twitching of the guy interviewing him as he has his pen raised in midair, ready to capture the true depths of the poet and finally reveal to the whole world the true meaning of—-
Nope. Robert Frost is like, “I told you in the poem what the poem is about, so I don’t get why you don’t understand it.”
And that’s the magical and horrifying thing about analyzing literature… You can find your own meaning in poetry that the poet never consciously intended to put there.
*source: my grandma was an English teacher and tells me quirky stories about poets sometimes*
(via glittertomb)
